The Cherven Cities (), Czerwień Cities or Cherven Gords ( Ukrainian: Червенські Городи), often literally translated as Red Cities, Red Forts or Red Boroughs, was a point of dispute between the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

at the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries, with both sides claiming their rights to the land.

Etymology

Originally, the name "Czerwień Cities" probably identified a territory between the Bug and

Wieprz The Wieprz (, ; ) is a river in central-eastern Poland, and a tributary of the Vistula. It is the country's ninth longest river, with a total length of 349 km and a catchment area of 10,497 km2, all within Poland. Its course near the to ...

rivers. Its name is derived from Czerwień (cf.

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...

''*čьrvenъ'' "red"), a ''gord'' that existed there, possibly on the site of the present-day village of Czermno. The first mention of the "Cherven Cities" is given by the ''

Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a Rus' chronicle, chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been or ...

'' (12th century), when

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...

captured them from the ''Lyakhs'' (

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and

Lendians The Lendians () were a Lechitic tribe who lived in the area of East Lesser Poland and Cherven Cities between the 7th and 11th centuries. Since they were documented primarily by foreign authors whose knowledge of Central and East Europe geogra ...

) in 981.

History

The Cherven Cities first described in the ''

'' by

Nestor the Chronicler Nestor the Chronicler or Nestor the Hagiographer (; 1056 – 1114) was a monk from the Kievan Rus who is known to have written two saints' lives: the ''Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves'' and the ''Account about the Life an ...

have a central role in the history of the

Early Medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

Polish-Ruthenian borderlands. The area is first mentioned in 981, when

took it during his expansion campaign to the west. Whether they were inhabited by a West Slavic or East Slavic tribe, and were independent from both

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

, is part of a wider ethnographic dispute between Polish and Ukrainian-Russian historiographies. Cosmas of Prague (c. 1045 – 1125) relates that the Přemyslid rulers of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

controlled the land of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

until 999. In support of Cosmas, the foundation charter of the Archdiocese of Prague (1086) traces the Eastern border of the archdiocese, as established in 973, along the Bug and

Styr The Styr (; ; ) is a right tributary of the Pripyat, with a length of . Its basin area is and located in the historical region of Volhynia. The Styr begins near Brody, Lviv Oblast, then flows into Rivne Oblast, Volyn Oblast, then into Brest ...

(or

Stryi Stryi (, ; ) is a city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the left bank of the Stryi (river), Stryi River, approximately south of Lviv in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It serves as the administrative center of Stryi R ...

) rivers, which marked the approximate boundaries of the region where Cherven Cities were located.

Abraham ben Jacob Ibrahim ibn Yaqub ( ''Ibrâhîm ibn Ya'qûb al-Ṭarṭûshi'' or ''al-Ṭurṭûshî''; , ''Avraham ben Yaʿakov''; 961–62) was a 10th-century Hispano-Arabic, Sephardi Jewish traveler, probably a merchant, who may have also engaged in diploma ...

, who travelled in Eastern Europe in 965, remarks that

Boleslaus II of Bohemia Boleslaus II the Pious ( ; 932 – 7 February 999), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death in 999. Life and reign Boleslaus was an elder son of Duke Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Boleslaus I the Cruel ...

ruled the country "stretching from the city of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

to the city of

". In the 970s, it is assumed that

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

took over the region: the ''

'' infers this when reporting that

conquered the Cherven Cities from the Lyakhs (an alternative archaic name for Poles) in 981. Nestor writes in his chronicle that: "Vladimir marched upon the Lyakhs and took their cities: Peremyshl (

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

), Cherven ( Czermno), and other towns, all of which are subject to Rus' even to this day". There's a scholarly dispute whether Przemyśl was one of tribal centers of the

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

. However, historian Leontii Voitovych speculates that contrary to Nestor's account in the ''Primary Chronicle'', if the lands were under control of the

Duchy of Poland Civitas Schinesghe (; ), also known as the Duchy of Poland or the Principality of Poland, is the historiographical name given to a polity in Central Europe, which existed during the medieval period and was the predecessor state of the Kingdom of ...

then the

conquest would have been an open call for war between the principalities with an inevitable long struggle, but such a thing did not happen according to Voitovych, possibly indicating in Voitovych's view that the lands and its population weren't Polish, but an independent political-tribal union with some vassalage to Bohemia. Leontii Voitovych,
The Lendians: new variations on ancient motives
, Proc. Inst. Archaeol. Lviv. Univ, Vol. 10, 2015, pages 126–137Kuchynko Mykhailo,
Croats in Manuscripts: Problem of Ethno-tribal Belonging and Political Dependence (Historical Aspects)
, РОЗДІЛ ІІІ. Історіографія. Джерелознавство. Архівознавство. Памʼяткознавство. Етнологія. 7, 2015, pages 142–143 In 1018, Poland re-took the area under

Bolesław I the Brave Bolesław I the Brave (17 June 1025), less often List of people known as the Great, known as Bolesław the Great, was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025 and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was also Duke of Bohemia between 1003 and 1004 as Boles ...

,A. Buko. "The archaeology of early medieval Poland". Brill. 2008
p. 307
/ref> and in 1031 it fell again to Rus'. The Rus'ian expedition against Poland (1030–1031) had as its object not only the recovery of territories previously lost in 1018; it also delivered a powerful blow against the Polish Metropolis of Slavonic rite. In 1031, Harald and his men reached the land of the

Kievan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...

, where they served the armies of

Yaroslav I the Wise Yaroslav I Vladimirovich ( 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, ...

, the Grand Prince of the Rus, whose wife Ingigerd was a distant relative of Harald. In the spring 1031, where he became chief of Yaroslav's bodyguard jointly with Eilifr, son of that Rognvaldr who had originally come to

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

with Ingigerd. Harald served a military apprenticeship, fighting in the Polish campaign of 1031, and against the ''Læsir'' (Lendians).In Slavic loanwords ja was replaced with æ, e.g., læsir = Ljach, plural Ljasi, meaning 'Poles', n:s. Axel Olrik i Festskrift til Vilh. Thomsen, 126 f.; n:trans. Arkiv för nordisk filologi: t. 19-20. page 280 The gord of Sutiejsk was most likely founded in 1034 - 1039 by Grand Prince

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav I Vladimirovich ( 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, ...

, who built the fortified settlement to guard the border with Poland. Around the year 1069, the region again returned to Poland, after Bolesław II the Generous retook the area and the city of

, making it his temporary residence. Then in 1085, the region became a

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

under the lordship of Rus', known as the Principality of Peremyshl.

References

{{reflist Historical regions in Poland History of Red Ruthenia 10th century in Kievan Rus' 11th century in Kievan Rus' 10th century in Poland 11th century in Poland History of Lublin Voivodeship History of Lviv Oblast History of Subcarpathian Voivodeship

Etymology

History

See also

References