Igor Ryurikovich of Kiev (c878-945)

Main

912-945: Grand Duke of Kiev
Ruler of Kievan Rus
AKA: Igor the Old

Igor Ryurikovich Rurik of Kiev, Prince of Kiev, was born 878 to Rurik (c832-879) and Efanda of Urman and died 945 Korosten, Korosten Rayon, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine of unspecified causes. He married Olga of Kiev (c890-969) .

Biography

Igor I (Old East Slavic: Игорь, Igor'; Old Norse: Ingvar Røriksen; Ukrainian: Ігор|Ihor [ˈiɦɔr]; Russian: Игорь [ˈiɡərʲ]; Belarusian: Ігар [ˈiɣar]) was a Varangian ruler of Kievan Rus' from 912 to 945. Information about Igor comes mostly from the Primary Chronicle. This document has Igor as the son of Rurik, the first ruler of Kievan Rus':

Early Life

Rurik remained in power until his death in 879. On his deathbed, Rurik bequeathed his realm to Oleg, who belonged to his kin, and entrusted to Oleg's hands his son Igor of Kiev, for he was very young. Oleg moved the capital to Kiev (by murdering the then-rulers and taking the city) and founded the state of Kievan Rus', which was ruled by Rurik's successors (his son Igor and Igor's descendants). The state persisted until the Mongol invasion in 1240.

6378–6387 (870–879). On his deathbed, Rurik bequeathed his realm to Oleg, who belonged to his kin, and entrusted to Oleg's hands his son Igor', for he was very young.

6388–6390 (880–882). Oleg set forth, taking with him many warriors from among the Varangians, the Chuds, the Slavs, the Merians and all the Krivichians. He thus arrived with his Krivichians before Smolensk, captured the city, and set up a garrison there. Thence he went on and captured Lyubech, where he also set up a garrison. He then came to the hills of Kiev, and saw how Askold and Dir reigned there. He hid his warriors in the boats, left some others behind, and went forward himself bearing the child Igor'. He thus came to the foot of the Hungarian hill, and after concealing his troops, he sent messengers to Askold and Dir, representing himself as a stranger on his way to Greece on an errand for Oleg and for Igor', the prince's son, and requesting that they should come forth to greet them as members of their race. Askold and Dir straightway came forth. Then all the soldiery jumped out of the boats, and Oleg said to Askold and Dir, "You are not princes nor even of princely stock, but I am of princely birth." Igor' was then brought forward, and Oleg announced that he was the son of Rurik. They killed Askold and Dir, and after carrying them to the hill, they buried them there, on the hill now known as Hungarian, where the castle of Ol'ma now stands.^[1]

Igor' twice besieged Constantinople, in 941 and 944, and although Greek fire destroyed part of his fleet, he concluded with the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII a favourable treaty (945), the text of which the chronicle has preserved. In 913 and 944 the Rus' plundered the Arabs in the Caspian Sea during the Caspian expeditions of the Rus', but it remains unclear whether Igor' had anything to do with these campaigns.

Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlians in 945. The Byzantine historian and chronicler, Leo the Deacon (born ca 950), describes how Igor met his death: "They had bent down two birch trees to the prince's feet and tied them to his legs; then they let the trees straighten again, thus tearing the prince's body apart."^[2] Igor's wife, Olga of Kiev, avenged his death by punishing the Drevlians. The Primary Chronicle blames his death on his own excessive greed, indicating that he tried to collect tribute for a second time in a month. As a result, Olga changed the system of tribute gathering (poliudie) in what may be regarded as the first legal reform recorded in Eastern Europe.

Controversy

Drastically revising the chronology of the Primary Chronicle, Constantin Zuckerman argues that Igor actually reigned for three years, between summer 941 and his death in early 945. He explains the epic 33-year span of his reign in the chronicle to be the result of its author's faulty interpretation of Byzantine sources.^[3] Indeed, none of Igor's activities are recorded in the chronicle before 941.

Family

Igor's wife, Olga of Kiev (c890-969), ruled as regent for their son, Svyatoslav, after Igor's death. Olga is also known for her military campaigns against the Drevlians, as well as her conversion to Christianity, which laid the foundation for the Christianization of Kievan Rus'.

Children

Offspring of Igor of Kiev and Olga of Kiev (c890-969)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Svyatoslav I Igorevich of Kiev (c942-972)	942 Kiev, Ukraine	9999 972	Predslava Malusha (940-1020)

Siblings

Offspring of Rurik (c832-879) and Efanda of Urman
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Igor Ryurikovich of Kiev (c878-945)	878	945 Korosten, Korosten Rayon, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine	Olga of Kiev (c890-969)

References

^ Translated and edited by Cross, S. H. and Sherbowitz-Wetzor, O. P. (1953). "The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text" (PDF). Crimson Printing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp. 60-61. http://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/dokumente/a/a011458.pdf. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
^ Tarasenko, Leonid (27 February 2008). "Korosten (Iskorosten): A small town with a great history". geocities.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. https://www.webcitation.org/5ko0ALqYn?url=http://www.geocities.com/korostencity/iskorosten.htm. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
^ Zuckerman, Constantin (1995). "On the Date of the Khazars' Conversion to Judaism and the Chronology of the Kings of the Rus Oleg and Igor: A Study of the Anonymous Khazar Letter from the Genizah of Cairo" (PDF) (1): 237-270. DOI:10.3406/rebyz.1995.1906. ISSN 0766-5598. Retrieved on 5 July 2016.

Regnal titles
Igor of Kiev Rurikovich Born: 9th century Died: 945
Preceded by Oleg the Seer	Prince of Kiev 914–945	Succeeded by Olga (regent)
Pretenders to the title
Preceded by established	Prince of Kiev ?–914	Succeeded by Svyatoslav the Brave

Footnotes (including sources)

Afil

[laurentian-1] Translated and edited by Cross, S. H. and Sherbowitz-Wetzor, O. P. (1953). "The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text" (PDF). Crimson Printing Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp. 60-61. http://www.mgh-bibliothek.de/dokumente/a/a011458.pdf. Retrieved 16 February 2014.

[korosten-2] Tarasenko, Leonid (27 February 2008). "Korosten (Iskorosten): A small town with a great history". geocities.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. https://www.webcitation.org/5ko0ALqYn?url=http://www.geocities.com/korostencity/iskorosten.htm. Retrieved 16 February 2014.

[zuckerman-3] Zuckerman, Constantin (1995). "On the Date of the Khazars' Conversion to Judaism and the Chronology of the Kings of the Rus Oleg and Igor: A Study of the Anonymous Khazar Letter from the Genizah of Cairo" (PDF) (1): 237-270. DOI:10.3406/rebyz.1995.1906. ISSN 0766-5598. Retrieved on 5 July 2016.

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