Names of Slavic tribes and their places of settlement. At the origins of Slavic writing

The Eastern Slavs are a large group of kindred peoples, which today number more than 300 million people. The history of the formation of these peoples, their traditions, faith, relations with other states are important moments in history, since they answer the question of how our ancestors appeared in antiquity.

Origin

The question of the origin of the Eastern Slavs is interesting. This is our history and our ancestors, the first mention of which dates back to the beginning of our era. If we talk about archaeological excavations, then scientists find artifacts indicating that the nationality began to form even before our era.

All Slavic languages ​​belong to a single Indo-European group. Its representatives stood out as a nationality around the 8th millennium BC. The ancestors of the Eastern Slavs (and many other peoples) lived near the shores of the Caspian Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the Indo-European group broke up into 3 peoples:

  • Pro-Germans (Germans, Celts, Romans). Filled Western and Southern Europe.
  • Baltoslavs. They settled between the Vistula and the Dnieper.
  • Iranian and Indian peoples. They spread throughout Asia.

Around the 5th century BC, the Balotoslavs are divided into Balts and Slavs, already in the 5th century AD, the Slavs, in short, are divided into eastern (eastern Europe), western (central Europe) and southern (Balkan Peninsula).

To date, the Eastern Slavs include: Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians.

The invasion of the Hun tribes into the territory of the Black Sea region in the 4th century destroyed the Greek and Scythian state. Many historians call this fact the root cause of the future creation of the ancient state by the Eastern Slavs.

History reference

resettlement

An important question is how the development of new territories by the Slavs took place, and how their resettlement took place in general. There are 2 main theories of the appearance of the Eastern Slavs in Eastern Europe:

  • Autochthonous. It assumes that the Slavic ethnos was originally formed on the East European plain. The theory was put forward by the historian B. Rybakov. There are no significant arguments in its favor.
  • Migration. Suggests that the Slavs migrated from other regions. Solovyov and Klyuchevsky argued that the migration was from the territory of the Danube. Lomonosov spoke about migration from the Baltic territory. There is also a theory of migration from the regions of Eastern Europe.

Around the 6th-7th centuries, the Eastern Slavs settled the territory of Eastern Europe. They settled in the territory from Ladoga and Lake Ladoga in the North to the Black Sea coast in the south, from the Carpathian Mountains in the West to the Volga territories in the East.

13 tribes lived in this territory. Some sources speak of 15 tribes, but these data do not find historical confirmation. The Eastern Slavs in ancient times consisted of 13 tribes: Vyatichi, Radimichi, Polans, Polochans, Volynians, Ilmens, Dregovichi, Drevlyans, Ulichi, Tivertsy, Northerners, Krivichi, Dulebs.

The specifics of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs on the East European Plain:

  • Geographic. There are no natural barriers, which facilitated movement.
  • Ethnic. A large number of people with different ethnic composition lived and migrated in the territory.
  • Sociability. The Slavs settled near captivity and unions, which could influence the ancient state, but on the other hand could share their culture.

Map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs in antiquity


Tribes

The main tribes of the Eastern Slavs in antiquity are presented below.

Glade. The most numerous tribe, strong on the banks of the Dnieper, south of Kyiv. It was the clearing that became the sink for the formation of the ancient Russian state. According to the chronicle, in 944 they stopped calling themselves glades, and began to use the name Rus.

Slovenian Ilmen. The northernmost tribe that settled around Novgorod, Ladoga and Lake Peipus. According to Arab sources, it was the Ilmens, together with the Krivichs, who formed the first state - Slavia.

Krivichi. They settled north of the Western Dvina and in the upper reaches of the Volga. The main cities are Polotsk and Smolensk.

Polochane. Settled south of the Western Dvina. A minor tribal union that did not play an important role in the fact that the Eastern Slavs formed a state.

Dregovichi. They lived between the upper reaches of the Neman and the Dnieper. They mostly settled along the Pripyat River. All that is known about this tribe is that they had their own principality, the main city of which was Turov.

Drevlyans. Settled south of the Pripyat River. The main city of this tribe was Iskorosten.


Volynians. They settled earlier than the Drevlyans at the headwaters of the Vistula.

White Croats. The most western tribe, which was located between the rivers Dniester and Vistula.

Duleby. They were located east of the White Croats. One of the weakest tribes that did not last long. They voluntarily became part of the Russian state, having previously broken up into Buzhans and Volhynians.

Tivertsy. They occupied the territory between the Prut and the Dniester.

Uglichi. They settled between the Dniester and the Southern Bug.

northerners. They mainly occupied the territory adjacent to the Desna River. The center of the tribe was the city of Chernihiv. In the future, several cities were formed on this territory at once, which are known today, for example, Bryansk.

Radimichi. They settled between the Dnieper and the Desna. In 885 they were annexed to the Old Russian state.

Vyatichi. They were located along the sources of the Oka and Don. According to the chronicle, the legendary Vyatko was the ancestor of this tribe. At the same time, already in the 14th century there were no mentions of the Vyatichi in the annals.

Tribal unions

The Eastern Slavs had 3 strong tribal unions: Slavia, Kuyavia and Artania.


In relations with other tribes and countries, the Eastern Slavs carried out attempts to capture raids (mutual) and trade. The main contacts were with:

  • Byzantine Empire (Slav raids and mutual trade)
  • Varangians (Varangian raids and mutual trade).
  • Avars, Bulgars and Khazars (raids on the Slavs and mutual trade). Often these tribes are called Turks or Türks.
  • Finno-Ugrians (Slavs tried to seize their territory).

What did you do

The Eastern Slavs were mainly engaged in agriculture. The specifics of their settlement determined the methods of cultivating the land. In the southern regions, as well as in the Dnieper region, chernozem soil dominated. Here the land was used up to 5 years, after which it was depleted. Then people moved to another site, and the exhausted one recovered for 25-30 years. This farming method is called shifting .

The northern and central regions of the East European Plain were characterized by a large number of forests. Therefore, the ancient Slavs first cut down the forest, burned it, fertilized the soil with ashes, and only then proceeded to field work. Such a site was fertile for 2-3 years, after which it was left and moved on to the next one. This type of farming is called slash-and-burn .

If you try to briefly describe the main activities of the Eastern Slavs, the list will be as follows: agriculture, hunting, fishing, beekeeping (honey collection).


The main agricultural culture of the Eastern Slavs in ancient times was millet. Marten skins were mainly used by the Eastern Slavs as money. Much attention was paid to the development of crafts.

Beliefs

The beliefs of the ancient Slavs are called paganism, because there was a worship of many gods. Mostly deities were associated with natural phenomena. Almost every phenomenon or important component of life that the Eastern Slavs professed, corresponded to a certain god. For example:

  • Perun - god of lightning
  • Yarilo - god of the sun
  • Stribog - the god of the wind
  • Volos (Veles) - the patron saint of cattle breeders
  • Mokosh (Makosh) - goddess of fertility
  • Etc

The ancient Slavs did not build temples. They built rituals in groves, in glades, near stone idols and in other places. Attention is drawn to the fact that almost all fairy-tale folklore in terms of mysticism belongs precisely to the era under study. In particular, the Eastern Slavs believed in the goblin, brownie, mermaids, water and others.

How were the occupations of the Slavs reflected in paganism? It was paganism, which was based on worship of the elements and elements that affect fertility, that formed the attitude of the Slavs to agriculture as the main way of life.

social order


East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the basin of the upper and middle reaches of the Oka and along the Moscow River. The resettlement of the Vyatichi took place from the territory of the Dnieper left bank or from the upper reaches of the Dniester. The Vyatichi substratum was the local Baltic population. Vyatichi retained pagan beliefs longer than other Slavic tribes and resisted the influence of the Kievan princes. Rebelliousness and militancy are the hallmark of the Vyatichi tribe.

The tribal union of the Eastern Slavs of the 6th-11th centuries. They lived in the territories of the current Vitebsk, Mogilev, Pskov, Bryansk and Smolensk regions, as well as eastern Latvia. Formed on the basis of the alien Slavic and local Baltic population - the Tushemly culture. In the ethnogenesis of the Krivichi, the remnants of the local Finno-Ugric and Baltic - the Ests, Livs, Latgalians - tribes, who mixed with the numerous alien Slavic population, participated. Krivichi are divided into two large groups: Pskov and Polotsk-Smolensk. In the culture of the Polotsk-Smolensk Krivichi, along with Slavic elements of jewelry, there are elements of the Baltic type.

Slovenian Ilmen- a tribal union of the Eastern Slavs on the territory of Novgorod land, mainly in the lands near Lake Ilmen, in the neighborhood of the Krivichi. According to The Tale of Bygone Years, the Slovenes of Ilmen, together with the Krivichi, Chud and Merya, participated in the calling of the Varangians, who were related to the Slovenes - immigrants from the Baltic Pomerania. A number of historians consider the ancestral homeland of the Slovenes in the Dnieper region, others deduce the ancestors of the Ilmen Slovenes from the Baltic Pomerania, since the traditions, beliefs and customs, the type of dwellings of the Novgorodians and Polabian Slavs are very close.

Duleby- tribal union of Eastern Slavs. They inhabited the territory of the Bug River basin and the right tributaries of the Pripyat. In the 10th century Duleb union broke up, and their lands became part of Kievan Rus.

Volynians- East Slavic union of tribes, who lived on the territory on both banks of the Western Bug and at the source of the river. Pripyat. Volynians were first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 907. In the 10th century, the Vladimir-Volyn principality was formed on the lands of the Volynians.

Drevlyans- East Slavic tribal union, which occupied in the 6-10 centuries. the territory of Polissya, the Right Bank of the Dnieper, west of the glades, along the course of the Teterev, Uzh, Ubort, Stviga rivers. The habitat of the Drevlyans corresponds to the area of ​​the Luka-Raikovets culture. The name Drevlyane was given to them because they lived in the forests.

Dregovichi- tribal union of Eastern Slavs. The exact boundaries of the Dregovichi habitat have not yet been established. According to a number of researchers, in the 6th-9th centuries, the Dregovichi occupied the territory in the middle part of the Pripyat River basin, in the 11th - 12th centuries, the southern border of their settlement passed south of Pripyat, the northwestern - in the watershed of the Drut and Berezina rivers, the western - in the upper reaches of the Neman River . When settling in Belarus, the Dregovichi moved from south to north to the Neman River, which indicates their southern origin.

Polochane- Slavic tribe, part of the tribal union of the Krivichi, who lived along the banks of the Dvina River and its tributary Polot, from which they got their name.
The center of the Polotsk land was the city of Polotsk.

Glade- a tribal union of Eastern Slavs, who lived on the Dnieper, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bmodern Kyiv. The very origin of the glades remains unclear, since the territory of their settlement was at the junction of several archaeological cultures.

Radimichi- an East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the eastern part of the Upper Dnieper, along the Sozh River and its tributaries in the 8th-9th centuries. Convenient river routes passed through the lands of the Radimichi, connecting them with Kyiv. Radimichi and Vyatichi had a similar burial rite - the ashes were buried in a log house - and similar temporal female jewelry (temporal rings) - seven-rayed (for Vyatichi - seven-paste). Archaeologists and linguists suggest that the Balts, who lived in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, also participated in the creation of the material culture of the Radimichi.

northerners- East Slavic union of tribes that lived in the 9th-10th centuries along the Desna, Seim and Sula rivers. The origin of the name northerners is of Scythian-Sarmatian origin and is derived from the Iranian word "black", which is confirmed by the name of the city of northerners - Chernihiv. The main occupation of the northerners was agriculture.

Tivertsy- an East Slavic tribe that settled in the 9th century in the interfluve of the Dniester and Prut, as well as the Danube, including the Budzhak coast of the Black Sea on the territory of modern Moldova and Ukraine.

Uchi- East Slavic union of tribes that existed in the 9th - 10th centuries. Ulichi lived in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Bug and on the Black Sea. The center of the tribal union was the city of Peresechen. For a long time, the Ulichi resisted the attempts of the Kyiv princes to subjugate them to their power.

Origin of the Slavs. Settlement and occupation of the Eastern Slavs.

In history, the question of the origin and initial settlement of the Slavs is called the question of the "ancestral home" of the Slavs. Have the Slavs always lived where they live now?

The very first look at this problem was substantiated by a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery Nestor- a chronicler (12th century), who settled the Slavs in the upper reaches of the Danube in the Roman province of Norik. Danube version The origin of the Slavs was also adhered to by such prominent Russian historians of the 19th century as S.M. Soloviev and V.O. Klyuchevsky.

According to the Soviet scientist academician Boris Rybakov Proto-Slavs occupied a wide strip of Central and Eastern Europe from the Oder to the Dnieper. This strip, stretching from north to south about 400 kilometers, and from west to east about 1.5 kilometers, was supported in the west by the mountains of Europe, the Tatras and Sudetes, in the north it reached the Baltic Sea. The eastern half of the Proto-Slavic territory was limited from the north by the Pripyat, from the south by the upper reaches of the Dnieper and the South Bug and the basin of the Ros River.

Slavs belong to the Indo-European family of peoples, which also includes Germanic, Celtic, Iranian Greek and Indian peoples. In the sources, under their own name, the Slavs appear relatively late in the 6th century with the Gothic historian Jordanes in the Greek transcription of “sklavens”. They are also known under the names of Veneti, Antes, Sclaveni. Moreover, he also says that Veneti is the most ancient name of the Slavs. Even earlier, ancient authors wrote about Veneti: Polybius (3rd - 2nd century BC), Titus Livius (1st century AD), Ptolemy (2nd century AD), Tacitus (2nd century AD) .e.).

From the end of the 4th century, the Slavs joined the world migration process, known in history as the "great migration of peoples." The great migration of peoples began with the invasion of the Turkic-speaking peoples - the Huns, who came from Central Asia to the Black Sea steppes. They defeated the Goths, who went to the Balkans and Western Europe. Hurt by the Huns and other Turkic-speaking peoples, the Slavs settled in three main directions, which predetermined their gradual division into three main branches - southern, western and eastern:

To the south - to the Balkan Peninsula. South Slavs subsequently began to live there. These include Serbs, Bulgarians, Montenegrins, Bosnians, Slovenes, Croats;

To the east and north, Eastern Slavs settled along the East European Plain - Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians;
- Western Slavs - Poles, Czechs and Slovaks - moved to the west, to the middle Danube and the interfluve of the Oder and Elbe.

In Eastern Europe, the Slavs met with the Finno-Ugric tribes and settled among them. The resettlement of the Slavs took place peacefully, since the population density was low and there was enough land for everyone. The Slavs settled throughout the East European Plain. In the 6th century they united in tribal unions. A tribe is an association of clans. In turn, a tribal union is a formation that includes several tribes connected not so much by unity of origin, but by the area of ​​​​residence, since territorial ties prevailed over tribal ones.


On the middle reaches of the Dnieper and along the Ros River lived clearing;

North of them northerners;

To the northwest - Drevlyans;

On the river Pripyat Dregovichi(from "dryagva" - a swamp);

On the river Sozh radimichi;

On Ilmen - lake and river Volkhov - Ilmen Slovenes;

In the region of Smolensk and to the north - krivichi;

In the north - east (the area of ​​the Oka River) - Vyatichi;

In the south-west (Western Ukraine) - Uchi, Tivertsy, White Croats, Volhynians.

The neighbors of the Slavs in the north were northern people (Normans), who lived along the shores of the Baltic Sea in Scandinavia. In Russia they were called Varangians(var - sea). The scarce lands of Scandinavia pushed out large detachments of seekers of prey and glory. The Vikings were at the head of these detachments. The Varangians were excellent sailors and warriors and posed a great danger to Europe and the Eastern Slavs. The peak of the armed raids of the Varangians on the lands of the Eastern Slavs was in the 9th century.

In the south, in the Black Sea steppes, Turkic-speaking peoples roamed - until 1036 Pechenegs, and after their defeat by Yaroslav the Wise, their place was taken by Cumans. These nomads often attacked nearby Slavic territories.

A strong warlike state was formed on the Lower Volga and the Don in the 7th century Khazar Khaganate. The capital of this state was Itil on the lower Volga. Mostly the Khazar population was Masulman, but the top of the Khazars adopted the religion of the ancient Jews Judaism m. This state lived by levying trade duties, since it controlled the lower Volga, and frequent raids on the Eastern Slavic lands. Glades, northerners and radimichi at one time had to pay tribute to them.

Vast and rich possessions were located across the Black Sea Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium), where the Slavs often went with military and trading campaigns.

In the east, the neighbors of the Slavic peoples were Finno-Ugric tribes - Merya, Muroma, Mordovians, Mari. In the 7th century, a state was formed on the middle Volga and Kama Volga Bulgaria. It has been a danger to Russia for a long time.

In the west, the Slavs were neighbors with Poles and Hungarians.

The formation of the state, the occupations of its inhabitants are influenced by factors such as geographical location, climatic and natural conditions. The place of settlement of the Eastern Slavs is the East European Plain. Unlike Western Europe, it is devoid of large mountains. The flat relief contributed to close communication and rapprochement of the Eastern European tribes, on the one hand. On the other hand, the plain and the absence of natural obstacles facilitated the aggressive campaigns of the neighbors. Moreover, the East European Plain lay at the junction of routes from Asia to Europe.

The climate was sharply continental: hot and short summers are replaced by long and snowy winters. The territory of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs abounded in forests and rivers.

These natural conditions determined the way of life and the main occupations of the Slavs.

The Slavic state traces its history from 9th century AD. But the East Slavic tribes and their neighbors settled the East European Plain even earlier. How did the formation of such a group as the Eastern Slavs, why did the separation of the Slavic peoples occur - the answers to these questions can be found in the article.

In contact with

The population of the East European Plain before the arrival of the Slavs

But even before the Slavic tribes, people settled in this territory. In the south, near the Black Sea (Euxine Pontus), in the 1st millennium BC, Greek colonies(Olvia, Korsun, Panticapaeum, Phanagoria, Tanais).

Later, the Romans and Greeks will turn these territories into a powerful state of Byzantium. In the steppes, next to the Greeks, lived Scythians and Sarmatians, Alans and Roxolans (ancestors of modern Ossetians).

Here, in the I-III centuries of our era, the Goths (a Germanic tribe) tried to establish themselves.

In the 4th century AD, the Huns came to this territory, who, in their movement to the West, carried with them and part of the Slavic population.

And in VI - the Avars, who formed the Avar Khaganate in the southern Russian lands and whom in 7th century destroyed by the Byzantines.

The Avars were replaced by the Ugrians and Khazars, who founded a powerful state in the lower reaches of the Volga - Khazar Khaganate.

The geography of the settlement of the Slavic tribes

Eastern Slavs (as well as Western and Southern) gradually settled throughout the East European Plain, focusing in its movement on the river highways (the map of the settlement of the Eastern Slavs clearly shows this):

  • glade lived on the Dnieper;
  • northerners on the Desna;
  • Drevlyans and Dregovichi on the Pripyat River;
  • Krivichi on the Volga and Dvina;
  • radimichi on the Sozha river;
  • Vyatichi on the Oka and Don;
  • Slovene Ilmensky in the water area of ​​the river. Volokhov, oz. Ilmen and lake. White;
  • Polochane on the river Lovat;
  • dregovichi on the river. Sozh;
  • Tivertsy and Uchi on the Dniester and Prut;
  • street on the Southern Bug and the Dniester;
  • Volhynians, Buzhans and Dulebs on the Western Bug.

One of the reasons for the settlement of the Eastern Slavs and their settlement in this territory was the presence here water transport arteries- Neva-Dneprovskaya and Sheksno-Oksko-Volzhskaya. The presence of the same water transport arteries led to what happened partial isolation of the Slavic tribes from each other.

Important! The ancestors of the Slavs and some other peoples, their immediate neighbors, most likely were the Indo-Europeans who came here from Asia.

Another ancestral home of the Slavs are considered Carpathian mountains(the territory located to the east of the Germanic tribes: from the Oder River to the Carpathian Mountains), where they were still known under the name of Wends and Slavs in the times of Goths and Huns(these tribes are mentioned in the writings of Roman historians: Pliny the Elder, Tacitus, Ptolemy Claudius). The Proto-Slavic language, according to historians, began to take shape in the middle of the 1st century BC.

East Slavic tribes on the map.

Eastern Slavs and their neighbors

The Slavic tribes had many neighbors who had a strong influence on their culture and life. The peculiarity of political geography was lack of strong states(neighbors of the Eastern Slavs) from the north, northeast and northwest and their presence in the east, southeast, northeast and west.

In the northwest, north and northeast

In the north, northeast and northwest, next to the Slavs lived Finno-Ugric, Baltic-Finnish and Lithuanian tribes:

  • chud;
  • sum;
  • Karelian;
  • measuring;
  • Mari (Cheremis);
  • Lithuania;
  • Do you;
  • Samogitians;
  • wait.

Places of settlement of the Finno-Ugric tribes: they occupied the territory along Chudskoe, Ladoga, Onega lakes, the Svir and Neva rivers, the Western Dvina and Neman in the north and northwest, along the Onega, Sukhona, Volga and Vyatka rivers in the north and northeast.

The neighbors of the Eastern Slavs from the north had a strong influence on such tribes as the Dregovichi, Polochans, Ilmen Slovenes and Krivichi.

They influenced the formation of everyday life, household practices, religion (the Lithuanian thunder god Perkun entered the pantheon of Slavic gods under the name of Perun) and the language of these Slavs.

Gradually their territory was occupied Slavs settled further west.

Scandinavians also lived nearby: Varangians, Vikings or Normans who actively used the Baltic Sea and the future route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" (some for trade, and some for military campaigns on the territory of the Slavs).

Historians know that the strongholds of the Varangians on the lake. Ilmen was the island of Rügen, and Novgorod and Staraya Ladoga (large cities of the Ilmen Slovenes) had close trade ties with Uppsala and Hedyby. This led to cultural and economic rapprochement Slavs with the Baltic countries.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the east and southeast

In the east and southeast, the Eastern Slavs coexisted with Finno-Ugric and Turkic tribes:

  • Bulgars (a Turkic tribe, part of which came to the territory of the Middle Volga region in the 8th century and founded the powerful state of Volga Bulgaria, a “splinter” Great Bulgaria, the state that occupied the territory of the Northern Black Sea and Danube regions);
  • Muroma, Meshchera, Mordovians (Ugric-Finnish tribes, closely adjacent to the Slavs along the Oka, Volga, partly Don rivers; the Krivichi fort post, the city of Murom, was partially settled by representatives Finno-Ugric tribes);
  • the Burtases (possibly an Alanian, and possibly a Turkic or Finno-Ugric tribe, scientists have not fully figured out their ethnolinguistic affiliation);
  • Khazars (a Turkic tribe that settled along the rivers Volga, Don, Northern Donets, Kuban, Dnieper, and controlled the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov and the Caspian territories; the Khazars founded the state of the Khazar Khaganate, the capital of Itil; it is known that Slavic tribes paid tribute to the Khazar Khaganate in the VIII - early IX centuries);
  • Adyghe (kasogi);
  • Alans (yases).

Important! It is worth mentioning the Turkic Khaganate (a neighbor of the Slavic tribes from the east), which existed somewhere in Altai in the 7th-8th centuries. After its collapse, waves of nomads “rolled out” from the Great Steppe to the South Slavic borders. First the Pechenegs, later the Polovtsians.

Mordvins, Bulgars and Khazars had a strong influence on such Slavic tribes as Krivichi, Vyatichi, Northerners, Polyans, Ulichi. The relations of the Slavs with the steppe (which they called the Great) were very strong, although not always peaceful. Slavic tribes did not always favor these neighbors, periodically fighting in the Sea of ​​Azov and the Caspian lands.

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs - scheme.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the south

Neighbors of the Eastern Slavs from the south - two strong states- which extended its influence to the entire Black Sea region, and the Bulgarian kingdom (existed until 1048, extended its influence to the Danube region). The Slavs often visited such large cities of these states as Surozh, Korsun, Tsargrad (Constantinople), Dorostol, Preslav (the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom).

What tribes were adjacent to Byzantium? Byzantine historians, such as Procopius of Caesarea, for the first time described in detail the life and customs of the Slavs, whom they called differently: Antes, Slavs, Russ, Wends, Sklavins. They also mentioned about emerging in the Slavic territories large unions of tribes, such as the Antsky tribal union, Slavia, Kuyavia, Artania. But, most likely, the Greeks knew the glades who lived along the Dnieper better than all other Slavic tribes.

Neighbors of the Slavs in the southwest and west

In the southwest with the Slavs (Tivertsy and White Croats) neighbored with the Wallachians(a little later, in the year 1000, there appeared Kingdom of Hungary). From the west, the Volynians, Drevlyans and Dregovichi coexisted with the Prussians, Yotwigs (Baltic tribal group) and Poles (a little later, from 1025, the kingdom of Poland was formed), who settled along the Neman, Western Bug and Vistula rivers.

What is known about the Slavic tribes

It is known that the Slavs lived in large families, gradually transformed into tribes and a union of tribes.

The largest tribal unions were Polyansky, Drevlyansky, Slovyanoilmensky, with centers in Iskorosten, Novgorod and Kyiv.

In the IV-V centuries, the Slavs began to take shape military democracy system, which led to social stratification and the formation feudal relations.

It is to this period that the first mention of the political history of the Slavs belongs: Germanarich (the German leader) was defeated by the Slavs, and his successor, Vinitar, destroyed more than 70 Slavic elders who tried to negotiate with the Germans (there is also a mention of this in "").

Toponym "Rus"

It is also necessary to talk about the history of the toponym "Rus" and "Russians". There are several versions of the origin of this toponym.

  1. Word happened from the name of the river Ros, which is a tributary of the Dnieper. The Greeks called the Polyana tribes Ross.
  2. The word comes from the term "Rusyns", which means fair-haired people.
  3. Slavs called "Rus" Varangian tribes who came to the Slavs to trade, rob or as military mercenaries.
  4. Perhaps there was a Slavic tribe "Rus" or "Ros" (rather it was one of the Polish tribes), and later this toponym spread to all Slavs.

Eastern Slavs and their neighbors

Eastern Slavs in antiquity

Conclusion

East Slavic tribes and their neighbors were farmers. Grain and other industrial crops (for example, flax) were grown in large quantities. They were also actively engaged in beekeeping (gathering honey) and hunting. Actively traded with neighbors. Grain, honey and furs were exported.

Slavs were pagans and had a rather extensive pantheon of gods, the main of which were Svarog, Rod, Women in Childbirth, Yarilo, Dazhdbog, Lada, Makosh, Veles and others. Slavic genera worshiped the Shchurs(or ancestors), and also believed in brownies, mermaids, goblin, water.