Oleg ( orv, Ѡлегъ, Ольгъ; non, Helgi; died 912), also known as Oleg the Wise (russian: Олег Вещий, lit=Oleg the Prophet; uk, Олег Віщий), was a Varangian prince of the Rus' who was ruler of
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
. He later conquered
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, thereby laying the foundations of the
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 ...
state.
According to the ''
Primary Chronicle
The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
'', Oleg succeeded his kinsman
Rurik
Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...
as the ruler of Novgorod in 879. In 882, he took control of Smolensk, and then Kiev after killing
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 and the Nikon Chronicle, were the earliest known ''purportedly Norse'' rulers of Kiev.
Primary Chronicle
Th ...
, which he proclaimed as his new capital. He subdued many of the East Slavic tribes to his rule, extending his control from Novgorod to the south along the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or 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. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
river. Oleg also launched a successful
attack
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
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* Attack (computing)
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Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* '' Attack No. 1'', comic an ...
. He died in 912 and was succeeded by Rurik's son,
Igor
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling
* ...
.
This traditional dating has been challenged by some historians, who point out that it is inconsistent with such other sources as the Schechter Letter, which mentions the activities of a certain
khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Mongolian:; or ''Khagan''; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣 ), or , tr, Kağan or ; ug, قاغان, Qaghan, Mongolian Script: ; or ; fa, خاقان ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan ...
HLGW ( he, הלגו usually transcribed ''Helgu'') of Rus' as late as the 940s, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Romanus I. The nature of Oleg's relationship with the Rurikid ruling family of the Rus', and specifically with his successor Igor of Kiev, is a matter of much controversy among historians.
Oleg of the Rus' chronicles
According to the ''
Primary Chronicle
The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
'', Oleg was a relative (likely brother-in-law) of the first ruler,
Rurik
Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...
, and was entrusted by Rurik to take care of both his kingdom and his young son Igor. Oleg gradually took control of the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or 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. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...
cities, seizing the power in
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
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 and the Nikon Chronicle, were the earliest known ''purportedly Norse'' rulers of Kiev.
Primary Chronicle
Th ...
, and naming Kiev the capital of his newly created state
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 ...
. The new capital was a convenient place to launch a raid against
Drevlians
The Drevlians ( uk, Древляни, Drevliany, russian: Древля́не, Drevlyane) were a tribe of Early East Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries, which inhabited the territories of Polesia and right-bank Ukraine, west of the eas ...
pay tribute to Kiev. In 907, the Drevlians took part in the Kievan military campaign against the Byzantine Empire.
According to the chronicle, Oleg, assaulting the city, ordered to wait for favorable wind with sails spread at some other point. When wind arose, it drove the wheeled boats towards the city through the land. The citizens were forced to start a peace negotiation. Having fixed his shield to the gate of the imperial capital, Oleg won a favourable trade treaty, which eventually was of great benefit to both nations. Although Byzantine sources did not record these hostilities, the text of the treaty survives in the ''Chronicle''.
The ''Primary Chronicles brief account of Oleg's life contrasts with other early sources, specifically the Novgorod First Chronicle, which states that Oleg was not related to Rurik, and was rather a
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n client-
prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
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
Barrow may refer to:
Places
England
* Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area
** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency)
* Barrow, Cheshire
* Barrow, Gloucestershire
* Barro ...
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 (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
in his
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
"The Song of the Wise Oleg," it was prophesied by the pagan priests (''
volkhv
A volkhv or volhv (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e. shaman, gothi or magi, mage) is a priest in Slavic paganism, ancient Slavic religions and contemporary Slavic Native ...
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 theme in
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
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.
In Scandinavian traditions, this legend lived on in the saga of Orvar-Odd.
Oleg of the Schechter Letter
According to the Primary Chronicle, Oleg died in 912 and his successor, Igor of Kiev, ruled from then until his assassination in 945. The Schechter Letter, a document written by a Jewish Khazar, a contemporary of Romanus I Lecapenus, describes the activities of a Rus' warlord named HLGW (), usually transcribed as "Helgu". For years many scholars disregarded or discounted the Schechter Letter 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 Cen ...
have suggested that the Schechter Letter's account is corroborated by various other Russian chronicles, and suggests a struggle within the early Rus' polity between factions loyal to Oleg and to the
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 ...
Igor
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling
* ...
, 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
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
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
Rurik
Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...
, but rather that there is a lost generation between the legendary Varangian lord and his documented successors.
Of particular interest is the fact that the Schechter Letter account of Oleg's death (namely, that he fled to and raided FRS, tentatively identified with Persia, and was slain there) bears remarkable parallels to the account of Arab historians such as
Ibn Miskawayh
Ibn Miskawayh ( fa, مُسْکُـوْيَه Muskūyah, 932–1030), full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Miskawayh was a Persian chancery official of the Buyid era, and philosopher and historian from Parandak, Iran. As ...
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
In contrast to Zuckerman's version, the ''Primary Chronicle'' and the later ''
Kiev Chronicle
The ''Kievan Chronicle'' or ''Kyivan Chronicle''; is an Old East Slavic chronicle of Kievan Rus'. It was written around 1200 in Vydubychi monastery as a continuation of the '' Primary Chronicle''. It is known from a single copy in the 15th-cent ...
'' 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, it has been proposed that the pagan monarch-priests of Rus' used the hereditary title of ''helgu'', standing for "holy" in the Norse language, 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
''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...
''. Regrettably, the ''Primary Chronicle'' does not specify the relations between minor Rurikid princes active during the period, although the names Rurik, Oleg and Igor were recorded among the late-10th-century and 11th-century Rurikids.
Georgy Vernadsky 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, whose ruling dynasty maintained especially close contacts with Khazaria, as the findings at the
Black Grave
The Black Grave ( uk, Чорна Могила , translit=Chorna mohyla) 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 ...
, a large royal kurgan excavated near Chernigov, seem to testify.Petrukhin 226–228.
Legacy
In
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, there is Olehivska Street, and in the city of
Kremenchuk
Kremenchuk (; uk, Кременчу́к, Kremenchuk ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnipro River. The city serves as the administrative center of the Kremenchuk Raion (district) in Poltava Oblast (pr ...
, there is Prince Oleg Lane.
In popular culture
*Oleg appears briefly in the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
film ''The Legend of Princess Olga'' (1983), played by Russian-Ukrainian actor
Nikolay Olyalin
Nikolay Vladimiriovich Olyalin (russian: Николай Владимирович Олялин; 22 May 1941 - 17 November 2009) was a Soviet-Ukrainian actor of Russian ethnicity.
Biography
Early life
As a child, Olyalin took drama classes at schoo ...
Honfoglalás
The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, also known as the Hungarian conquest or the Hungarian land-taking (), was a series of historical events ending with the settlement of the Hungarians in Central Europe in the late 9th and early 10t ...
'' (1996), a biopic on
Árpád
Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or ''kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' gy ...
A Viking Saga
''A Viking Saga'' is a 2008 film about the early life and rise to power of Oleg of Novgorod, the Rus prince who attacked and conquered Kiev in AD 882 from the Rus war-lords Askold and Dir, before moving his capital there.
Cast
* Ken Vedsegaard a ...
'' (2008) tells of the early life and career of Oleg. Oleg is played by
Ken Vedsegaard
Ken Vedsegaard (born 14 October 1972) is a Danish actor.
Biography
Son of a restaurateur and raised in Copenhagen, Vedsegaard trained at the Skuespillerskolen at Aarhus Teater between 1996 and 2000. He is currently known for his role as Jesper B ...
Kim Sønderholm
Kim Sønderholm (or Kim S. Andersen / Kim Andersen) is a Danish actor, film producer and radio personality.
By the age of 12, Kim was familiar with the media business. He was started as a weekly co-host at a local radio station in his hometown, ...
as Dir and
Peter Gantzler
Peter Gantzler (born 28 September 1958) is a Danish actor. He is perhaps best known for his parts in ''Taxa'' and ''Italian for Beginners''.
Biography
Peter Gantzler originally studied Danish at the University of Copenhagen, but changed to the D ...
as Askold, the primary antagonist.
*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 po ...
of ''
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...
'' (2019–2020). In this production, Askold and Dir are portrayed as his brothers. He is played by Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky
*Prince Oleg appears in Russian
docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event".
Docudramas typic ...
''The Rurikids. The story of the first dynasty'' (2019), which tells the story of the Rurik dynasty (9th–16th centuries). He is portrayed by Russian actor Dmitry Moguchev.
*Oleg appears in the popular video game Crusader Kings III, where he is Rurik Rurikid's son named Helgi 'The Seer' who is of the Slovianska Pravda faith as opposed to Rurik's Ásatrú (Norse Pagan) faith.
See also
*
List of Ukrainian rulers
This is a list that encompasses and includes all reigning leaders/rulers in the history of Ukraine.
This page includes the titles of the Grand Prince of Kyiv, Grand Prince of Chernigov, Grand Prince of Pereyaslavl, Grand Prince of Galicia ...
*
List of Russian rulers
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mosco ...
References
Sources
*
Artamonov, Mikhail
Mikhail Illarionovich Artamonov (russian: Михаил Илларионович Артамонов; in the village of Vygolovo, Tver Governorate, now Molokovsky District, Tver Oblast - July 31, 1972 in LeningradDunlop, 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
Norman Golb (15 January 1928 – 29 December 2020) was the Ludwig Rosenberger Professor in Jewish History and Civilization at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
Golb was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on 15 January 1 ...
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
.''
D. S. Margoliouth
David Samuel Margoliouth, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (; 17 October 1858, in London – 22 March 1940, in London) was an English oriental studies, orientalist. He was briefly active as a priest in the Church of England. He was Laudian P ...
, 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.
* Parkomenko V.A. ''У истоков русской государственности''. Leningrad, 1924.
* 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
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling
* ...
." ''Revue des Études Byzantines'' 53 (1995): 237–270.
* Vernadsky, Georgy. ''Kievan Rus''. Moscow, 1996.