Atlantis, Punt, Kitezh grad ... A number of mysterious countries and cities in history can be continued. One of such mysterious objects in the history of Ancient Rus can be called the Principality of Tmutarakan or Tmutarakan. However, as history says, this is not a mysterious mythological place, but a very real principality, which once existed in wide Russian spaces. And they were ruled by Russian princes from the Rurikovich clan. A monument about the history of these times is preserved in the monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Novgorod the Great, with which their rule is also associated.
Where is Tmutarakan located?
According to the results of archaeological excavations, in the 6th c. on the Taman Peninsula, where the Principality of Tmutarakan was founded in the 10th century, there was the ancient ancient city of Hermonass.
Later, these lands were part of the Khazar Kaganate, and on the site of the city of Tmutarakan there was a small Khazar settlement Tamatarha.
Mention of the Principality of Tmutarakan is already found in the reign of Prince Igor. But the most reliable version is considered to be the emergence of the city of Tmutarakan (Tmutorokan) near the village of Tamanskaya after 965, when Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich subjugated the Khazar tribe and included their land in Kievan Rus.
In total, the Principality of Tmutarakan did not last long - about two centuries, but during this time its quite rich history has developed. At the end of the 11th century, Tmutarakan lost independence under the blows of the Polovtsian tribes, later became part of the Golden Horde and received a new name - Matrika, and then passed into the possession of Byzantium.
Mstislav in the history of the Rurikovich
The name Mstislav is of Slavic origin and comes from the Slavic word "revenge" - "to protect." According to the meaning of this name in dictionaries, boys or men named so try to get ahead of everyone and be unlike anyone. They are very ambitious, judicious and entrepreneurial. They are very curious and curious, kind and patient, generous and unenvious, unobtrusive and hardy. Mstislavs are creative people, very demanding of themselves and constantly strive for excellence. They have a soft character and love when others notice their success. Many of these qualities are reflected in three representatives of the tree of the genus. The generational scheme of the Rurikovich tree with years of reign is presented below.
Mstislav Vladimirovich
The son of Prince Vladimir Igorevich from the Rurikovich clan is Mstislav, nicknamed the Brave, in the Orthodox baptism of Constantine. He also had other nicknames - Tmutarakansky and Udaloy.
There are two versions about the origin of Mstislav Vladimirovich the Brave. According to one of them, the mother of the prince was the famous Rogneda, a bride who had been forcibly taken away from her brother once. According to others, one of Vladimir’s wives is from the Czech Republic.
Mstislav Tmutarakansky, like his grandfather Svyatoslav, was always belligerent and led a mobile lifestyle - he was always in the saddle and strived for military victories, booty and glory. In 1016, he fought successfully against the Azov Tatars, and then on the side of Byzantium against the supporters of the Kassog tribes of Georgia. During a duel in one of the battles with kasogs, Mstislav Vladimirovich the Brave killed their leader Rededu.
As a result of the internecine war with his brother Yaroslav and the victory near Listvyta, the left-bank lands of the Dnieper with Chernigov and Pereyaslavl were assigned to Mstislav. From this moment he becomes the prince of Chernigov. But Tmutarakan does not leave his attention as well - he is fighting the tribes of Yas. And then takes part in the campaign of Yaroslav the Wise to Poland.
He entered the Russian chronicles as a burly and ruddy man, brave, but merciful in battle, very fond of his squad, generous to her warriors.
Death to Mstislav the Brave came unexpectedly: he died on the hunt, and since his son Eustathius died earlier, the throne and possessions passed to his brother Yaroslav.
Mstislav, Prince of Tmutarakan
Mstislav Vladimirovich became Prince of Tmutarakansky at the age of 4-5 years (since 988) and ruled there for about 20 years. He studied the wisdom of rule and administration of the Principality of Mstislav with the assigned Varangian "educator" Sveng. Mstislav ruled a multinational composition, a very rich principality of Tmutarakansky. The population of the principality was composed of Kasogs, Russians, Greeks, Armenians, Avars.
In the capital of the principality, the city of Tmutarakan was a large and convenient harbor. The city itself was rich and well equipped: the streets and squares are paved with stone, the houses are built of raw brick and covered with tiles. And from the enemies he was guarded by a powerful fortress wall, created, like most buildings, from unbaked brick.
The Principality was at the crossroads of trade routes, so its merchants successfully traded with Byzantium and the North Caucasus. Political ties were also established with these states.
Mstislav Rostislavich the Brave
The son of Rostislav Mstislavich, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh, in the Orthodox baptism, George, was the prince of Novgorod. He received his nickname not only for military qualities, but, first of all, for courage and justice in the case of choosing which side in the internecine struggle to accept. He always chose the right side. He also acted as the protector of all unjustly offended and weak, was merciful and pious.
He took an active part in the fight against Vladimir Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky: after the Rostislavich left Kiev, he defeated the Bogolyubsky army near the fortress Vyshgorod protected by him. However, the enmity with Bogolyubsky did not continue. For his brother, Roman asked Smolensk to reign, but soon at the request of the inhabitants he himself sat down to reign. And later he again handed it over to his brother. He himself began to rule in Novgorod, with a victory went through the Estonian lands, freeing from the invasions of Estonian soldiers Pskov and its land.
He died in Novgorod from a serious and unexpected illness, was buried in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Novgorod Kremlin. The Orthodox Church canonized as a saint.
Mstislav the Brave and Mstislav Udaloy
Like father Mstislav Rostislavich, Mstislav Mstislavich sat down to rule in Novgorod and protect him from enemies. He was as generous and brave as his father, and therefore he received the same nickname - Brave or Udaloy.
With whom did Mstislav Udanoi fight ? During the life of his father, he participated in campaigns against the Polovtsy. And he married the daughter of the Polovtsian Khan Kotyan. He pacified the boyars in the Principality of Vladimir, defended Novgorod from German and Lithuanian knights, pacified the Chud, and ordered her to pay tribute to Novgorod. After the illegal occupation of the Novgorod throne by his son-in-law and discontent caused by the particular rigidity of his reign, Mstislav tried to return the Novgorod throne to his older brother. For a long time he tried to avoid the aggravation of internecine war. However, the combined Yaroslav and George did not want to solve the matter peacefully and declared battle with Mstislav and Konstantin on the Lipetsk field. As a result of the battle, George fled to Vladimir, and Yaroslav - back to Pereyaslavl. Mstislav went to liberate the Principality of Galicia from the Hungarians and Poles.
"We did not come for bloodshed!"
The above events in the history of relations between Russian princes were not accidental. Yaroslav Tverskoy and Pereyaslavsky was a man unkind and not caring. His relationship with the Novgorodians did not develop so much that Yaroslav began to pursue a tough policy with respect to Novgorod, more reminiscent of robbery: having gone to Torzhok, he blocked the way for food convoys moving to Novgorod, robbed his merchants and took away one of the trading cities that were part of Novgorod land - Volok Lamsky. Yaroslav sent the ambassadors of Novgorod in conclusion to the cut. And the plight of Novgorodians gradually reached such a level that parents were forced to sell their children into slavery so that the whole family would not starve to death.
Mstislav Khrabry, who came to Novgorod, raised the Novgorod militia to fight the combined forces of Yaroslav and his ally, Yuri Suzdalsky. Joining forces with Konstantin Rostovsky and Vladimir Pskovsky, Mstislav advanced through the Seliger lands towards Torzhok. On the way, Rzhev and Zubtsov were besieged and captured. The decisive battle took place on April 21, 2016 near Yuri Polsky at the Avdova Mountain, where the camp of Yaroslav and Yuri is located. After languid attacks and skirmishes, Mstislav decided to attack the enemy camp. Most vanguard warriors dismounted and fought in lightweight uniforms, some even without shoes. Later, they freed the driveways for the ripened cavalry - the princely combatants.
Prince Mstislav himself was cut not with a sword, but with an ax. And according to some versions, he went through the enemy system several times, defeating three noble warriors. Then he broke through to the prince's tent and wagon train, where he nearly died. However, the battle was won, and the enemy fled, fearing the onslaught.
No Longer Remove!
In 1219, having passed the Polovtsian steppes with battles , hordes of the Tatar prince Genghis Khan invaded the lands of Kievan Rus. Against them came the youngest and most reckless princes: Mstislav Galitsky, Mstislav Chernigov and Mstislav Kiev. Mstislav the Brave and his son-in-law Daniil Volynsky were the first to rush to the enemy squad and defeat him. This event took place near the Dnieper. Then the squads of the Russian princes crossed the Dnieper and reached the Kalki River, where a major battle took place on May 31, 1224. Six princes and 9/10 of all Russian troops remained to lie on the river bank. Only Daniil Volynsky and Mstislav Galitsky were saved, who after the defeat of this could no longer be called Brave or Daring. He became weak and incredulous, actually became a toy in the hands of the Galician boyars. He even gave his daughter and the throne of Galicia to the son of the Hungarian king. He himself began to manage only a small Podolsk land. Died of a disease that soon ensued.
In the scheme of the Rurikovich tree over the years of rule, this Mstislav, who still had the nickname the Great, is marked in the 10th tribe (in the case of the Rurik mapping - in the 11th).