Chapter 10 The Byzantine Empire and Russia Section 2 - The Rise of Russia

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Chapter 10 The Byzantine Empire and
RussiaSection 2 - The Rise of Russia
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• The Story Continues
• The people who came to rule Russia were first
  mentioned in historical records in A.D. 860. In
  that year they launched a fierce surprise attack
  against the city of Constantinople. The
  unexpectedness of the incursion attack and its
  extraordinary speed . . . , recalled one
  Byzantine leader, prove that this blow has been
  sent from heaven like a thunderbolt. Although
  the attack was unsuccessful, the Byzantines would
  not soon forget this fighting force.

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I. The Setting and People

• A large plain stretches across eastern Europe
• and central Asia from the Carpathian to the
• Ural Mountains

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I. The Setting and People

• In the south is the steppe, a grassy and
• mostly treeless area with fertile soil

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I. The Setting and People

• North of the steppe is the forested taiga, which
• has long, cold winters and a short growing
• season

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I. The Setting and People

• In the east, dividing Europe and Asia, are the
• Ural Mountains

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I. The Setting and People

• There are many rivers, some flowing into the
• Black Sea, that provide transportation
• networks

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I. The Setting and People

• The area has been inhabited since Neolithic
• times

European Late Neolithic (c. 3500 BCE), showing
the main cultures
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I. The Setting and People

• After the A.D. 400s, Slavs settled in eastern
• Europe but were often invaded by the Avars,
• Huns, and Magyars

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I. The Setting and People

• During the A.D. 800s Vikings invaded, seeking
• to extend their trade routes with cities such as
• Novgorod and Kiev

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II. Kievan Russia

• Rurik, the leader of a people called the Rus,
• took control of Novgorod in the A.D. 800s

Rurik, Grand Prince of Kiev Born circa 800 Died
in 879
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II. Kievan Russia

• Rurik ruled over Kiev and the Slavic tribes and
• the region under their control was called the
• Rus

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II. Kievan Russia

• Kiev, the capital, was on the trade route
• between Constantinople and the Baltic Sea

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II. Kievan Russia

• Areas in Kievan Russia were led by princes
• who governed with the advice of councils of
• boyars

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II. Kievan Russia

• Yaroslav I (Yaroslav the Wise) ruled in the
• A.D. 1000s, built many churches, and
• introduced Russias first law code

2 grivnas with the image of Yaroslav the Wise.
The grivna has been the national currency of
Ukraine since 1996
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II. Kievan Russia

• The law code, Pravda Russkia, combined
• Slavic tribal customs with older laws and
• traditions

Russkaya Pravda being read to people
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II. Kievan Russia

• In the mid-900s, Vladimir I became impressed
• with the Eastern Orthodox Church in
• Constantinople

Vladimir I the Grand Duke of Kiev
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II. Kievan Russia

• Vladimir converted to Christianity and ordered
• all Kievans to become Christians

Vladimir having his subjects baptized
Saint Vladimir
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II. Kievan Russia

• The Byzantine church became an important
• force and monasteries became centers of
• religious thought, social service, and the arts

Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia
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II. Kievan Russia

• The clergy were very important and had much
• influence over daily life

Russian Orthodox clergy carrying icons in a
procession in commemoration of Saints Cyril and
Methodius, the founders of the Cyrillic alphabet
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II. Kievan Russia

• Religious themes dominated Kievan culture in
• writing, icons, mosaics, and frescoes

Icon of St. Nicholas, the
miracle worker
Mosaic of St. Demetrius
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II. Kievan Russia

• Kievan Russia traded with the Byzantines, and
• trade built Kievan Russia into a strong,
• wealthy society

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II. Kievan Russia

• Social classes emerged - princes at the top,
• followed by the boyars, artisans, merchants
• and the peasants