Pereyaslavets ( East Slavic: ) or Preslavets ( bg, Преславец) was a trade city located near mouths of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. The city's name is derived from that of the Bulgarian capital of the time, Preslav, and means Little Preslav (). In Greek it was also known as Presthlavitza (). Several theories exist regarding the exact location of the city: either at Preslav or in its vicinity in Bulgaria, or at Isaccea,

Nufăru Nufăru is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders B ...

, Murighiol or Jurilovca in Romania. A thriving trade centre of the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Eur ...

, it was captured by Prince Svyatoslav of Kievan Rus in 968 (See Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria). During Svyatoslav's absence from the city following the Siege of Kiev (968), part of the citizens revolted and opened the gate to Bulgarian forces. According to

Vasily Tatischev Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (russian: Васи́лий Ники́тич Тати́щев) (19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a prominent Russian Imperial statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer, best remembered as the author of the f ...

, Svyatoslav's governor Volk managed to escape. Upon his return to Bulgaria, Svyatoslav promptly suppressed the rebellion and, to the chagrin of his mother and relatives, transferred the capital from Kiev to Pereyaslavets. 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 ...

(its record for year 969), Svyatoslav explained to his courtiers that it was to Pereyaslavets, the centre of his lands, that "all the riches would flow: gold, silks, wine, and various fruits from Greece, silver and horses from Hungary and Bohemia, and from Ruthenia furs, wax, honey, and ancient laws". Two years later, the town fell to the Byzantines, who had launched their own invasion of Bulgaria, and became the seat of a Byzantine ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...

''. Excavations have identified a late 10th century Byzantine fortress at the village of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

(known as Prislav until 1968), on the Sfântu Gheorghe branch of the Danube, just 11 km east of Tulcea, which may indicate it was the location of the Presthlavitza mentioned in Byzantine source.

References

See also