Igor (Kievan Rus)

Igor of Rus

Igor (* before 879 ; † 945 ), the son of Ryurik , is said to have taken over the rule of the later Kievan Rus in 912 after a period of reign from Oleg the Wise and held it until 945.

He is one of the first Kiev princes whom one can assume with some certainty that he really lived and was therefore not a legend. After he came to power, he first waged war against the Slavic tribe of the Drewlyans , who had tried to shake off their tribute to Kiev. In 914 he subjugated them and imposed an increased toll on them. A year later he succeeded in making peace with the powerful nomad tribe of the Pechenegs , which initially prevented an attack on Kiev. But as early as 920 there were new battles with the tribe. In 941 Igor appeared with a large fleet off Constantinople , with whom peaceful trade relations had existed in previous years. After the Kievans had devastated the area around the city, they had to surrender to the Byzantine army and withdraw. In response to the attack, Byzantium appears to have canceled the trade perks that Kiev traders had enjoyed until then. With a new campaign in 944, Igor seems to have tried to force the restoration of these privileges. The Byzantines sent a delegation to meet him who negotiated renewed, if not quite as advantageous, trade privileges for Kiev. In 945 Igor turned again to the Drewlyans. In a first campaign he enforced an increase in the tribute, when he was preparing another campaign shortly afterwards, he was slain. Igor's underage son, Svyatoslav I , was reigned by his mother and Igor's wife, Olga .

literature

• Gregor Iwan Kupczanko: Russia in numbers. Statistical compilation , Wigand, Leipzig 1902

Web links

Commons : Igor I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Oleg	Prince of Kievan Rus 912–945	Olga