The Novgorod Slavs, Ilmen Slavs (, ''Il'menskiye slovene''), or Slovenes (not to be confused with the South Slavic

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...

) were the northernmost

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of the Early Slavs, and inhabited the shores of Lake Ilmen, and the river basins of the Volkhov, Lovat, Msta, and the upper stream of the Mologa in the 8th to 10th centuries. The Slovenes were native to the region around

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 ...

. There is a belief among researchers that Novgorod is one of the regions which were the original home / Urheimat of the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

and the Slavic tribes. Like all Eastern Slavs in Russian lands, the Ilmen Slavs had unique characteristics. Ancestors of the Ilmen Slavs who settled in Finnic areas descended from the culture of Pskov Long Barrows which originates from the northern variants of the Kyiv archaeological culture. They settled in mostly Finnic areas in Northern Russia, moving along the major waterways, until they met the southward expansion of the Krivich in the modern-day Yaroslavl Oblast. They left a few archaeological monuments of the 6th–8th centuries, such as

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

settlements, and tall cone-like kurgans with cremated bodies in the Ladoga region. The most

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

settlement is dated to the 7th or 8th centuries. Numerous archaeological finds, such as a metal tip for a wooden

plough A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...

, indicate that the Ilmen Slavs had a well-developed agriculture. They were not a particularly warlike state, but evidence of their unique weaponry, dating back to the mid-8th century, has been found around the city of Novgorod. The weaponry consisted of spears, maces,

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

s, bows,

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

s, and

war hammer A war hammer (French: ''martel-de-fer'', "iron hammer") is a weapon that was used by both infantry, foot soldiers and cavalry. It is a very old weapon and gave its name, owing to its constant use, to Judas Maccabeus, Judah Maccabee, a 2nd-century ...

s. The principal cities of the Ilmen Slavs were Staraya Russa and

, the center of the Novgorod Republic, which had developed in the 9th–10th centuries.

References

{{Slavic ethnic groups (VII-XII century)

Ilmen Slavs The Novgorod Slavs, Ilmen Slavs (, ''Il'menskiye slovene''), or Slovenes (not to be confused with the South Slavic Slovenes) were the northernmost tribe of the Early Slavs, and inhabited the shores of Lake Ilmen, and the river basins of the ...

See also

References