Oleg (, ; ; died 912), also known as Oleg the Wise, was a

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Rus' Rus or RUS may refer to: People * East Slavic historical peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus, a legendary eponymous ancestor, see Lech, Czech and Rus * Rus (surname), a surname found in Ro ...

who became

prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes also Grand Duke) was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev (modern Kyiv) from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prin ...

, and laid the foundations of the

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 ...

state. According to 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 ...

'', he succeeded his "kinsman"

Rurik Rurik (also spelled Rorik, Riurik or Ryurik; ; ; died 879) was a Varangians, Varangian chieftain of the Rus' people, Rus' who, according to tradition, was invited to reign in Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in the year 862. The ''Primary Chronicle' ...

as ruler of

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 ...

, and subdued many of the East Slavic tribes to his rule, extending his control from Novgorod to the south along the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

river. Oleg also launched a successful attack on

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. He died in 912 and was succeeded by Rurik's son, Igor. This traditional dating has been challenged by some historians, who point out that it is inconsistent with such other sources as the

Schechter Letter The Schechter Letter, also called the Genizah Letter or Cambridge Document, was discovered in the Cairo Geniza by Solomon Schechter in 1912. It is an anonymous Khazar letter discussing several matters including the wars of the early 940s, involv ...

, which mentions the activities of a certain

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...

HLGW ( usually transcribed ''Helgu''. Compare Swedish first name Helge.) of Rus' as late as the 940s, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor

Romanus I Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of the young Constantine ...

. The nature of Oleg's relationship with the Rurikid ruling family of the Rus', and specifically with his successor

Igor of Kiev Igor (; ; – 945) was Prince of Kiev from 912 to 945. Traditionally, he is considered to be the son of Rurik, who established himself at Novgorod and died in 879 while Igor was an infant. According to the '' Primary Chronicle'', Rurik was succ ...

, is a matter of much controversy among historians.

Oleg in chronicles

According to the ''

'', Oleg was a "relative" or "kinsman" of

, and was entrusted by Rurik to take care of both his realm and his young son Igor. However, his relation to Rurik is debatable, and has been rejected by several modern scholars. Oleg is narrated to have succeeded Rurik as the ruler of Novgorod in 879. In 881–882, he took control of

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

, and then seized power in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

by tricking and slaying

Askold and Dir Askold and Dir (''Haskuldr'' or ''Hǫskuldr'' and ''Dyr'' or ''Djur'' in Old Norse; died in 882), mentioned in both the ''Primary Chronicle'', the ''Novgorod First Chronicle'', and the ''Nikon Chronicle'', were the earliest known rulers of Kiev. ...

, and setting himself up as prince in Kiev, which is commonly taken as the founding of

. Although Oleg was the first "prince" (''

knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

'') of Kiev according to the ''Primary Chronicle'', he was not yet a "grand prince" (''velikiy knyaz''). Whereas later Muscovite chroniclers would call Oleg a "grand prince" and Kiev a "grand principality" (), the earliest sources do not. In 883, Oleg made the

Drevlians The Drevlians, Derevlians or Derevlianians ( or , ) were a tribe of East Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries, which inhabited the territories of Polesia and right-bank Ukraine, west of the Polans (eastern), eastern Polans and along the ...

pay tribute to Kiev. In 907, the Drevlians took part in the Kievan military campaign against the Byzantine Empire: the Rus'-Byzantine War (907) against

in 907.

Historian Vladimir Shikanov claims that Byzantium faced an attack by "raiders" who plundered the Thracian coast and wished to find honor in Constantinople, but were unable to, as the remaining fire-fighting ships under the command of Patrikios John Rodin defeated the Rus at Cape Tricephalus, and the treaty of 911 was a "gift" to the barbarians. making the course of the case more predictable. According to him, in the chronicle, the defeat was disguised as a great victory. Historian

Vladimir Pashuto Vladimir Terentyevich Pashuto (; 19 April 1918 – 10 June 1983) was a Soviet Russian Marxist historian who specialized in the history of medieval Lithuania and Russia, especially in their foreign policies. He graduated from the Leningrad Univer ...

, on the other hand, believes that the peace treaty was beneficial to Rus' in all respects, regardless of the analysis and timeline of the campaign. The brief account of Oleg's life in the ''Primary Chronicle'' contrasts with the version given in the ''

Novgorod First Chronicle The Novgorod First Chronicle ( rus, Новгоро́дская пе́рвая ле́топись, Novgoródskaya pérvaya létopisʹ, nəvɡɐˈrot͡skəjə ˈpʲervəjə ˈlʲetəpʲɪsʲ, commonly abbreviated as NPL), also known by its 1914 Eng ...

'', which states that Oleg was not related to Rurik, and was rather a Scandinavian client-prince who served as Igor's army commander. The ''Novgorod First Chronicle'' does not give the date of the commencement of Oleg's reign, but dates his death to 922 rather than 912. Scholars have contrasted this dating scheme with the "epic" reigns of roughly thirty-three years for both Oleg and Igor in the Primary Chronicle. The ''Primary Chronicle'' and other Kievan sources place Oleg's grave in Kiev, while Novgorodian sources identify a funerary barrow in Ladoga as Oleg's final resting place.

Death according to legend

In the ''Primary Chronicle'', Oleg is known as the Prophet, an epithet alluding to the sacred meaning of his Norse name ("priest"). According to the legend, romanticised by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

in his

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

"The Song of the Wise Oleg", it was prophesied by the pagan priests (''

volkhv A volkhv or volhv (Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e. shaman, gothi or mage) is a priest in ancient Slavic religions and contemporary Slavic Native Faith. Among the Rus' Volkhvs are at ...

s'') that Oleg would take death from his stallion. To defy the prophecies, Oleg sent the horse away. Many years later he asked where his horse was, and was told it had died. He asked to see the remains and was taken to the place where the bones lay. When he touched the horse's skull with his boot a snake slithered from the skull and bit him. Oleg died, thus fulfilling the prophecy. Oleg's death has been interpreted as a distorted variant of the

threefold death The threefold death, which is suffered by kings, heroes, and gods, is a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European theme encountered in Indic, Greek, Celtic, and Germanic mythology. Some proponents of the trifunctional hypothesis distinguish two types o ...

theme in

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

myth and legend, with prophecy, the snake and the horse representing the three functions: the prophecy is associated with sovereignty, the horse with warriors, and the serpent with reproduction. A variant of this story occurs in Scandinavian legend, in the 13th-century saga of

Örvar-Oddr Örvar-Oddr ( , "Arrow-Odd" or "Arrow's Point") is a legendary hero about whom an anonymous Icelander wrote a '' fornaldarsaga'' in the latter part of the 13th century. ''Örvar-Odds saga'', the Saga of Örvar-Odd, became very popular and contain ...

. Another variant is found in the tale of Sir Robert de Shurland on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the districts of England, local government district of Borough ...

in Kent, England.

Oleg of the Schechter Letter

According to the Primary Chronicle, Oleg died in 912 and his successor,

, ruled from then until his assassination in 945. The

, a document written by a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish

Khazar The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

, a contemporary of

Romanus I Lecapenus Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of the young Constantine ...

, describes the activities of a Rus' warlord named HLGW (), usually transcribed as "Helgu". For years many scholars disregarded or discounted the

account, which referred to Helgu (often interpreted as Oleg) as late as the 940s. Recently, however, scholars such as David Christian and

Constantine Zuckerman Constantin Zuckerman (; born 1957) is a French historian and Professor of Byzantine studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris. Biography Academic rank: professor. Highest degree: doctorate. Job title: The Deputy Director of the Ce ...

have suggested that the Schechter Letter's account is corroborated by various other Rus' chronicles, and suggests a struggle within the early Rus' polity between factions loyal to Oleg and to the

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

Igor, a struggle that Oleg ultimately lost. Zuckerman posited that the early chronology of the Rus' had to be re-determined in light of these sources. Among Zuckerman's beliefs and those of others who have analyzed these sources are that the Khazars did not lose

until the early 10th century (rather than 882, the traditional date), that Igor was not Rurik's son but rather a more distant descendant, and that Oleg did not immediately follow

, but rather that there is a lost generation between the legendary

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Ibn Miskawayh Ibn Miskuyah ( Muskūyah, 932–1030), (Arabic: مِسْكَوَيْه، أبو علي محمد بن أحمد بن يعقوب مسكويه الرازي) full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb Miskawayh al-Rāzī was a Persian c ...

, who described a similar Rus' attack on the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

state of Arran in the year 944/5.

Attempts to reconcile the accounts

In contrast to Zuckerman's version, the ''Primary Chronicle'' and the later ''

Kiev Chronicle The ''Kievan Chronicle'' or ''Kyivan Chronicle'' is a chronicle of Kievan Rus'. It was written around 1200 in Vydubychi Monastery as a continuation of the ''Primary Chronicle''. It is known from two manuscripts: a copy in the ''Hypatian Codex'' ( ...

'' place Oleg's grave in Kiev, where it could be seen at the time of the compilation of these documents. Furthermore, scholars have pointed out that if Oleg succeeded Rurik in 879 (as the East Slavic chronicles assert), he could hardly have been active almost 70 years later, unless he had a life-span otherwise unheard of in medieval annals. To solve these difficulties, Parkomenko (1924) proposed that the pagan monarch-priests of Rus' used the hereditary title of ''helgu'', standing for "holy" in the

Norse language Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

, and that Igor and others held this title. It has also been suggested that Helgu-Oleg who waged war in the 940s was distinct from both of Rurik's successors. He could have been one of the "fair and great princes" recorded in the Russo-Byzantine treaties of 911 and 944 or one of the "archons of Rus" mentioned in ''

De administrando imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...

''.

Georgy Vernadsky George Vernadsky (; August 20, 1887 – June 12, 1973) was a Russian-born American historian and an author of numerous books on Russian history. European years Born in Saint Petersburg on August 20, 1887, Vernadsky stemmed from a respectable ...

even identified the Oleg of the Schechter Letter with Igor's otherwise anonymous eldest son, whose widow Predslava is mentioned in the Russo-Byzantine treaty of 944. Alternatively, V. Ya. Petrukhin speculated that Helgu-Oleg of the 940s was one of the vernacular princes of

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

, whose ruling dynasty maintained especially close contacts with

Khazaria The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

, as the findings at the

Black Grave The Black Grave () is the largest burial mound (kurgan) in Chernihiv, Ukraine. It is part of the National Sanctuary of Ancient Chernihiv and is an Archaeological Monument of national importance. Overview Comparable to the barrows of Gnyozdovo ...

, a large royal

kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...

excavated near Chernigov, seem to testify.

In popular culture

*Prince Oleg appears as the primary villain in

season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

of ''

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

'' (2019–2020). In this production, Askold and Dir are portrayed as his brothers. He is played by Russian actor

Danila Kozlovsky Danila Valeryevich Kozlovsky (; born 3 May 1985) is a Russian actor and director. His most famous roles in films include Vampire Academy and Soulless, as well as the TV series Vikings. During his career he achieved international popularity in E ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

Artamonov, Mikhail Mikhail Illarionovich Artamonov (; July 31, 1972)
was a

. ''Istoriya Khazar''. Leningrad, 1962. * * Brutskus, Julius D. ''Pismo Hazarskogo Evreja Ol X Veka''. Berlin 1924. * Christian, David. ''A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia'', Vol. 1. Blackwell, 1998. * * Dunlop, D.M. ''History of the Jewish Khazars''. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1954. * Gregoire, H. 'Le "Glozel' khazare." ''Revue des Études Byzantines'' 12, 1937. * Golb, Norman and

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak (; 7 April 1919 – 29 May 2006) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of History of Ukraine, Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director (1973–1989) of the Harvard Ukrainian Rese ...

. ''Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century.'' Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1982. ote:as each author was responsible for separate sections of the work, they are referenced separately above.* Kloss, B.M. "Letopis' Novgorodskaja pervaja". ''Slovar' Kniznikov i Knizhnosti Drevnej Rusi'', vol. 1. Leningrad 1987. * Kokovtsov P.S. ''Еврейско-хазарская переписка в X веке''. Leningrad 1932. * al-Miskawaihi. ''The Eclipse of the '

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

.'' D. S. Margoliouth, trans. Oxford 1921. * Mosin, V. "Les Khazars et les Byzantins d'apres l'Anonyme de Cambridge." ''Revue des Études Byzantines'' 6 (1931): 309–325. * Nasonov, A.N., ed. ''Novgorodskaja Pervaja Letopis Starshego i Mladshego Izvodov''. Moscow, 1950. * Novoseltsev, Anatoli P. ''Hazarskoe Gosudarstvo i Ego Rol' v Istorii Vostochnoj Evropy i Kavkaza.'' Moscow 1990. * * * Petrukhin V.Ya. "Князь Олег, Хелгу Кембриджского документа и русский княжеский род". ''Древнейшие государства Восточной Европы. 1998. Памяти А.П. Новосельцева''. Moscow, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2000: 222–230. * Pushkin, Alexander. ''The Song of the Wise Oleg''. Leningrad, Aurora Art Publishers, 1991. * Shahmatov, A.A. ''Ocherk Drevnejshego Perioda Istorii Russkogo Jazyka''. Petrograd, 1915 (reprinted Paris 1967). * Zuckerman, Constantine. "On the Date of the Khazar’s Conversion to Judaism and the Chronology of the Kings of the Rus' Oleg and Igor." ''Revue des Études Byzantines'' 53 (1995): 237–270. * Vernadsky, Georgy. ''Kievan Rus''. Moscow, 1996. * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oleg of Novgorod 9th-century monarchs in Europe 10th-century princes from Kievan Rus' Year of birth uncertain Deaths due to snake bites Princes of Novgorod Princes of Kiev Rurikids Varangians