Oleg Svyatoslavich (russian: Олег Святославич; 1052 – August 1115) was a
Rurikid
The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...
prince whose equivocal adventures ignited political unrest in
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries.
Oleg was a younger son of
Sviatoslav Iaroslavich,
Prince of Chernigov The Prince of Chernigov was the ''kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' Principality of Chernigov, a lordship which lasted four centuries straddling what are now parts of Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation.
List of Princes of Chern ...
and his first wife, Killikiya. He might have been either the second or the fourth among the four sons of Sviatoslav Iaroslavich by Killikiya, because their order of seniority is uncertain. According to historian Martin Dimnik, Oleg was born around 1050. Oleg was named after his grand uncle. His baptismal name was Michael.
Dimnik writes that "it is highly probable" that Oleg succeeded his brother,
Gleb Gleb (Russian and be, Глеб) or Hlib ( uk, Гліб) is a Slavic male given name derived from the Old Norse name ''Guðleifr'', which means "heir of god." According to another version, the name Gleb comes from the name Olaf. It is popular in Rus ...
in
Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan ( rus, Тмутарака́нь, p=tmʊtərɐˈkanʲ, ; uk, Тмуторокань, Tmutorokan) was a medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea ...
after their father appointed the latter
Prince of Novgorod The Prince of Novgorod (russian: Князь новгородский, ''knyaz novgorodskii'') was the chief executive of the Republic of Novgorod. The office was originally an appointed one until the late eleventh or early twelfth century, then bec ...
in about 1068. Oleg's father and uncle,
Vsevolod Iaroslavich made an alliance against their elder brother,
Iziaslav Iaroslavich,
Grand Prince of Kiev
The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes grand duke) was the title of the ruler of Kiev and the ruler of Kievan Rus' from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prince of Vladimir and ...
and dethroned him on 22 March 1073. According to Dimnik, Oleg received the
Principality of Vladimir
Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
from his father who succeeded Iziaslav Iaroslavich in Kiev. In short, Oleg and his cousin,
Vladimir Monomach
Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Мономахъ, ''Volodiměrŭ Monomakhŭ''; uk, Володимир Мономах, translit=Volodymyr Monomakh; russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name: ''Vasiliy'' ...
son of Vsevolod Iaroslavichbecame close friends. Monomach writes in his ''Instruction'' that Oleg was the godfather of his eldest son,
Mstislav. The two cousins together commanded the troops Oleg's father sent to assist
Boleslav II of Poland in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
in 1076, according to the ''Russian Primary Chronicle''.
Sviatoslav Iaroslavich died in Kiev on 27 December 1077. He was succeeded by his brother, Vsevolod Iaroslavich. The new grand prince seems to have confirmed Oleg's rule in Vladimir, because no source makes mention of a conflict between them. However, the dethroned Iziaslav IaroslavichVsevolod's brother and Oleg's unclereturned with Polish reinforcements. Iziaslav and Vsevolod had a meeting where they reached an agreement: Vsevolod renounced of Kiev, but received Chernigov, the one-time domain of Oleg's father. Iziaslav marched in Kiev on 15 July 1077, while Oleg "was with Vsevolod at Chernigov", according to the ''Russian Primary Chronicle''. The chronicler's remark suggests that Oleg had by that time been forced to leave Vladimir.
Failing to get along with his uncle, on 10 April 1077 Oleg fled to his brother
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
who reigned in
Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan ( rus, Тмутарака́нь, p=tmʊtərɐˈkanʲ, ; uk, Тмуторокань, Tmutorokan) was a medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea ...
. Together with his cousin,
Boris Vyacheslavich
Boris Vyacheslavich (russian: Борис Вячеславич) was Prince of Chernigov for eight days in 1077. He was the son of Vyacheslav Yaroslavich, Prince of Smolensk. Following his father's death in 1057, the child Boris was debarred from hi ...
, who had also settled in Tmutarakan, Oleg made an alliance with the Cumans and invaded Rus' in the summer of 1078. They routed their uncle, Vsevolod on the
Sozh River
The Sozh, or Sož ( be, Сож, ; russian: Сож, uk, Сож) is an international river flowing in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a left bank tributary of the Dnieper. The Sozh passes through Gomel, the second largest city in Belarus.
T ...
and entered Chernigov on 25 August. The ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' accuses Oleg and Boris of being the first to lead "the pagans to attack the land of Rus'". However, Vladimir Monomach, in his ''Instruction'', reveals that he and his father, Vsevolod had hired Cumans when attacking Polotsk in the previous year.
Expelled from Chernigov, Vsevolod fled to Kiev and sought assistance from his brother, Iziaslav. They united their forces and marched against Chernigov. Although Oleg and Boris were not in the town when their uncles arrived, the citizens decided to resist. Oleg was willing to start negotiations with his uncles, but Boris refused his proposal. The decisive battle was fought "at a place near a village on the meadow of Nezhata"
[''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (year 6586), p. 166.] on 3 October.
He was defeated and escaped to Tmutarakan, where the
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
had him imprisoned and sent in chains to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. The emperor, who was a relative and ally of Vsevolod, exiled him to
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
. There he married a noble lady,
Theophano Mouzalonissa, who bore him several children.
Four years later, we again find him active in Tmutarakan, where he adopted the title "
archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
of
Khazaria
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
". In 1094, he returned with the
Kipchaks
The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Se ...
to Rus' and captured Chernihiv. There ensued a prolonged internecine struggle with his cousins
Sviatopolk and
Vladimir Monomakh
Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Мономахъ, ''Volodiměrŭ Monomakhŭ''; uk, Володимир Мономах, translit=Volodymyr Monomakh; russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name: ''Vasiliy'' ...
. One of the most prominent princes of Kievan period who never attained the Kievan throne, he died on August 1, 1115 and was buried in Chernihiv.
''
The Tale of Igor's Campaign
''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language.
The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaig ...
'' styles him ''Gorislavich'', poetically deriving his patronymic from the Russian word for sorrow. His descendants, known as Olgovichi, were archrivals of Vladimir's descendants (known as
Monomakhovichi
Monomakhovichi or House of Monomakh was a major princely branch of the Rurik dynasty, descendants of which managed to inherit practically all princely titles in the Grand Duchy of Kiev. The progenitor of the house is Vladimir II Monomakh (son of V ...
) in their struggle for supremacy in Rus'.
His son was
Igor II of Kiev
Igor II Olgovych (, ''Ihor II Ol'hovych'' in Ukrainian; , ''Igor II Ol'govich'' in Russian; died September 19, 1147), Prince of Chernigov and Grand Prince of Kiev (Kiev, 1146). Son of Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov.
He was the chosen success ...
.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*''The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text'' (Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor) (1953). Medieval Academy of America. .
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleg 01 Of Chernigov
11th-century births
1115 deaths
Princes of Vladimir
11th-century princes in Kievan Rus'
12th-century princes in Kievan Rus'
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
Princes of Tmutarakan
Olgovichi family
Rurik dynasty