HTST 412 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Pinsk Marshes, Slavs, Third Rome
Document Summary
People originating in the pripet marshes area of central eastern europe. Existed as a coherent ethnic group by 800 bc. Word slave comes from slav due to the fact that these viking types went looking for slaves amongst the slavs. Vikings (veranjians?) were very in uential to the development of statehood for east slavs. Pan-slavism will rear its head a number of times in this course. Arrival of the varangians ruses and their leader ruric in 862. Brought a sense of order to the region. Varangian in uence spread through the river system. Kievan rus - power was centralized in kiev. Expansion was halted by byzantium in 971. Vladimir marries anna, daughter of byzantine emperor basil ii in 988. Anna refused to marry vladimir until he was baptized as a christian. Brings christianity to the elites in kiev in rus. Not everybody goes orthodox - croats and poles become christian but turn toward the.