Russian campaigns to the Caspian were associated with the economic and trade interests of Russia. The striving of the warriors to take rich booty, to cut the road to the East. Also, the campaigns were associated with the alliance of Russia and Byzantium, directed against the Arabs.
Fairy East
Unknown eastern countries, from where merchant caravans with goods surprising for Europe arrived to the markets of Constantinople and Kiev after a long journey, always attracted the Russians (Russians). From the East to Byzantium, to Russia, to other European countries, the finest fabrics and damask steel, precious stones and beautiful horses, carpets, products made of gold, silver, bronze, etc. fell. …
Russian merchants had long paved the way to the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), to Syria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and the German lands, but the East seemed out of reach. The hostile Khazar Kaganate stood on the eastern routes. The Khazars controlled trade routes along the northern coast of the Black Sea, along the Don and along the Lower Volga. In the hands of the Volga Bulgars and Burtases, tributaries of Khazaria, there were routes along the Oka and the Middle Volga. It was impossible to go to the Caspian Sea, to the Transcaucasia and further to the countries of Front and Central Asia, the Khazar and Bulgar outposts interfered.
With each passing decade, the growing and developing Russian state felt more and more sharply disconnected from the trade routes leading to the East. And the fame of the rich eastern shopping centers more and more often reached the Kiev rulers. Kiev already knew well about the rich cities of Abesgun and Sari, lying on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, from where the road to Khorezm opened through Khorasan and Maverannahr. To the west were the rich lands of Tabaristan and Gilan. In Transcaucasia, on the Kura River, the local "Baghdad" - Berdaa was famous for its bazaars, rich in trade.
These eastern lands and cities by the IX-X centuries. became part of the Arab Caliphate. The Caliphate subjugated almost the entire Transcaucasia, part of Central Asia, and continued its offensive in the Middle East, approaching the Byzantine possessions in Syria and Asia Minor. The Caliphate became the main and mortal enemy of the Byzantine Empire. The vassals of the Caliphate, the rulers of Maverannahr, Khorasan, Tabaristan and Gilan, were located in the Transcaucasus along the southern Caspian. To fight them, the Second Rome mobilized all its allies, including Khazaria. Already from the 7th century, the Khazars fought with the Arabs who tried to break through the Derbent "iron" gates to the North Caucasus and further to the Azov and Lower Volga regions. In 737, the Arab army under the command of Marwan broke through deep into the possessions of the Kaganate, took the then capital Semender. The Khazar Kagan fled for the "Slavic River" (Don). The Arabs also faced the Slavs, some of whom were vassals of the Khazars. Thousands of Slavic families were taken into slavery. So the Rus, some of whom were dependent on the Khazars, entered into a confrontation with the Arab conquerors.
In the following decades, the confrontation between Byzantium and Khazaria (in whose armies there were many Slavs) with the Caliphate continued. In the late 8th - early 9th centuries, Russia became a formidable force in the region. The second Rome tried to use the Rus in the fight against the Arabs. Khazaria at this time weakened. Khazaria was tormented by the Pechenegs, the Arabs and their allies ruled in the former possessions of the Khazars in the North Caucasus. Slavic-Russian tribes, one after another, were freed from the Khazar yoke. Under Prince Oleg Veshche, almost all Slavic lands were freed from the Khazars. Byzantium needed a new military force that could be opposed to the Arab and Islamic worlds instead of the dying Khazaria. So rapidly developing Russia entered the sphere of influence of Constantinople.
Trekking to the East
The first known blow to the East was struck by Russia in the 60s of the 9th century, shortly after the campaign against Constantinople. It was a trip to the city of Abesgun, which was the key to the trade route to Central Asia. The Rus reached the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, walked along the coast. The ruler of Tabaristan, a vassal of the Caliphate, Hasan ibn-Zayd, sent his army against the Rus. In a fierce battle, according to a Persian source, the Rus were defeated and retreated. It is possible that this campaign was associated with the alliance of the Rus with Byzantium. Russia fulfilled allied obligations, distracting the Arabs in this region.
It is obvious that Khazaria, as an ally of Byzantium, allowed a detachment of the Rus to the Caspian through their possessions. Although the Khazar rulers hated the Rus, since Russia was already hanging over the Kaganate as a formidable shadow from the north. And soon Grand Duke Oleg will ask the Slavic tribes: "To whom do you give tribute?" - and, having heard: "Kozarom", will proudly say: "Do not give kozarom, but give it to me." But it will only be there. In the meantime, reluctantly, and shielding themselves from the Russians by the Sarkel fortress, the Khazars let the Russians through their outposts to the Caspian and Transcaucasia.
The Rus came to the Caspian Sea region, to the famous trading harbor Abeskun, a large economic center of the whole region, from where the road went to Khorezm. That is, political interests, allied commitments to the Second Rome, went hand in hand here with the commercial, economic interests of Russia. Warriors could take rich booty here, punch a road further to the East.
In 907, a new treaty of "peace and love" was concluded between the Second Rome and Kiev, which involved the help of the Russians of the Byzantine Empire. The payment for the aid was an annual tribute to Byzantium. In 909 - 910 the Russians undertook a new campaign to the East, and again to Abesgun. Again through the territory of Khazaria. This campaign is reported by the Persian author of the 13th century. Ibn-Isfendiyar in The History of Tabaristan. He reports that in 909 a Russian detachment appeared on 16 ships (the boats could accommodate from 40 to 60 soldiers). The Rus came by sea and devastated the coast. The following year, the Russians came in even greater numbers, burned the city of Sari in the southeastern part of the Caspian Sea. On the way back, the Russian detachment withstood a battle with the troops of local rulers - Gilyanshah and Shirvanshah. It is possible that the Russians did not return to their homeland for the first time, but remained here for the winter (as well as later), and then in the summer, when it was convenient for sea crossings, they again attacked the enemy. In general, the campaign was large-scale, the Russians fought for at least several months, chained to themselves the troops of the rulers of Shirvan and Gilan.
The Rus campaign to the Caspian was part of a larger confrontation. Byzantium fought hard against the Arabs. At the same time, Russian squads appear as part of the Byzantine army. In particular, they carry out operations against the Arabs in Crete. In the east, Byzantium's ally, the Armenian king Smbat, raised an uprising and tried to overthrow the power of the Arabs, who relied on the forces of their vassals in the South Caucasus and the Caspian Sea region - the rulers of Maverannahr and Khorasan. That is, the Rus campaign to the Caspian Sea was supposed to help the Armenian king. So Kiev paid for the Byzantine tribute, for trade benefits to Russian merchants, for the access of our merchants to the markets of the empire. At the same time, Russia observed its military-strategic and economic interests, tried to pave the way to the East.
Khazaria in this military operation acted as a tactical ally of Russia, as it was bound by obligations to the Byzantines. There are several known directions along which the Rus could get to the Caspian. It is known that the Russians went on ships (boats or boats) first along the Dnieper, then along the northern coast of the Black Sea, past the Crimea, where there were Byzantine possessions, through the Kerch Strait to the Sea of Azov. From there up the Don, dragged to the Volga and down the Volga to the Caspian. Another way is along the Don, and from there to the Volga, or along the Volga, through the possessions of the Volga Bulgaria and Khazaria. Thus, in the Azov region, on the Don and the Volga, the Rus had to go through the possessions of the Khazars, which was possible only with their permission. The army of Prince Oleg the Prophet or his governor marched through the territory of Khazaria, with which the Russian prince waged stubborn wars for the liberation of part of the Glorious Russian tribes from the Khazar yoke.
By the force of historical circumstances, the great game of that time, the mortal enemies, Russia and Khazaria, were forced to enter into a tactical alliance against the common enemy - the Arabs. If the caliphate and its Muslim allies threatened the possessions of Khazaria in the North Caucasus and the Volga region, and the kaganate fought for its sphere of influence, then Russia used this situation to break through to the East. Build trade and military routes to rich lands, which have long attracted Russian merchants and vigilantes. At the same time, the Russians carried out strategic reconnaissance in the lands of Khazaria and its allies. They studied the terrain, routes, convenient parking places, outposts and enemy fortifications.
March 912. Battle of the Volga
In 911, an article appeared in the Russian-Byzantine treaty that revealed the meaning of allied assistance from Russia. Already in 912, the Russian army again found itself in the Transcaucasus. According to the Arab author Al-Masoudi, the Rus fleet of 500 ships (20-30 thousand soldiers) entered the Kerch Strait. The Khazar king allowed the Russians to pass through the Don to the Volga, and from there descend into the Caspian Sea. At the same time, the kagan demanded to give him half of the future production.
The blow of the whole Russian army on the Caspian possessions of the Muslim rulers was terrible. First, the Russians attacked Tabaristan. They attacked, as before, the city of Abesgun, then turned to the west, walked through the lands of Gilan and appeared in the "oil-bearing area in Absheron" (Absheron is a peninsula in modern Azerbaijan, on the western coast of the Caspian Sea). As was usual in those days, the Russians plundered local settlements, took prisoners and harshly suppressed any attempts to resist.
Arab sources report that Russian troops were in those places "for many months", crushed the detachments of local Muslim rulers. The Shirvanshah's fleet had the imprudence to attack the Rus, but was destroyed. Thousands of Muslim soldiers were killed. The Rus wintered on an island near Baku and moved home the next year. On the way, the Russian commanders again contacted the Khazar ruler, sent him gold and booty, as agreed. However, the Khazar Muslims and Arabs, who made up the kagan's guard, demanded revenge for the blood of their brothers. The destruction of the Russian army was in the interests of Khazaria. Also, the kagan and his entourage wanted to seize the huge booty that went to the Russians in the Caspian.
It is obvious that local Muslims and Khazars have gathered a large army, otherwise they would not have dared to attack the governor Oleg (or himself). The Rus had a whole fleet - 500 rooks, from 20 to 30 thousand soldiers. The Muslim guard went into battle - 15 thousand soldiers, chained in iron, the Muslim militia of Itil, the new capital of Khazaria, the squads of the nobility. The fierce battle lasted for three days and ended with the death of the Russian army. Only part of the army broke through up the Volga, but there the Russians were finished off by the allies of the Khazars - Burtases and Bulgars. Apparently, they were also warned in advance about the appearance of the Rus. Nevertheless, part of the Rus cut through to their homeland and reported on the betrayal of the Khazars. It is possible that it was during this campaign that Prophetic Oleg laid down his head. He died in 912. According to legend, he was bitten by a snake. The serpent is a symbol of betrayal. The Khazars betrayed the Russians, let them in as allies in the fight against the Arabs, and received a large payment for this.
Thus, the Russian campaign began in accordance with the old alliance with Byzantium. Khazaria, fulfilling an allied duty to the Byzantines, let the Russian army into the Caspian. But then the old, bloody contradictions between the Rus and the Khazars affected. The Khazars received an excellent opportunity to destroy a strong army of the Rus, thereby improving the situation on the northern borders, to try to turn the general situation in relations with Russia in their favor. The reason was the discontent of the Muslim kagan guard, which demanded revenge for the blood of co-religionists. This led to the attack of the Khazars and their allies on Oleg's army, burdened with huge booty and not expecting a treacherous blow.
In addition, at this time, relations between Byzantium and Khazaria were badly damaged. The Khazar nobility converted to Judaism, which was negatively received in Christian Byzantium. The kagan's guard was mainly from Muslim and Arab warriors. Khazars begin to disturb the Crimean possessions of the Byzantine Empire. In response, Constantinople enters into an alliance with part of the Pechenezh clans, sets them on the Khazaria.
The destruction of the Russian army finally determined the relationship between Russia and Khazaria. The tactical alliance was destroyed. The misunderstandings, latent discontent and hard-to-suppress contradictions between old rivals ended. Rus was faced with the question of just revenge, the destruction of Khazaria and control over the interfluve of the Volga and Don, trade routes leading to the East. The Khazar barrier had to be destroyed. This is exactly what the great Russian prince Svyatoslav did (Svyatoslav's blow to the Khazar "miracle-Yuda"; How Svyatoslav's squads defeated the Khazar state).
