At the beginning of 967, an uninvited guest came to Kiev, the capital of the Kyiv Principality of Kiev. This man was called Carlo Kairos, a nobleman of the Byzantine Empire. He came here and shouldered a special delivery by the Byzantine Emperor Nikki Frus. Mission, this mission is: to persuade the highest ruler of Kievan Rus, Syavitoslav Igoreyevich, to send troops to Bulgaria.
Why did the Byzantine emperor incited the Kievan people to invade Bulgarian territory? It’s a long story.
When the historical pointer points to the beginning of the 10th century AD, the sphere of influence of the Balkans, known as the "European Gunpowder Barrel", has been largely divided: the Byzantine Empire controls the southern and coastal areas of the peninsula, and the Bulgarian Empire controls the central and northern parts of the Balkans. .
Since the Bulgarians founded the country at the end of the 7th century, the two sides have been in constant friction. The Bulgarians have used the topographical advantages and the Byzantine civil strife, and have repeatedly defeated their opponents and marched to the capital of Constantinople. When the Tsar Simon, who is known as the "Great Emperor", was in power, most of the Balkans became the territory of the Bulgarians. Simon once wanted to capture the Byzantine capital and make himself a Byzantine emperor.
But after all, Byzantine’s hands have accumulated hundreds of years of family responsibilities. The Bulgarians want to eat like a delusion. After Simon’s death, the new emperor Peter is not interested in the war, and he is also interested in the war from time to time. The intrusion of people and the Pechernego (one of the Turks), Peter's expectations for peace are even stronger.
At this time, the Byzantines also wanted to shake hands with the West, so they could free their hands to deal with the Arabs in the east. After the conclusion of the peace talks, the border between the two countries has not heard the voice of the military.
But under the surface of peace, the undercurrents are still surging. Peter loves peace. The Byzantine Empire will not let the strong enemies sleep on the side of the couch. It has steadily advanced in the diplomatic field of the Balkans and established good relations with the people of Central and Eastern Europe. Relations, the Magyars, the Serbs, and the Kievan Russ have become Byzantine allies. An invisible noose slowly tightened around the Bulgarian's neck.
The Bulgarians were not fuel-efficient lamps. Because the Byzantines were bad, after the signing of the contract, the northern nomadic tribes invaded Bulgaria. Peter was incompetent and unable to stop, but the Byzantines were unwilling to help. Peter was angry. Under the contract with the Magyars: You can come and go anywhere with me. There is only one condition. Don't rob me and grab the Byzantine.
This Byzantine can find an excuse to start a war. In 963, when the new emperor Nikki Fruss succeeded to the throne, he announced that he would no longer pay the Bulgarian tribute. He also beaten the Bulgarian messenger who had come to collect it and threw it out of the country. This is not counting, he also led the army in the Thrace province bordering Bulgaria, and looted several Bulgarian border posts, which is to provoke Peter.
The demonstration was over. When it was really about to start the war, Nikki Fruss was guilty: at this time most of his family was in the Eastern battlefield, and Peter wanted to attack with all his strength. He really didn't have much control. So he sacrificed the long-standing means of Byzantium: killing people by knife.
The "knife" chosen by Nikki Frus is Svia Toslav. Historically, there have been many wars between Byzantine and Kievan Rus, but the relationship between the two sides has been fairly good recently, and Nikki Frus has not only produced a huge sum of 1,500 pounds of gold, but also promised to move the old Maozi. Thank you again afterwards.
Still, Carlos Roses is still not sure about his ability to complete his mission. Whoever wants Svia Toslav to agree on it, which makes him happy.
Cossack
Why did the Grand Duke of Kiev so pleasantly agree to the conditions of the Byzantines? Is it because money can make a ghost push? Not always.
There is no eternal friendship between nations, only eternal interests. The conquest of Bulgaria not only can get rich rewards from the Byzantines, but also can bring in the bulk of Bulgarian fertile soil, which can be said to have benefits without harm.
In addition to the real benefits, there is another factor that plays a more important role: the character of Sviatoslav.
"Norman Origins" is a famous public case in the history of Russian origin. According to this speaker, Kievan Rose was established by a foreign Nordic Varanji (one of the Normans). In other words, the Russians It is a descendant of Scandinavian Germans.
This is said to be angered by many Russian historians. The opponents said that the Varanjis played a lesser role in the founding of Kievan Rus, and that they only experienced the rule of the Three Dynasties and were assimilated by the local Slavic people. .
Yavitoslav Igolyevich is one of the strong evidences of "assimilators". The Dagong not only had a Slavic taste, but his behavior was also completely Slavic: he shaved his hair, only the little scorpion that was tied up on the top. He loves to wear a white shirt and loves half-baked horse meat. He never sleeps in a tent when he marches, but he wraps a saddle on a horse blanket. In addition to the blond appearance, this person can't see the half-point settled, civilized Norman shadow, the whole life-riding grassland chief. His style is extremely appetizing for the Russians of the nomadic people. For thousands of years, the Russians have been continually expressing their beauty. Ukrainian historian Glushevsky affectionately called him "Zapolozhe, who lives in the throne of Kiev." Cossack.
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The typical style of a nomadic warrior is to use the battlefield as a home and to shoot and shoot. Sviatoslav ruled Kievan Russ for 10 years, and there were only a handful of days in the capital Kiev, most of which were spent on conquest. As soon as he succeeded, he took the war against the many Eastern Slavic tribes in the Volga River. The declaration of war was also a nomadic style: "I want you to come." Concise, direct, no need to enumerate any reason.
Sviatoslav beat the Eastern Slavic tribe and caused dissatisfaction with their sovereign state, the Kosakh. This Turkic Khanate, which was founded in the middle of the 7th century, controls the Volga-Donna steppe, as well as the eastern part of Crimea and the northern part of the Caucasus. But Svia Tosraf is addicted to killing, and what power does not control you. If you don't say anything, you can beat it all the time. The seemingly powerful Cossa people are beaten and lost. At the end of the day, even the capital Attila was occupied by Svia Toslav, and this commercial power that dominated the Black Sea region for three centuries died.
The first shot killed a powerful empire, which made Svia Toslav excited. The blood of the prey is the best stimulant for the wild wolves in the grassland. It is a hot and difficult Sviatoslav knives and immediately seeks the next target. Just as he was eager to try, the Roman messenger of East Rome came to the door and sent a more attractive prey to his eyes, which was scratching the itch of the "Cossack".
a dozen Balkans
The typical style of a nomadic warrior is to do it. In August of that year, he set up a large army of 60,000 people. The more heavier the river, the more he entered Bulgaria. The Bulgarians also came to the army and the two sides fought near Silistra. The fighting lasted for nearly a day, and the Bulgarians played hard, but Sviatoslav gave full play to the "Cossack style" and fought bravely to take the lead. The leader set an example, and the Ross soldiers were all excited and dying. The number of Bulgarians is only half of the other party. After all, they can't resist it and retreat to the fortress of Silistra. Sviatoslav attacked the city and swept away, and he was even trapped in the enemy city. The weak Peter the Great heard this letter and was scared to have epilepsy on the spot. The Bulgarians lost their backbone and were even more powerless to withstand the iron hoof of the Mao army. Svia Toslav swept across northern Bulgaria and plundered, leaving a piece of scorched earth.
The development of the war made the Bulgarians stunned and made the Byzantine stunned. They just wanted the Russians to beat Peter and let him converge. Unexpectedly, the Bulgarians did not fight so much. Nikiforus did not want Bulgaria to die in this country, so there was no buffer zone in the western part of the empire. So he made a move to the bottom: he sent people to the Pechernegues and asked them to attack Kievan.
The family of the Ross Principality is not thick, and Sviatoslav has 60,000 soldiers. The Pechernegers sneaked in and shunned the capital of the Principality of Kiev.
This circumference does not matter, Dagong’s mother, Olijia, and several sons are in the city. The left-behind staff panicked and sent the Queen Mother and the Prince. This sin can be great. They did not want to resist, and the Turks were not besieged for a while. A member of the city was brave and brave, and one person rode out of the city, greeted all the way with Pechernegue, successfully deceived the enemy, and moved from the opposite side of the Bie Nie River to rescue the troops, slightly alleviating the crisis. Sviatoslav, who was far south, received a letter of help and then led the troops back to the division. The Pechernegers retreated and Kiev turned to safety. Bulgaria has also temporarily avoided the fate of the country.
Peter, who was frightened, hurriedly sent Constantinople, Nikki Fruss took the opportunity to ask for a price, and proposed that Peter abdicated, the Byzantine Prince greeted the harsh conditions of the new Emperor Boris, and the treacherous Peter promised the Bulgarian royal family. Since then, he has become a slave to Byzantine.
The Byzantines are satisfied, but things will not end here, and large areas of northern Bulgaria are occupied by the Kievan people. The fertile and rich land of Bulgaria has greatly stimulated Sviatoslav’s desires. In spite of the opposition of his mother and ministers, he moved the capital from Kiev to the city of Pereia Slavic in the mouth of the Danube. Because of its important transportation advantages, it is an important commercial center. The smug Sviatoslav uttered madly: "I don't want to live in Kiev, I want to live in Pereaslavic. Greek gold, silk, red wine and various fruits, Hungary and Bosimi Asian silver and horses, Rose's fur, beeswax, honey and slaves... everything goes to this place."
Svia Toslav’s over-expanded ambition caused the Byzantine’s worries. The latter would not want to see a more powerful dual empire at the doorstep of their own home. The conflict between the two sides is as inevitable as Sviatoslav’s second expedition to Bulgaria.
Two dozen Balkans
In the summer of 969 AD, Svia Toslav, who had completed his troops, once again led a mighty army to embark on the road to the Balkans. After learning the lesson, he deliberately divided Kievan Russ into three and handed it over to his three sons. In order to prevent the Pechernegers and the Magyars from coming to attack, he simply formed an alliance with them. The expeditionary army was mixed with a large number of mercenaries from these two nationalities.
Sviatoslav, who had no worries, was unstoppable on the battlefield. The Bulgarian cities fell one after another. Finally, even the capital Preslav was captured. The new Tsar Boris and a large number of nobles were captured. The eastern and northern parts of Bulgaria were annexed by the Ross.
The Byzantine was scared: Sviatoslav played too well, would he hit Byzantium in one go? They took the initiative to send representations, but the slogan of Ross’s slogan was: either pay a large sum of money, or give your European territory to Laozi, and you will go to Asia. At this time, he has not put Byzantine in his eyes at all.
Sviatoslav is so arrogant and arrogant. In addition to his own military strength, he also believes that the Byzantines simply cannot take care of themselves. Nikki Frus was killed in a military coup at the end of the year, and the new emperor John Zimski was busy suppressing the rebellion that Niki Fruss had set off. The situation in Byzantine is turbulent and there is still room for dealing with Bulgarian affairs.
In 970 AD, the Byzantine worries finally became a reality, and the Ross army overtook the Nauru and went straight to the Adriatic. The Byzantine capital is a sneak peek, and Constantinople is shaken, and the streets are full of people.
The blessings of the blessings, when a person's fortune is too smooth, the crisis is not far from him. The enthusiasm of the Russians, while injecting infinite vitality into Svia Toslav, also fascinated his eyes, making him unable to see his true strength and the true strength of his opponent. The foundation of the Eastern Roman Empire, which has been established for hundreds of years, is far from the Kiev Roosey, which has only been a few decades old. The advantages of this aspect are evident in its talent accumulation. Zimsky was stuck in the quagmire of the civil war and could not get out of it, but the talent of his commander, Valdas Sklerus, was not in the bottom. In Arcadiapolis (now Lule Bourgaez, Turkey) 80 miles west of Constantinople, Skelerus first falsely induced the weak, inducing the Ross army to relax, then pretending to lose, and Fight and go. Although the Byzantines were "successful", they were in an orderly retreat and the team was not chaotic. The old Maozi and Turkic people who were stunned by alcohol were paying attention to these things, and they only rushed to fight hard, and they couldn’t end the battle immediately, so they would go back and plunder early.
What happened next, the readers who read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are familiar with it: the battlefield moved to the dangerous place, the drums rang, and the ambush rose. The hunter, who was just interested in it, became a prey in the encirclement. The mercenary of Pechernig had not yet reacted, and he was smashed by Scolarus. The Pechernegers collapsed and the defeated team, the Ross army collapsed across the board. Byzantines hunted all the way, the Ross people flowed into the river, and the corpses were dozens of miles.
Miserable
In the battle of Arcadiopolis, the Ross Army, with more than 30,000 people, lost the hand of the 12,000 Byzantine division. This slap in the face finally woke up the Grand Duke of Sviatoslav, and he quickly evacuated to the northern Balkan Mountains. However, it was too late, at the beginning of 1971, the internal John Zimski was led to lead the army and the army. He first conquered Prerelav, and rescued a large number of Bulgarian nobles, including the Boris Tsar, and then marched north, and the fortresses and checkpoints along the way fell.
Seeing that the expedition was going to be lost, Sviatoslav gritted his teeth and decided to fight again. Both sides met near Silistra. Under the leadership of the Grand Duke, the Ross Army gave full play to the brave style of the Russian nation. The two armies fought for a long time, and the outcome was still not separated. However, the bloody courage of Mao Zi is hard to match the elite of the Greeks. When Zimsky puts the Byzantine ace, the heavy armored cavalry into the battlefield, the Ross people can't keep going and withdraw into the Silistra Fortress. .
The Byzantines then attacked on all sides. Now it is the turn of the Ross people to experience the taste of the Bulgarian defenders. It is undeniable that the toughness of the Russians is inferior to that of the Bulgarians, and they are very tenacious. However, the generational difference in military technology has made it impossible for them to turn their own blood into victory. The siege war lasted for three months, and the Ross Army took the initiative to attack many times, but each time it was pressed back by the Byzantine cavalry. The Byzantine fleet equipped with Greek fires blocked the waterway and the outside aid could not enter.
The fierce warrior is also unable to withstand the pressure of physiological needs. At the end of July 971, the Ross army, which had been battling for a long time, could no longer support it and agreed to surrender. The conditions imposed by the Byzantine side were: the occupied Bulgarian territory, the looted Bulgarian population, and the property were left behind. I will no longer be allowed to fight the ideas of Bulgaria and the Empire. Sviatoslav signed the agreement and then left. In 967 AD, he started the Nanzheng hegemony with the beginning of Sillistra. Four years later, the hegemony ended in the same place. I am so sorrowful, I am afraid that only Svia Toslav himself is clear.
The grand blueprint became a bubble, but the doom of Dagong did not end there. Zimiski saw that Sviatoslav was a generation of great men, and that a piece of paper and a discussion could absolutely not bind this ambitious horse. For the peace of the empire, he must smash the roots. To this end, he used the poison that the former Nikki Frus had used: with the help of the Pechernegues.
Zimsky's use of the chronograph was particularly embarrassing. The Ross army, which had undergone a fierce battle, suffered heavy losses, and the mercenaries dispersed again. The team around Dagong was running low. At the beginning of 972 AD, when Svia Toslav came to the vicinity of Horzcha, the Turks were out. Dagong tried to lead the army to break through and failed to be killed. According to the Russian Chronicle "The Chronicle of the Year": Chief Pechernig squatted the head of the Grand Duke and took his skull to make his own glass. The poor generation of the heroic hero, turned into a strange soul in a foreign land.
Today, when people talk about Russia, they are more admired for their bravery, and even the title of "fighting nation." However, even the "Cossacks" that the "fighting peoples" themselves highly praised have fallen to the most miserable end of the Russian rulers. History tells us in a bloody way: Courage can win a lot for you, but it can't win everything for you. In the face of perfect systems and advanced technology, courage is nothing but a rut that can be easily crushed.
The so-called fighting nation has repeatedly suffered in history. Perhaps it is just like Svia Toslav, who is overly superstitious about courage.