Rus, greedy for battles … set out to sea and made an invasion on the decks of his ships … This people devastated the entire territory of Berdaa … They seize countries and conquer cities.
Fragment from the poem "Iskander-name"
After the tragic battle on Itil in 912, the onslaught of the Rus to the East did not stop. The next campaign of the Rus in Transcaucasia falls on the middle of the 940s, after the Russian-Byzantine war of 941-944.
Eastern policy of Prince Igor
In 912, Prince Igor, who, according to legend, was the son of Rurik-Sokol, ascended to the Kiev throne, but was overshadowed for many years by the mighty figure of Oleg the Prophet, who apparently exercised regency and concentrated in his hands all the threads of governing the Russian state. Igor ascended the throne as a mature husband, therefore he was nicknamed Old.
Soon after that, the Pechenegs first came to Russia and in 915 a peace treaty was concluded with them. After that, the Pechenegs attacked Khazaria, but did not go to Russia. Only in 920 did a conflict occur between the Rus and the Pechenegs. Under the year 920, the chronicler wrote: "And Igor fought against the Pechenegs." From that moment on, the Pechenegs most often act as allies of the Rus in the fight against Khazaria and Byzantium. However, the Pechenezh clans were not united. Some acted as allies of Russia (Pechenegs. Ship of the Rus and their strength), others could use a favorable situation to raid the Russian lands.
Igor was also busy suppressing the uprising of the union of the tribes of the Drevlyans. The Drevlyans, whom Oleg included with such difficulty into his power, revolted after his death. Igor again conquered the Drevlyan lands and imposed more tribute on them than Olegova.
In the period 920-930, the conflict between Byzantium, Russia and Khazaria continued to develop. The contradictions between the former allies - the Byzantine Empire and the Khazaria, became even more aggravated. The second Rome was not satisfied with the rule of Judaism in Khazaria, and the simultaneous strengthening of Islam in the Khazar military elite. The Byzantine emperor Roman I Lacapenus (920-944) began a widespread persecution of the Jews in the empire and took a number of political steps against the Judaizing Khazaria. Constantinople, like ancient Rome, successfully used the divide and conquer strategy. The Romans (Byzantines) pitted neighboring peoples against each other, and used conflicts to their advantage. So Byzantium constantly set the North Caucasian Alans and Pechenegs against the Khazar Kaganate. Also Vasilevs Roman in every possible way encouraged Kiev to act against the Khazar Kaganate. The sources contain information about the Russian-Khazar war. The Khazars responded with attacks on the Crimean possessions of Byzantium and raids on Russian lands.
Russian-Byzantine war
Starting from the 920s, the Khazar Kaganate was isolated, and soon it was to fall under the blows of Russia. Previously, Byzantium defended its ally, since Khazaria was the enemy of the Arabs. But now Byzantium and Khazaria have become enemies. The death of Khazaria was postponed only by the outbreak of the war between Russia and Byzantium.
Back in the 930s, there was peace and union between the two great powers. The Rus provided military support to Byzantium. So in 934, several Russian ships supported the Byzantine fleet, directed to the shores of Lombardy. In 935, the Rus, as part of another squadron, went to the shores of southern France. But after that something happened. By the end of the 30s, relations between the Russians and the Romans became tense. In 941, the war broke out. A huge Russian army and a fleet of 10 thousand boats moved to Constantinople. In the course of a long confrontation, the Russians suffered a series of defeats and retreated.
In 944, Igor gathered an even larger army, “combining war among many,” called on the allied Varangians and Pechenegs. The troops moved by land and sea. However, the matter did not come to hostilities. The Greeks, frightened by the Russian power, asked for peace. In the same year 944 a new Russian-Byzantine treaty was signed. Russia and Byzantium renewed their military alliance. The agreement said: “If you want to start our kingdom (that is, Byzantium) from you, voi against the opposing us, but we write to your Grand Duke, and send to us, just how much we want: and away from other countries, what kind of love can I have rus.
Soon Russian soldiers again began to fight on the side of the Second Rome against the Arabs. The Russian detachment went as part of the imperial army on an expedition to Crete, where Arab pirates settled. Then the Russians, together with the friendly Byzantium, the Bulgarian and Armenian squads, fought against the Syrian emir.
Thus, Russia, at the request of the Greeks, sent its soldiers, as needed, against the enemy of the empire. Constantinople again undertook to pay Rus an annual tribute, even greater than that which Oleg received. Also, Byzantium made concessions to Rus, of an economic (commercial) and territorial nature. In turn, the Russians pledged "not to have a volost" in the "Korsun country" (Chersonesos). In addition, Byzantium promised military assistance if the Russian prince would wage a war anywhere and asks for support: “… yes, fight in those countries, and that country will not repent to you, and then, if you ask us to howl, the prince of Rus will fight, yes I will give it to him, he will need only too much. " Obviously, this point was directed against Khazaria.
Hike to the Transcaucasia
The next year after the conclusion of the Russian-Byzantine treaty of 944, Russia, apparently loyal to its allied obligations and, attracted by its interests in the East, again organized a campaign against the Transcaucasian opponents of the Byzantine Empire. A message about this Russian campaign was brought to us by a Persian author of the 10th-11th centuries. Ibn Miskawayh.
The Persian historian said that the army of the Rus went to Azerbaijan: "They rushed to Berdaa (Barda was the main city of the Muslim Caucasus at that time), captured it and captured its inhabitants." The Rus, the author writes, passed along the Caspian to the mouth of the Kura River and climbed upstream to this city, which was at that time the capital of Caucasian Albania, the future of Azerbaijan, and captured it. According to Eastern authors, there were about 3 thousand Russians. A small garrison of Berdaa of about 600 soldiers and a hastily assembled 5 thousand city militia came out to meet the Rus to the Kura: "They (volunteers) were careless, did not know their strength (Rus) and considered them on the same level as the Armenians and the Romans." However, the Rus quickly overwhelmed the enemy. The militia scattered. Only the Deilemit fighters (the Iranian people, the inhabitants of Deilem in the northern part of Persia) fought with dignity, of whom the guard of the Arab caliphs was recruited. Almost all of them were killed, only the horsemen were able to escape.
Pursuing the fleeing, the Rus broke into the city. In Berdaa, the Rus behaved somewhat differently than during previous similar raids. They did not betray the city to plunder and fire, but made an announcement in which they calmed the townspeople and said that the only thing they want is the authorities. They promised the safety and inviolability of faith. "It is our responsibility to treat you well, and it is your responsibility to obey us well." It is possible that the Russians planned to create a permanent stronghold here, so they wanted to achieve a good location for the local residents.
However, peaceful relations with the residents of Berdaa did not last long. An uprising against the Russians began in the city. There are reports that local residents tried to poison the water sources. The aliens responded harshly. Sources report thousands of deaths. Part of the population was taken hostage, the men could redeem themselves for 20 dirhams. In return for the brought values, the Russians gave out "a piece of clay with a seal, which was a guarantee to him from others."
Meanwhile, the local ruler Marzuban gathered a large army and laid siege to Berdaa. However, despite the great numerical superiority, the Muslims were defeated in all battles. Soon Marzuban with part of the army left, the other part remained to besiege the city. The size of the combat losses of the Russian detachment is unknown. Ibn Miskawayh reports that the Muslims did not make a "strong impression" on those. In general, the eastern second notes the bravery and strength of the Rus, that each of them is "equal to several from some other people." The Russians left Berdaa due to an epidemic, possibly dysentery. Disease caused great losses.
The Rus broke through the siege at night and went to the Kura, where their ships were stationed, and sailed to their homeland. They took with them countless booty. The stay of Russians in Transcaucasia, according to various sources, lasted from 6 months to 1 year. This campaign amazed contemporaries and became a notable event in the history of the region. Therefore, it was reflected in several eastern sources at once.
Also, this trip of the Russians to Transcaucasia is interesting for its route. Previously, the Russians went along the Black Sea to the Azov Sea, then along the Don, Volga and Caspian Sea. Here is a new path - from the Black Sea to the mouth of the Kura. Russian soldiers could get there only by land through the North Caucasus to the Caspian Sea. The former route through the possessions of Khazaria was now closed. Fulfilling the allied duty to Constantinople, and punching a road to the East, the Rus went through the North Caucasian possessions of the Alans, hostile to the Khazars and allied Byzantium.
The stay of the Rus in Berdaa also looks very different in comparison with the previous eastern campaigns of Rus. Apparently, the Russians wanted to gain a foothold in this area for a long time. Their very long stay in the city, and the desire to establish peaceful relations with the inhabitants, show an attempt to preserve this richest city of the Transcaucasus, from where the paths to the eastern countries opened. The city was also important as a military base against the Arabs.
At this time, dramatic events take place in Russia. The Drevlyans rebelled again and killed the Grand Duke Igor. A new war between Kiev and the irreconcilable land of Drevlyans began. In these conditions, the eastern policy of Russia is temporarily curtailed. Khazaria got a break. However, soon Svyatoslav Igorevich will again move his squads to the East, crush Khazaria. The Grand Duke-Warrior will open the way for the Russians under the Don and Volga, access to the Caspian Sea.
