Where was the third political center of the Eastern Slavs located? Could it have been Polotsk?
Arabic rebus
Arab authors, referring to the work of Al-Balkhi, who wrote at the beginning of the 10th century, reported about three centers of Russia - Slavia, Kuyavia and Artania. As for the first two, everything is pretty transparent. These are Priilmenye and the middle Dnieper region, respectively. But where the mysterious Artania (or Arsania) was located is not known exactly. Historians have broken many copies on this issue.
In the academic environment, there is now a consensus on the existence of two political centers of early Russia. Their unification took place, according to the "Tale of Bygone Years", under Oleg. The northern center included such cities as Staraya Ladoga, Novgorod (and its predecessor), Pskov, Stary Izborsk (Truvorovo settlement) …
Promotional video:
Ladoga
Staraya Ladoga claims the laurels of the most ancient Russian city. The remains of the dwellings found there are dated to 753 AD. e., but the settlement itself could be a little older.
The shovel and brush of archaeologists have uncovered traces of the turbulent history of this city.
In the middle of the eighth century, a Scandinavian colony arose there, which soon disappeared. The city was settled by the Slavs. Around 840, the Normans reappeared in Ladoga. Who were they? Merchants, warriors, pirates?
The ash horizon of the 860s shows that the city was destroyed and burned. Perhaps these events were reflected in the "Legend of the vocation of the Varangians."
Rurik's power, according to the PVL, also extended to Polotsk and Rostov, where he placed his people. Which is logical, since the tribal union of the Krivichi, which occupied the territory from the Western Dvina to the Upper Volga, was subject to him.
South
The southern center is connected with Kiev. According to archaeological excavations that have been carried out in recent decades, it was formed as a city at the end of the 9th century. It was then that fortifications appeared on Starokievskaya Mountain, which were created by the Slavs who came from the west.
The earliest dendrodate of Kiev is 887.
Excavations at the Postal Square in Kiev.
By the way, this city was not the only one founded then in the region. A little further south, in the Kanevsky district on the banks of the Dnieper, in the second half of the 9th century, another one was founded. But in the middle of the X century, it burned down and was revived only at the end of the XI century under the name Zarub. History in him was also seething …
Third center?
A couple of years ago, one of the Belarusian historians, a university teacher, made a statement that Polotsk was the third center of East Slavic statehood.
Was there?
The early history of the city is hazy. PVL mentions that Polotsk was in the possession of Rurik, and in the 960s Rogvolod ruled there. Who he was is not exactly clear.
Therefore - "your word, comrade archaeologist!"
Map of medieval Polotsk (from a school textbook on the history of Belarus for grade 6).
The results of the excavations are quite discouraging.
The brown speck at the top on the presented map, near which is written "Settlement" - is Polotsk in the 9th-10th centuries. Its dimensions are 73 by 75 meters (about half a hectare). According to archaeological reports, the height of the rampart until the middle of the 10th century was about one and a half meters. Excavations also recorded traces of burnt logs or boards on the crest of the shaft.
Perhaps these are traces of the storming of the city by the army of Prince Vladimir. Or traces of capture by Rogvolod? Alas, the conqueror did not leave an autograph.
In the second half of the 10th - beginning of the 11th century, the rampart of the settlement was repeatedly poured and reached about three meters in height.
No "classic set" of Scandinavian finds typical for a number of Russian cities has been found here. This more than modest size town does not match the third center of the Eastern Slavs. In neighboring Vitebsk, traces of the Varangians were recorded, which date back to the 9th century. And Vitebsk at that time was clearly a richer and more significant city than Polotsk.
Excavations in Polotsk.
Slightly upstream, on the right bank of the Polota, (another brown speck on the map) is a Polotsk settlement, that is, an unfortified settlement. Its area is about 0.3 hectares. Excavations were also carried out on the left bank of the river. There were found artifacts that date back to the X-XI centuries. But there is little interesting. The exception is the Polotsk treasure discovered in 1984. It consists entirely of gold items. It dates back to the last quarter of the 10th century, but accurate dating is impossible.
Later in Polotsk, the inhabitants of the Detinets area was developed, on the cape of the left bank of the Polota at its confluence with the Western Dvina. This place later became known as the Upper Castle.
When did the city move to the other side of the Polota? Archeology has not yet been able to give an exact answer. And there are two points of view. One relates the expansion of Polotsk to the era of Rogvolod. According to the second, the transfer took place at the end of the X century, when the city was restored by Prince Vladimir. Such large-scale projects were quite in his spirit.
City Game: Nestor's Mistakes
Why does Nestor write about Polotsk in the "Legend of the Varangian Calling" and mentions this city in Oleg's treaty with Byzantium in 907? And also marks Polotsk as a separate branch of the Krivichi?
The Tale of Bygone Years was compiled at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries and in many ways reflected the realities of that particular era. And Polotsk in the XI century really became a large city, the center of an independent principality.
For the same reason, Nestor has the cities of Novgorod and Beloozero in the "Legend of the Varangian Calling". And they, according to excavations, were founded a little later than the legendary parish of Rurik.
And Nestor's mistakes with cities are not limited to this. So, in the PVL Pereyaslavl is mentioned in the same treaty between Oleg and Byzantium under 907. And then the chronicler gives a beautiful story about how this city was founded in 992.
Excavations confirm the settlement of Pereyaslavl in the last third of the 10th century.
The Tale of Bygone Years is the main source on the early history of Russia. But it is not worth considering the data of the chronicles as the ultimate truth. How to equate Artania and Polotsk. The search for answers continues.
Mikhail Polikarpov