1050 years ago, in 968, the great Russian prince Svyatoslav Igorevich defeated the Bulgarians and established himself on the Danube.
Background
The Khazar campaign of Svyatoslav made a huge impression on the neighboring tribes and countries, especially on the Byzantine (East Roman) Empire. Russian troops pacified the Volga Bulgaria (Bulgaria), defeated hostile Russia and essentially parasitic Khazaria, which for several centuries plundered the Slavic-Russian tribes, took tribute by people to sell them into slavery. Svyatoslav completed a long struggle with the Khazar "miracle-Yud", which was also waged by Rurik, Oleg and Igor. The Rus defeated the Khazars, took their capital Itil, and the ancient capital of the Kaganate - Semender in the Caspian (Svyatoslav's saber strike on the Khazar "miracle"; 1050 years ago, Svyatoslav's squads defeated the Khazar state). Rus were conquered by the tribes of the North Caucasus - Yasy-Ases-Alans and Kasogi-Circassians. Svyatoslav established himself on the Taman Peninsula, which became the Russian Tmutarakan. On the way back, Svyatoslav completed the defeat of Khazaria, taking her last stronghold on the Don - Sarkel, which became the Russian fortress Belaya Vezha.
The results of the campaign were amazing: the huge and powerful Khazar empire was defeated and disappeared forever from the map of the world, the remnants of the Khazar usurious-trading elite, who lived at the expense of the slave trade and control over the routes from Europe to the East, fled to the Crimea or the Caucasus (after the death of Svyatoslav Khazars-Jews will settle in Kiev). The paths to the East were cleared. Russia received strong outposts - Tmutarakan and Belaya Vezha. Volga Bulgaria has ceased to be a hostile barrier. The balance of forces in the semi-Byzantine and semi-Khazar Crimea has changed, where Kerch (Korchev) also became a Russian city.
All this alarmed Byzantium, which had been shaken by Russian campaigns more than once in the past. The Byzantines (Greeks, Romans) used the ancient strategy of Rome - divide and conquer. They needed Khazaria as a counterbalance to Russia and the steppe inhabitants. In general, the defeat of Khazaria suited the Romans, it was possible to include Khazaria in its sphere of influence, to increase its influence on it. However, the complete defeat of the Kaganate and the capture of important outposts on the Don, Taman and Crimea by the Russians did not suit Constantinople. Most of all, the Romans were afraid of a dash of Russian troops in Tavria (Crimea). The troops of Svyatoslav did not cost anything to force the Cimmerian Bosphorus (Kerch Strait), and capture the flourishing region. Kherson was then a rich trading city. The Romans did not have the strength to defend the city and even more so the whole Crimea. Now the fate of the Kherson fema, which supplied Constantinople with grain, depended on the benevolence of the Russian prince. The Khazar campaign freed up trade routes along the Volga and Don for Russian merchants. It was logical to continue the successful offensive and occupy the gate to the Black Sea - Chersonesos. The strategic situation led to a new round of Russian-Byzantine confrontation.
Kalokira Mission
Obviously, the Byzantine elite understood all this perfectly. The Romans decided to lure Svyatoslav to the Danube in order to distract him from the Crimea. And there you look a warlike prince and lay down his head in one of the battles and relieve Byzantium of a headache. Around the end of 966 (or the beginning of 967), a Byzantine embassy arrived in the capital city of Kiev to the Russian prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. It was headed by the son of the Chersonesus stratigus Kalokir, who was sent to the Russian prince by the emperor Nikifor Foka. Before sending the envoy to Svyatoslav, the Basileus summoned him to his place in Constantinople, discussed the details of the negotiations, conferred the high title of patrician and presented a valuable gift, a huge amount of gold - 15 cantenarii (about 450 kg).
The Greek envoy was an extraordinary person. The Byzantine historian Leo the Deacon calls him "brave" and "ardent". Later Kalokir will meet on the way of Svyatoslav and prove that he is a man who knows how to play a big game. The main goal of Kalokira's mission, for which, according to the Byzantine chronicler Leo the Deacon, the patrician was sent to Russia with a huge amount of gold, was to persuade him to come out in alliance with Byzantium against Bulgaria. In 966 the emperor Nicephorus Phocas led his troops against the Bulgarians.
“Sent by the royal will to the Tavro-Scythians (this is how the Russians were called from old memory, considering them the direct descendants of the Scythians, the heirs of Great Scythia), the patrician Kalokir, who came to Scythia (Russia), liked the head of the Taurus, bribed him with gifts, charmed him with flattering words … and convinced him to go against the Misyans (Bulgarians) with a great army on the condition that, having conquered them, he would keep their country in his own power, and he would assist him in conquering the Roman state and obtaining the throne. He promised him (Svyatoslav) for that to deliver the great countless treasures from the state treasury. Deacon's version is extremely simple. The Byzantine chronicler tried to show that Kalokir bribed the barbarian leader, made him his instrument in his hands, an instrument of the struggle against Bulgaria, which was to become a springboard for a higher goal - the throne of the Byzantine Empire. Kalokir dreamed, relying on Russian swords, to seize Constantinople and transfer Bulgaria in payment to Svyatoslav.
However, this is a false version, created by the Greeks, who constantly rewrote history to their advantage. Researchers studied other Byzantine and Eastern sources and found out that much the Deacon did not know, or deliberately did not mention, kept silent. Obviously, initially Kalokir acted in the interests of the emperor Nicephorus Phocas. But after the dastardly murder of Nicephorus II Phocas - the conspiracy was led by the wife of the emperor Theophano and her lover, the commander John Tzimiskes, decided to join the struggle for the throne. In addition, there is evidence that the Russians, helping Nikifor in the fight against Bulgaria, performed an allied duty. The union was concluded even before the reign of Svyatoslav. Russian troops, possibly under the leadership of the young Svyatoslav, had already helped Nikifor Foka to recapture the island of Crete from the Arabs.
Vladimir Kireev. "Prince Svyatoslav"
Situation in Bulgaria
Did Svyatoslav see the game of the Greeks? It is obvious that he guessed the plan of the Byzantines. However, the proposal of Constantinople perfectly matched his own designs. Now the Rus could, without military opposition from Byzantium, establish themselves on the banks of the Danube, seizing one of the most important trade routes that went along this great European river and approaching the most important cultural and economic centers of Western Europe. At the same time, he took under his protection the Ulits Slavs who lived in the Danube. There, according to the Russian historian B. Rybakov, was the "island of the Rus" formed by the bend and delta of the Danube, the sea and the "Trayanov shaft" with a moat. This area formally belonged to Bulgaria, but the dependence was small. By the right of the population, Kiev could also claim it by its Rus-street. The Greeks also had their own interests here, relying on the Greek population of coastal towns and fortresses. Thus, the Danube was of strategic and economic importance for Russia, Bulgaria and Byzantium.
It is also worth remembering about the civilizational, national-linguistic and cultural relationship of the Russians-Russians and Bulgarians. Rus and Bulgarians were representatives of the same super-ethnos, civilization. Bulgarians have just begun to separate from the single super-ethnos of the Rus. The Russians and Bulgarians quite recently prayed to the same gods, the Bulgarians have not yet forgotten the old gods, they celebrated the same holidays, the language, customs and traditions were the same, with slight territorial differences. Similar territorial differences were in the lands of the eastern Slavs-Rus, say, between the glades, Drevlyans, Krivichs and Novgorod Slovenes. Common Slavic unity has not yet been forgotten. Rus and Bulgarians were another genus. I must say that even a thousand years later, this relationship was felt between Russians and Bulgarians, it was not for nothing that Bulgarians always greeted Russians like brothers during the wars with the Turks, and the Soviet era Bulgaria was called "the 16th Soviet Republic". The division took place only in the elite - the Bulgarian elite betrayed the interests of the people and passed on to the West.
Therefore, Svyatoslav did not want to give fraternal Bulgaria under the rule of the Romans. Byzantium has long tried to crush Bulgaria under itself. Svyatoslav did not want the Greeks to establish themselves on the Danube. The establishment of Byzantium on the banks of the Danube and strengthening at the expense of the captured Bulgaria, made the Romans neighbors of Russia, which did not promise the Russians anything good. The prince himself wanted to stand firmly in the Danube. Bulgaria could become part of the Russian Empire, or at least be a friendly state.
The East Roman Empire has long tried to subdue the Bulgarian tribes. But the Bulgarians gave a harsh answer more than once. Thus, Tsar Simeon I the Great (864-927), who miraculously escaped from the "honorable" captivity in Constantinople, himself launched an offensive against the empire. Simeon more than once routed the Byzantine armies and planned to seize Constantinople and create his own empire. However, the capture of Constantinople did not take place, Simeon died unexpectedly. The "miracle" for which the Greeks so prayed happened. The son of Simeon, Peter I, ascended the throne. Peter supported the Greek clergy in every possible way, endowing churches and monasteries with lands and gold. This caused the spread of heresy, the supporters of which called for the rejection of worldly goods (bogomilism). The meek and God-fearing tsar lost most of the Bulgarian territories, was unable to resist the Serbs and Magyars (Hungarians). Byzantium escaped defeat and resumed its expansion in the Balkans.
While Svyatoslav was at war with Khazaria, important events were brewing in the Balkans. In Constantinople, they closely watched how Bulgaria weakened and decided that the time had come when it was time to get their hands on it. In 965-966. a violent political conflict erupted. The Bulgarian embassy, which had appeared in Constantinople for the tribute that the Byzantines had paid since the time of Simeon's victories, was driven out in disgrace. The emperor gave orders to whip the Bulgarian ambassadors on the cheeks and called the Bulgarians a poor and vile people. The Bulgarian tribute was clothed in the form of the maintenance of the Byzantine princess Maria, who became the wife of the Bulgarian Tsar Peter. Mary died in 963, and Byzantium was able to break this formality. This was the reason for going on the offensive.
Everything was prepared for the capture of Bulgaria. A meek and indecisive king sat on the throne, more occupied with church affairs than with the development and defense of the state. He was surrounded by the pro-Byzantine boyars, the old comrades-in-arms of Simeon, who saw the threat from the Greeks, were pushed back from the throne. Byzantium allowed itself more and more diktat in relations with Bulgaria, actively intervened in internal politics, supported the Byzantine party in the Bulgarian capital. The country entered a period of feudal fragmentation. The development of large boyar land tenure contributed to the emergence of political separatism and led to the impoverishment of the masses. A significant part of the boyars saw the way out of the crisis in strengthening ties with Byzantium, supporting its foreign policy, strengthening Greek cultural, religious and economic influence. The boyars did not want a strong royal power and preferred dependence on Constantinople. They say that the emperor is far away and will not be able to control the boyars, the power of the Greeks will be nominal, and the real power will remain with the large feudal lords.
A serious turnaround has also taken place in relations with Russia. Former friends, peoples of the same origin, brother countries, tied by long-standing kinship, cultural and economic ties, they more than once opposed the Byzantine Empire together. Now everything has changed. The Pro-Byzantine Party in the Bulgarian Kingdom watched with suspicion and hatred the progress and strengthening of Rus. In the 940s, the Bulgarians with the Chersonesos twice warned Constantinople about the advance of the Russian troops. This was quickly noticed in Kiev. Bulgaria from a former ally became a hostile bridgehead of Byzantium. It was dangerous.
In addition, during this time, the Second Rome significantly strengthened its army. Already in the last years of the reign of Emperor Roman, the Byzantine armies, under the leadership of talented generals, the brothers Nicephorus and Leo Phoca, achieved noticeable successes in the fight against the Arabs. In 961, after a seven-month siege, the capital of the Cretan Arabs, Handan, was captured. The allied Russian detachment also took part in this campaign. The Byzantine fleet established dominance in the Aegean Sea. Fock's lion won victories in the East. Having taken the throne, Nikifor Phoca, a stern warrior and ascetic man, continued purposefully to form a new Byzantine army, the core of which were the "knights" - cataphracts (from ancient Greek κατάφρακτος - covered with armor). For the armament of the cataphractarii, heavy armor is characteristic, first of all, which protected the warrior from head to toe. The cataphractarian wore a lamellar or scaly shell. Protective armor was worn not only by riders, but also by their horses. The main weapon of the cataphractarius was the contos (ancient Greek κοντός, "spear"; Latin contus) - a huge spear that reached the length of the Sarmatians, probably 4-4, 5 m. The blows of such a weapon were terrible: ancient authors report that these spears could pierce through two people at once. The heavily armed cavalry attacked the enemy at a light trot in a close formation. Protected by armor from arrows, darts and other projectiles, they represented a formidable force, and often, overturning the enemy with long spears, broke through his battle formations. Following the "knights" light cavalry and infantry completed the rout. Nicephorus Phocas devoted himself to the war and conquered Cyprus from the Arabs, pressed them in Asia Minor, preparing for a campaign against Antioch. The empire's successes were facilitated by the fact that the Arab Caliphate entered a period of feudal fragmentation, Bulgaria fell into dependence, Russia, during the reign of Princess Olga, also fell under the cultural, and therefore political, influence of Constantinople-Constantinople.
In Constantinople, it was decided that it was time to put an end to Bulgaria, to include it in the empire. It was necessary to act while Preslav had a weak government and a strong pro-Byzantine party. It was impossible for her to be allowed to break free from the cleverly woven nets. Bulgaria was not yet completely broken. The traditions of Tsar Simeon were alive. The nobles of Simeon in Preslav receded into the shadows, but still retained their influence among the people. The Byzantine policy, the loss of previous conquests and the dramatic material enrichment of the Greek clergy aroused discontent on the part of the Bulgarian people, part of the boyars.
Therefore, as soon as the Bulgarian queen Maria died, the Second Rome immediately went to break. The Greeks refused to pay tribute, and the Bulgarian ambassadors were demonstratively humiliated. When Preslav raised the question of renewing the peace agreement of 927, Constantinople demanded that Peter's sons, Roman and Boris, come to Byzantium as hostages, and Bulgaria itself would undertake not to let Hungarian troops through its territory to the Byzantine border. In 966, the final rupture occurred. It should be noted that the Hungarians really bothered Byzantium, freely passing through Bulgaria. There was an agreement between Hungary and Bulgaria that during the passage of the Hungarian troops through the Bulgarian territory to the possessions of Byzantium, the Hungarians should be loyal to the Bulgarian population. Therefore, the Greeks accused Preslava of treachery, in a latent form of aggression against Byzantium by the hands of the Hungarians. The Bulgarians, however, could not or did not want to stop the Hungarian raiders. Indeed, in the event of resistance, Bulgaria itself became the object of aggression. Part of the Bulgarian boyars, who hated the Greeks, gladly used the Hungarians against the empire.
Constantinople, waging an incessant struggle with the Arab world, did not dare to divert the main forces for a war with the Bulgarian kingdom, which was still a rather strong enemy. Therefore, in Constantinople, they decided to use the strategy of divide and conquer, and with one blow to solve several problems at once. First, to defeat Bulgaria with the forces of Russia, retaining their troops, and then swallow up the Bulgarian territories. Moreover, with the failure of Svyatoslav's troops, Constantinople won again - two dangerous enemies for Byzantium collided with their heads - Bulgaria and Russia. Bulgaria was repelled from Russia, which could help the fraternal people in the struggle against the Second Rome. Secondly, the Byzantines averted the threat from their Kherson fema, which was the granary of the empire. Svyatoslav was sent to the Danube, where he could die. Thirdly, both the success and failure of Svyatoslav's army were supposed to weaken the military power of Russia, which, after the liquidation of Khazaria, became a particularly dangerous enemy. The Bulgarians were considered a strong enemy, and had to offer stubborn resistance to the army of Svyatoslav.
Judging by the actions of Svyatoslav, he saw the game of the Second Rome. But he decided to go to the Danube. Svyatoslav could not calmly watch as the place of the former friendly Russia of the Bulgarian kingdom was taken by a weakening, in the hands of the pro-Byzantine party, and hostile Bulgaria. Bulgaria controlled Russian trade routes along the western coast of the Black Sea, through the lower Danube cities up to the Byzantine border. The unification of hostile Russia Bulgaria with the remnants of the Khazars and Pechenegs could become a serious threat to Russia from the southwestern direction. And with the liquidation of Bulgaria and the seizure of its territory by Byzantium, the imperial armies with the support of the Bulgarian squads would already pose a threat. Apparently, Svyatoslav decided to occupy a part of Bulgaria, establish control over the Danube, including the region of the Rus-ulcers, and neutralize the pro-Byzantine party around Tsar Peter. This was supposed to return Bulgaria to the channel of the Russian-Bulgarian union. In this matter, he could rely on part of the Bulgarian nobility and people. In the future, Svyatoslav, having received a reliable rear in Bulgaria, could already exert pressure on the Second Rome in order to make his policy more friendly.
The Byzantine Empire started the war first. In 966, the basileus Nikifor Foka moved the army to the border of Bulgaria, and Kalokir urgently left for Kiev. The Romans captured several border towns. With the help of the pro-Byzantine nobility, they managed to capture the strategically important city in Thrace - Philippopolis (present-day Plovdiv). However, the military successes ended there. Greek troops stopped in front of the Balkan Mountains. They did not dare to make their way to the inner Bulgarian regions through difficult passes and gorges overgrown with forests, where a small detachment could stop an entire army. Many warriors laid their heads in these mountains in the past. Nikifor Foka pretended to have won a decisive victory and returned in triumph to the capital and again switched to the Arabs. The fleet moved to Sicily, and the Basileus himself, at the head of the land army, went to Syria. At this time, in the east, Svyatoslav went on the offensive. In 967, the Russian army marched on the Danube.
