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The Polans (, ''Poliany'', ''Polyane'', pl, Polanie), also Polianians, were an
East Slavic tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
between the 6th and the 9th century, which inhabited both sides of the
Dnieper river
}
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 ...
from
Liubech
Liubech ( uk, Любеч, russian: Любеч, pl, Lubecz) is an urban-type settlement, previously a small ancient town (first mentioned in 882) connected with many important events in the Principality of Chernigov since the times of Kievan Rus'. ...
to
Rodnia and also down the lower streams of the rivers
Ros',
Sula,
Stuhna
The Stuhna (), or Stugna, is a minor river in Ukraine, a right tributary of Dnieper River. Its length is 68 km.
The river was mentioned in the ''Tale of Igor's Campaign'' and was a place of the Battle of the Stuhna River.
Cities located on ...
,
Teteriv
The Teteriv () is a right tributary of the Dnieper River in Ukraine. It has a length of 365 km and a drainage basin of 15,300 km².
In the underflow the valley of the Teteriv in Polissia on up to 4 km, the width of the river widens ...
,
Irpin',
Desna and
Pripyat
Pripyat ( ; russian: При́пять), also known as Prypiat ( uk, При́пʼять, , ), is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 19 ...
. In the Early
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
there were two separate
Slavic tribes bearing the name of ''Polans'', the other being the
western Polans Polans may refer to two Slavic tribes:
* Polans (eastern), an East Slavic tribe which inhabited both sides of the Dnieper river from the 6th to the 9th century
* Polans (western)
The Western Polans (also known as Polanes, Polanians; , derived ...
(ancestors of the modern
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
also), a
West Slavic tribe.
History
The name derives from the
Old East Slavic
Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
word ''поле'', which means "field", because, 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 ...
'' they lived in the fields (). In roughly 862 the Polans were attached to
ancient 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 ...
.
According
Vikentiy Khvoyka
Vikentiy Viacheslavovych Khvoyka ( ua, Вікентій В'ячеславович Хвойка; russian: Викентий Вячеславович Хвойка; cz, Vincenc Častoslav Chvojka; born Čeněk Chvojka; 1850–1914) was a Czech-born Uk ...
, the Polanians were most likely descended from the
Trypillia culture. However, this is not taken seriously by most modern archeologists or professional historians anymore. It is considered a "
myth of ethnogenesis". Since Trypillian culture was not literate, this is pure speculation, based on '
Culture-historical archaeology
Culture-historical archaeology is an archaeological theory that emphasises defining historical societies into distinct ethnic and cultural groupings according to their material culture.
It originated in the late nineteenth century as cultural ev ...
', which was known to be the dubious form of archeology from Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union (sometimes called "Russian Archeology", but also based on "Ethnos Theory").
The land of the Polans was at the crossroads of territories inhabited by different Eastern Slavic tribes (such as the
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 ...
,
Radimichs
The Radimichs (also Radimichi) ( be, Радзiмiчы, russian: Радимичи, uk, Радимичі and pl, Radymicze) were an East Slavic tribe of the last several centuries of the 1st millennium, which inhabited upper east parts of the ...
,
Drehovian
The Dregoviches or Dregovichi ( Belarusian: дрыгавічы, ''dryhavičy'', ; russian: дреговичи, dregovichi; ua, дреговичі, drehovychi) were one of the tribal unions of Early East Slavs, and inhabited the territories ...
s and
Severians
The Severians or Severyans or Siverians ( be, Севяране; bg, Севери; russian: Северяне; uk, Сiверяни, translit=Siveriany) were a tribe or tribal confederation of early East Slavs occupying areas to the east of the mi ...
) and connected them all with water arteries. An important
trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...
, the
Road from the Varangians to the Greeks, passed along the Dnieper through the land of the Polans and connected Northern
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
with the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
and the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. In the 9th and 10th centuries the Polans conducted well-developed
arable land
Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...
farming
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
cattle-breeding
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, start ...
,
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, wild-hive
beekeeping
Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...
and various
handicraft
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
s such as
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
ing,
casting
Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...
,
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
,
goldsmith
A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...
ing, etc. Thousands of (pre-Polan)
kurgan
A kurgan is a type of tumulus 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 much of Central Asi ...
s, found by
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s in the Polan region, indicate that that land could support a relatively high
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
. The Polans lived in small families in semi dug-outs ("earth-houses") and wore homespun clothes and modest jewellery. Before converting to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, the inhabitants used to burn their dead and to erect kurgan-like embankments over them.
In the 860s, the
Varangians
The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';[Varangian]
" Online Etymo ...
(
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 ...
) arrived and organized a few successful military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire, which eventually defeated them and made peace with them, the
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
and the
Polochans
Polochans ( be, Палачане, russian: Полочане) were a tribe of early East Slavs, who inhabited the area in the middle of the Western Dvina in the 9th century. Alternative meaning: inhabitants of Polotsk.
They are mentioned in the '' ...
.
The chronicles repeatedly note that socio-economic relations in the Polan communities were highly developed compared to the neighboring tribes. In the 880s
Oleg of Novgorod
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. He later con ...
conquered the land of the Polans.
The chronicles name the Polans among the (legendary) earlier founders of
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 ...
(see
Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv
Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv ( uk, Кий, Щек, Хорив ; orv, Кии, Щекъ, Хоривъ) were three legendary brothersoften mentioned along with their sister Lybid ( uk, Либідь, links=no ; orv, Лыбѣдь, links=no)who, accordin ...
).
According to chronicalized legends, the largest cities of the eastern Polans were
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 ...
,
Pereiaslav
Pereiaslav ( uk, Перея́слав, translit=Pereiaslav, yi, פּרעיאַסלעוו, Periyoslov) is a historical city in the Boryspil Raion, Kyiv Oblast (Oblast, province) of central Ukraine, located near the confluence of Alta River, Alta ...
,
Rodnia,
Vyshhorod
Vyshhorod ( uk, Ви́шгород) is a city in Kyiv Oblast (region) in central Ukraine, situated immediately north of Kyiv city, the national capital, and part of the Kyiv metropolitan area. It is on the right (western) bank of the Dnieper r ...
,
Bilhorod Kyivskyi
Bilhorod Kyivskyi or Belgorod Kievsky ( uk, Білгород-Київський, Bilhorod-Kyivskyi; russian: Белгород Киевский, Belgorod Kievsky) was a legendary city-castle located in Kievan Rus' that was located on the right ban ...
(now
Bilohorodka
Bilohorodka (Ukrainian: ''Білогородка'') is a village in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast of north Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Bilohorodka rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine, formed on 12 June 12 2020 and including nine ...
village at the
Irpin
Irpin ( uk, Ірпі́нь, ) is a Hero City of Ukraine located on the Irpin River in Bucha Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) right next to the city of Kyiv in northern Ukraine. Irpin hosts the administration of Irpin urban hromada, one of the hroma ...
river) and
Kaniv
Kaniv ( uk, Канів, ) city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv urb ...
. In the 10th century, the term "Polans" was virtually out of use, replaced by the name "Rus", with eastern Polans as a tribe being last mentioned in a chronicle of 944.
[П. П. Толочко, "Роль Киева в эпоху формирования Древнерусского государства," n:''Становление раннефеодальных славянских государств'', Киев, 1972, p. 129; Б. А. Рыбаков, ''Киевская Русь и русские княжества XII–XIII'' вв., Москва 1982, p. 98, 99; М. Ю. Брайчевский, ''Восточнославянские союзы племен в эпоху формирования древнерусского государства'', n:Древнерусское государство и славяне, Минск 1983, p. 102-111.]
At one stage the Polanians were subjugated by 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 ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Severians
The Severians or Severyans or Siverians ( be, Севяране; bg, Севери; russian: Северяне; uk, Сiверяни, translit=Siveriany) were a tribe or tribal confederation of early East Slavs occupying areas to the east of the mi ...
*
List of Medieval Slavic tribes
This is a list of Slavic peoples and Slavic tribes reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500.
Ancestors
*Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers)
** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of Bal ...
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polans (Eastern)
East Slavic tribes
Ethnic groups in Ukraine