Kurya (

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

: Куря,

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, პაჭ ...

: *Kürä) was the name of a

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. T ...

and khan who allied with

Svyatoslav I of Kiev ; (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 his campaigns in the

Balkans 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 ...

. Later, after Svyatoslav's defeat by 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 ...

, Kurya ambushed and killed the Kievan grand prince at

Khortytsia Khortytsia ( uk, Хортиця, Hortycja, translit-std=ISO, ) is the largest island in the Dnieper river, and is long and up to wide. The island forms part of the Khortytsia National Park. This historic site is located within the city limi ...

. According to the '' Chronicle of Bygone Years'', Kurya had Svyatoslav's skull made into a goblet (a known practice in Eurasian nomadic cultures for brave foes), and gilded. Dates of his rule are unknown, but he was no longer khan somewhere around 988 CE, being succeeded by

Metiga Metiga was a Pecheneg ruler who allied himself with Vladimir I of Kiev around the year 988 CE. Metiga assisted with the capture of Cherson by Vladimir, who converted to Christianity shortly after the town's fall to his forces. He was preceded as ...

. It is also possible that he was the leader of the Pechenegs in the 968 siege of Kiev, but since a starting date is unknown, it is almost impossible to tell (and it could have been any of several other Pecheneg princes). Kurya appears as a villain in the 2006 animated film ''

Prince Vladimir Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

''.

Life

Very little is known of Kurya's life; most of what can be reasonably inferred about him is taken from educated guessing and very vague. Apparently, Kurya and his wife drank from the gilded chalice made from Svyatoslav's skull and prayed for a son as brave as him (it is unknown if he had any children). Only mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, Kurya was the most powerful of the Pecheneg princes - Rus' historians included only his name in the Chronicle (a history of the Rus') when it was being compiled. In the late 1520s, however, the Nikonian Chronicle was created. A compilation of Rus' chronicles, it mentioned Pecheneg prince Ildeya as coming into the service of Yaropolk I. Around 988, Pecheneg leader Metiga did the same for

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

- therefore Kurya was no longer khan by 988. However, what occurred after the death of Svyatoslav is not recorded, and Kurya's reign can be pinpointed to the 970s; this is not to say that he was not in power earlier, as there is no timeline for his rule until 988, when Metiga had definitely replaced him.

Death of Svyatoslav

The Pechenegs were allied with Byzantium during Kurya's life (having a complicated relationship with the Rus'). Svyatoslav's Rus' had invaded the Balkan Bulgars in 967 or 968, assisting the Byzantines. However, the Slavic grand prince's campaign had greatly exceeded the expectations of the Byzantines, under Emperor Nikephoros Phokas. Svyatoslav refused to turn over his territorial victories to the Empire (he had been paid 15,000 pounds of gold), thus the two parties dropped their alliance. After some fighting and disturbances, Svyatoslav's retreat point was besieged by the Byzantines. He surrendered and left the Balkans, relinquishing his territory while doing so. Having ceded his territories in 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 , p ...

region, Svyatoslav began to return to Kiev. Although he had been defeated, new Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes (who had assassinated and overthrown Phokas) worried that the peace treaty he had forced Svyatoslav to sign between the Empire and Rus' would not last. Therefore, at the behest of Byzantium, the Pechenegs (led by Kurya) ambushed Svyatoslav and his army when he attempted to cross the cataracts near

, at 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 an ...

, in March 972. His army took heavy losses, and the grand prince himself was slain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurya 10th century in Kievan Rus' Pechenegs Turkic rulers