Sviatopolk I Of Kiev
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Sviatopolk I Vladimirovich (''Sviatopolk the Accursed'', the ''Accursed Prince''; orv, Свѧтоплъкъ, translit=Svętoplŭkŭ; russian: Святополк Окаянный; uk, Святополк Окаянний; c. 980 – 1019) was the
Kniaz' , or (Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependin ...
( Turov) of Turov (988–1015) and Velykyi Kniaz or
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 ...
(1015–1019) whose paternity and guilt in the murder of his brothers are disputed. The Svyatopolk-Mirsky family of
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 ...
origin attribute their descent from Sviatopolk, although this claim may be dubious.


Early life

Sviatopolk's mother was a Greek nun captured by
Sviatoslav I ; (943 – 26 March 972), also spelled Svyatoslav, was Grand Prince of Kiev famous for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers of Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. H ...
in
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and married to his lawful heir Yaropolk I, who became Prince of
Rus Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...
in 972. In 980, Yaropolk's brother
Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
had him murdered, and the new sovereign married his predecessor's wife, who gave birth to a child. Thus, Sviatopolk may have been the eldest of Vladimir's sons, although his parentage has been questioned. When Sviatopolk was eight years old, Vladimir put him in charge of Turov and later arranged his marriage with the daughter of Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. The young princess came to Turov together with
Reinbern Reinbern (-1013/15) was the only bishop of the short-lived Diocese of Kołobrzeg (1000-~1007). Reinbern was born in the Hassegau area of the medieval Duchy of Saxony.David Warner, ''Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg'', Manch ...
, the
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of Kolberg (now
Kołobrzeg Kołobrzeg ( ; csb, Kòlbrzég; german: Kolberg, ), ; csb, Kòlbrzég , is a port city in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in north-western Poland with about 47,000 inhabitants (). Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast o ...
). Dissatisfied with Vladimir and encouraged by his own wife and Reinbern, Sviatopolk began preparations for war against Vladimir, probably counting on support from his father-in-law. Vladimir soon discovered Sviatopolk's intentions, however, and threw him, his wife and Reinbern in prison, where Reinbern died.


Biography according to domestic sources

Not long before Vladimir's death, Sviatopolk was freed from prison. In 1015, Sviatopolk's retinue concealed Vladimir's death from him to prevent him from claiming the Kievan throne. When Sviatopolk learned of Vladimir's demise, he seized power in Kiev almost immediately. The citizens of Kiev did not show much sympathy for Sviatopolk and, therefore, he decided to distribute presents in order to win them over. Then, he decided to rid himself of three of Vladimir's sons, Boris, Gleb, and Sviatoslav, whose claims for the Kievan throne threatened his power. Boris presented the most danger to him because he had been in charge of Vladimir's
druzhina In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna ( Slovak and cz, družina; pl, drużyna; ; , ''druzhýna'' literally a "fellowship") was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called ''knyaz ...
(personal guards) and army, and enjoyed the support of the citizens. He sent the
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
s of Vyshgorod to execute Boris. Boris and his manservant were stabbed to death when sleeping in a tent. The prince was discovered still breathing when his body was being transported in a bag to Kiev, but the
Varangians The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...
put him out of his misery with the thrust of a lance. Sviatopolk's cold-blooded reprisal earned him the nickname of the Accursed. The news of this triple murder reached another son of Vladimir, Yaroslav, Prince 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 ...
, who decided to go to war against Sviatopolk with the support from the citizens of Novgorod and the
Varangian The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...
s. The battle took place in 1016 not far from
Lubech 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'. ...
, near 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 ...
. Sviatopolk was defeated and fled to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. In 1018, he returned to Rus', defeated Yaroslav with help from his father-in-law and seized Kiev. Bolesław of Poland and his army remained in Rus' for several months, but later returned to Poland, seizing some Cherven towns on the way. Meanwhile, the
posadnik Posadnik (Cyrillic: посадник, (literally: по-садник - ''pre-sident'') was the mayor in some East Slavic cities or towns. Most notably, the posadnik (equivalent to a stadtholder, burgomeister, or podestà in the medieval west) was ...
Konstantin Dobrynich Konstantin Dobrynich (died 1022) was an 11th-century posadnik of Novgorod. According to the Novgorod chronicles, he was the son of Dobrynya and wielded great influence at the court of his own cousin, Yaroslav the Wise. The time at which he became ...
and other citizens of Novgorod persuaded Yaroslav to go to war against Kiev once again. Sviatopolk was defeated and fled to the
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
s. Soon he returned with the
Pecheneg 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 ...
army and attacked Yaroslav on the
Alta River Alta River ( uk, Альта, Ільтиця, Alta, Iltytsia) is a small river in Ukraine and is a right tributary of the Trubizh. The ancient town of Pereiaslav is situated between the Trubizh and Alta rivers. The river is considered the place ...
, but was once again defeated and fled to Poland, dying on his way there in July 1019. Sviatopolk may have been murdered by a descendant of Valuk Conqueror (Wallux dux Winedorum) who in 1018 helped him and his father-in-law Bolesław I in expedition against Yaroslav.


Biography according to foreign sources

During the last century, the traditional account of Sviatopolk's career has been somewhat modified. It has been argued that it was Boris who succeeded Vladimir in Kiev, while Sviatopolk was still in prison. One
Norse saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Play ...
called '' Eymund's saga'' (a part of '' Yngvars saga víðförla''), with remarkable details, puts on Yaroslav the blame of his brother Burizlaf's murder. This Burizlaf, however, may be Sviatopolk (whose troops were commanded by the Polish king Bolesław; the latter name is also rendered as Burizlaf in some sagas) as well as Boris. Therefore, it has been suggested that Sviatopolk ascended the throne after Boris's assassination and tried to fend off Yaroslav's attacks as well as to punish his agents guilty of Boris's murder. The chronicle of
Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...
, who died in 1018, could have been regarded as the only contemporary and unbiased account of events, save that Thietmar's data may have been supplied by Sviatopolk himself during his brief exile at the Polish court. Unfortunately it can be interpreted ambiguously as far as the question of Sviatopolk's guilt is concerned. One place in his chronicle can be interpreted as Sviatopolk escaping from Kiev to Poland ''immediately'' after his father's death. But Thietmar states that Bolesław supported his son-in-law against Yaroslav in 1017, which is the date, 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 ...
, of Sviatopolk's first defeat by Yaroslav. Preparing a campaign against Kiev, Bolesław abruptly stopped a successful war against the German Emperor Henry II. So, it is unlikely that Sviatopolk had been present at his court since 1015, which is often supposed by the historians who consider Yaroslav guilty of Boris and Gleb's murders.


Archeological record

The I-S2077 subclade of
Y-DNA The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...
haplogroup I-Z63 was sampled on an elite warrior buried in Bodzia (
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
) in a rich burial from ca. 1010-1020 AD. All artefacts there indicate a strong relation to 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 ...
ruling elite, so this man who probably succumbed to combat wounds, was in a close relationship with Sviatopolk. The cemetery in Bodzia is exceptional in terms of Scandinavian and Kievan Rus' links. The Bodzia man (sample VK157, or burial E864/I) was not a simple warrior from the princely retinue, but he belonged to the princely family himself. His burial is the richest one in the whole cemetery, and strontium analysis of his tooth enamel shows he was not local. It is assumed that he came to Poland with Sviatopolk, and met a violent death in combat. This corresponds to the events of 1018 AD when Sviatopolk himself disappeared after having retreated from Kiev to Poland. It cannot be excluded that the Bodzia man was Sviatopolk himself.


See also

*
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 ...
*
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 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sviatopolk 01 Of Kiev 980s births 1019 deaths 11th-century princes in Kievan Rus' Grand Princes of Kiev Rurikids Rurik dynasty Princes of Turov Eastern Orthodox monarchs Children of Vladimir the Great