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Boniak, Bonyak or Maniac, also known as Boniak the Mangy ( rus, Шелудивый Боняк), was "one of the most prominent
Cuman The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
chieftains" in the late and the early . He headed a powerful Cuman tribe or clan that inhabited the steppes to west 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 ...
. He supported the Byzantines against 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 ...
in the
Battle of Levounion The Battle of Levounion was the first decisive Byzantine victory of the Komnenian restoration. On April 29, 1091, an invading force of Pechenegs was crushed by the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire under Alexios I Komnenos and his Cuman a ...
in 1091. He defeated
Coloman, King of Hungary Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish ( hu, Könyves Kálmán; hr, Koloman; sk, Koloman Učený; 10703February 1116) was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younge ...
in 1097 or 1099.


Origins

Boniak's descent is uncertain. Svetlana Pletneva associates him with the Burch tribe, Peter B. Golden with the Ölberli tribe of the "Wild Cumans", and
Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak ( uk, Омелян Йосипович Пріцак; 7 April 1919, Luka, Sambir County, West Ukrainian People's Republic – 29 May 2006, Boston) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvar ...
with the Qay clan. Boniak's nicknamethe Mangymay show that he was born with the
caul A caul or cowl ( la, Caput galeatum, literally, "helmeted head") is a piece of membrane that can cover a newborn's head and face. Birth with a caul is rare, occurring in fewer than 1 in 80,000 births. The caul is harmless and is immediately removed ...
, according to the Hungarian historian Szilvia Kovács. In
Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
's ''
Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...
'', he is called Maniac. Boniak's exact position cannot be determined, but his career shows that he must have been the head of powerful Cuman tribal federation, tribe, or clan. When pursuing Boniak,
Sviatopolk II of Kiev Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich ( orv, Свѧтополкъ Изѧславичь; rus, Святополк Изяславич, Svyatopolk Izyaslavich; uk, Святополк Ізяславич; November 8, 1050 – April 16, 1113) was supreme ruler of ...
and
Vladimir Monomach Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Мономахъ, ''Volodiměrŭ Monomakhŭ''; uk, Володимир Мономах, translit=Volodymyr Monomakh; russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name: ''Vasiliy'' ...
"advanced to the Bug and later beyond the , according to Vladimir's ''Testament'', which suggests that Boniak's people dwelled between the rivers
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 ...
and
Southern Bug , ''Pivdennyi Buh'' , name_etymology = , image = Sunset S Bug Vinnitsa 2007 G1.jpg , image_size = 270 , image_caption = Southern Bug River in the vicinity of Vinnytsia, Ukraine , map = PietinisBug ...
or
Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...
. His participation in military campaigns in the
Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
also shows that his people lived near the
Lower 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 ...
.


Career


First records

Along with Tugorkan, Boniak, or Maniak, was one of the Cumans' "outstanding leaders", named by Anna Komnene, who came to assist the
Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
against 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 ...
. The united Byzantine and Cuman army annihilated the Pechenegs in the
Battle of Levounion The Battle of Levounion was the first decisive Byzantine victory of the Komnenian restoration. On April 29, 1091, an invading force of Pechenegs was crushed by the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire under Alexios I Komnenos and his Cuman a ...
on 29 April 1091. Historian
Florin Curta Florin Curta (born January 15, 1965) is a Romanian-born American archaeologist and historian who is a Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Florida. Biography Curta works in the field of the Balkan history and is ...
writes that the two Cuman chieftains plundered the eastern regions of the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
on their return to the
Desht-i Kypchak The name Cumania originated as the Latin exonym for the Cuman–Kipchak confederation, which was a tribal confederation in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe, between the 10th and 13th centuries. The confederation was dominated by two Tu ...
, or Cuman steppes. Pletneva says that Boniak and Tugorkan together supported the pretender Pseudo-Diogenes against Emperor Alexios I in 1094, but Anna Komnene did not refer to Boniak's participation in the fights.


Wars in Rus'

The ''
Russian 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 ...
'' recorded two events connected to Boniak under the year 6604, that is 1095 or 1096 AD. First Boniak and his Cumans "appeared before and while ravaging the environs, they burned the prince's palace at
Berestovo The Church of the Saviour at Berestovo ( uk, Церква Спаса на Берестові, ''Tserkva Spasa na Berestovi''; russian: Це́рковь Спа́са на Бе́рестове, ''Tserkov’ Spasa na Berestove'') is a church locate ...
" around 24 May. On 20 July, "Boniak, that godless, mangy thief and bandit, came suddenly to Kiev for the second time"''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (year 6604), p. 183. and plundered three monasteries, including the
Cave Monastery A cave monastery is a monastery built in caves, with possible outside facilities. The 3rd-century monk St. Antony the Great, known as the founder of monasticism Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monach ...
. During the second campaign, the Cumans "planted two standards before the monastery gates", which may show that they were under the command of two chieftains, according to Kovács. Kovács writes that Boniak's action preceded the campaign that Sviatopolk II and Vladimir Monomach launched against
Oleg I of Chernigov Oleg Svyatoslavich (russian: Олег Святославич; 1052 – August 1115) was a Rurikid prince whose equivocal adventures ignited political unrest in Kievan Rus' at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. Oleg was a younger son ...
. According to
Simon Franklin Simon Franklin is Professor of Slavonic Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is a Fellow of Clare College. In 2007 he was awarded the Lomonosov Gold Medal by the Russian Academy of Sciences for outstanding achievements in research in R ...
and
Jonathan Shepard Jonathan Shepard is a British historian specialising in early medieval Russia, the Caucasus, and the Byzantine Empire. He is regarded as a leading authority in Byzantine studies and on the Kievan Rus. He specialises in diplomatic and archaeologica ...
, Boniak invaded only after Sviatopolk and his army left Kiev for a campaign against
Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative ...
(Chernihiv in Ukraine). Kovács says that the joint campaign of Sviatopolk and Vladimir Monomach against Boniak's land over the river Ros' that Monomach mentioned in his ''Testament'' seems to have been a retaliatory action after Bonia's plundering raids in Kiev. Sviatopolk of Kiev expelled David Igorevich, Prince of Volhynia, from his principality in the late 1090s. David Igorevich fled to the Cumans and persuaded Bonyak and another Cuman chieftain, Altunopa, to join him to fight against Sviatopolk who had sought assistance from
Coloman, King of Hungary Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish ( hu, Könyves Kálmán; hr, Koloman; sk, Koloman Učený; 10703February 1116) was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younge ...
. On the eve of the battle against the Hungarians, Boniak "rode away from the troops" and "began to howl like a wolf, till first one and then many wolves answered him with their howls", according to the ''Russian Primary Chronicle''. On his return, Boniak predicted to David Igorevich that they would defeat the Hungarians in the battle. The Cumans annihilated the Hungarian army and seized the royal treasury. According to the Hungarian ''
Illuminated Chronicle The ''Chronicon Pictum'' (Latin for "illustrated chronicle", English: ''Illuminated Chronicle'' or ''Vienna Illuminated Chronicle'', hu, Képes Krónika, sk, Obrázková kronika, german: Illustrierte Chronik, also referred to as ''Chronica Hung ...
'', " rely did Hungarians suffer such slaughter as in this battle". However, David Igorevich could not reconquer Volhynia and was again forced to seek refuge among the Cumans. Boniak again joined them and their united armies seized
Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...
and
Volodymyr-Volynskyi Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, from 1944 to 2021 Volodymyr-Volynskyi ( uk, Володи́мир-Воли́нський)) is a small city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Volodymyr R ...
. According to the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', these events occurred in 1097, but many historians (including Kovács and Martin Dimnik) say that the fights took place two years later. The ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' recorded that five Rus' princesSviatopolk II of Kiev, Vladimir Monomach,
Davyd Sviatoslavich Davyd Sviatoslavich was the ruler of Murom and Chernigov. The date of his birth is uncertain. Before his father's death was appointed to the Pereyaslav Principality, however in 1076 he ran to Murom which was located as far away as possible from ...
,
Oleg Sviatoslavich Oleg Svyatoslavich (russian: Олег Святославич; 1052 – August 1115) was a Rurikid prince whose equivocal adventures ignited political unrest in Kievan Rus' at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. Oleg was a younger son ...
and Yaroslav Sviatoslavichassembled on the left bank of the Dnieper near Kiev in 1101. On learning of the princes' meeting, all Cuman chieftains sent envoys to them "with propositions of peace". The princes and the Cuman chieftains met at Sakov on the Dnieper and made peace on 15 September. Two years later Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Vladimir Monomach and Davyd Sviatoslavich invaded the Cuman steppes and routed a large Cuman army, killing 20 Cuman chieftains. According to the Hypatian version of the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', Boniak made an incursion into the region of Zarub in the
Principality of Pereyaslavl The Principality of Pereyaslavl ( uk, Переяславське князівство) was a regional principality of Kievan Rus' from the end of 9th century until 1323, based in the city of Pereyaslavl (now ''Pereiaslav'') on the Trubizh Riv ...
, fighting with the
Torks Torks (Cyrillic: торки, literally " Turks", also known as Torkils) were a Medieval Turkic tribe of Oghuz and/or Kipchak origins. The Torks, alongsides Kipchaks (e.g. Berendei), and other tribes like Ulichi, Pechenegs, etc., formed the Chorn ...
and
Berendei The Berendei or Berindei (Romanian: ''Berindei''; Ukrainian: ''Берендеї'', ''Berendeyi''; Russian: ''берендеи'', ''berendei'', ''перендеи'', ''perendei'', ''перендичи''; in Hungarian: ''berendek''; in Polish: ''Be ...
in the winter of 1105 and 1106. The ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' recorded that Boniak "raided and seized many horses in the vicinity of in May 1107. During the summer, he returned accompanied by Sharukan and other Cuman chieftains and laid siege to Lubno on the
Sula River The Sula ( uk, Сула́; russian: Су́ла) is a left tributary of the Dnieper with a total length of 363 km and a drainage basin of 19,600 km². The river flows into the Dnieper through the Kremenchuk Reservoir, with which it form ...
. Vladimir Monomach, Prince of Pereyaslavl, persuaded Svyatopolk II of Kiev and other Rus' princes to come to fight against the invaders. Their unified armies unexpectedly crossed the Sula, forcing the terrified Cumans to lift the siege and leave their camp on 12 August. According to an alternative narration, recorded in Vladimir Monomach's ''Testament'', the united forces of the Rus' princes routed Boniak and his Cuman allies on the banks of the Sula in summer, and Monomach alone defeated Boniak at Lubno alone only in 1108. Svyatoplok II of Kiev died on 16 April 1113 or 1114. After the Cumans learned of Svyatopluk's death, the Cumans marched as far as Vyr' River. The Cumans were under the command of Aepa and Boniak, according to the ''Testament'' of Vladimir Monomach who succeeded Svyatopolk in Kiev. Monomach wrote that he "advanced to meet them as far as"
Romny Romny ( uk, Ромни́, ) is a city in northern Ukraine, Ukrainian Sumy Oblast. It is located on the Romen (river), Romen River. Romny serves as the administrative centre of Romny Raion. It is administratively incorporated as a City of region ...
with his sons and Oleg Sviatoslavich, forcing the Cumans to flee. Boniak is often represented as a sorcerer in Rus' folklore.Encyclopedia of Ukraine: Cumans
/ref>


See also

*
Könchek (Cuman) Könchek (also spelled Konchak, Könchek, Končak, in Russian / Ukrainian: Кончак; died in 1187) was a Polovtsian khan of 12th century. Biography Grandson of Sharukan and son of Otrok, he unified the Polovts tribes in the second hal ...


References


Sources


Primary sources

*''Anna Comnena: The Alexiad'' (Translated by E. R. A. Sewter) (1969). Penguin Books. . *''The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle:'' Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing. . *''The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text'' (Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor) (1953). Medieval Academy of America. .


Secondary sources

* * * * * * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boniak Cumans History of Kyiv