Capitals and main cities of the Ryazan principality. The Principality of Ryazan - history. Ryazan region. - Capital city. – Fortifications on the Oka and Prona. - Murom. - Glebovichi of Ryazan. – Submission of the region to Vsevolod III. - Bishop Arseny. - Fratricide.

The places that are known to us as the Ryazan region were previously the territories of the Murom-Ryazan principality of the 12th century, and before the arrival of the Slavs they were already inhabited by Finno-Ugric tribes, Mordva and Muroma.

The Ryazan region occupied the middle reaches of the Oka and especially spread on its southern side, in the area of its right tributaries Osetra and Pronya. This is the same plain as other Russian lands; hillocks and depressions also give it a wave-like character. The soil, at first clayey, the further you go to the south, the more and more it turns into black earth. The country was rich in forests; but they left plenty of space for meadows and fields. The watershed strip of the Oka and Don tributaries was also replete with forest and, in addition, swampy wilds; but further to the south the forests thinned out more and more and gave way to bushes that turned into open steppe.

Herberstein in the first half of the 16th century characterizes the Mordovian tribe in this way. “To the east and south of the Moksha River,” he says, lie huge forests in which the Mordovians live, a people who speak a special language. They are part idolaters, part Mohammedans; they live in scattered villages, cultivate fields; feed on wild animal meat and honey; rich in expensive furs; the people are stern, bravely fighting off Tatar predators; almost all are on foot, armed with longbows and excellent marksmen.” Most likely, at the dawn of the millennium, their life was not much different from that described.

The first Russian city known from chronicles in this remote Mordovian-Meshchera country was Ryazan.

That part of the land where the cities of Ryazan and Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky were founded was inhabited by one of the peoples of the Mordovian tribe - Meshchera, who lived in the forests along the tributaries of the Oka, above the Muroma. To this day, the entire northern part of the Ryazan province is called the “Meshcherskaya side”. The ancient chroniclers do not distinguish it from the Meri and Mordovians; they were a wild, forest tribe.

The lower reaches of the Oka, almost to the very mouth, were occupied by the Muroma tribe, which, before other tribes living along the Oka, joined the emerging state, and was somewhat ahead of them in the development of social forms.

Autumn. Meshchersky National Reserve

As evidenced by the Nikon Chronicle (XII-XIII centuries) and later sources, initially to the Ryazan cities in addition to Old Ryazan, Pereyaslavl - Ryazan (modern Ryazan), Pronsk, Ryazhsk, Mikhailov, Kasimov (Gorodets Meshchersky), Zaraysk, which remained in Ryazan until before the 20th century, included Kashira, Kolomna, Tula, and Dankov; during the era of the strengthening of the Ryazan principality in the 14th century, Yelets, Mtsensk, and Kozelsk were subordinate to it, traditionally allied relations were with Murom. Many of these cities were later (in the XIV-XV centuries) taken away by the Moscow princes... Actually, this was one of the reasons for the clashes between the Ryazan and Moscow principalities at that time.

If we examine the origins of the Ryazan region and the historical Ryazan lands, then it is necessary to consider the process of their formation over time. It is known that already in the 10th century the territory of the modern Ryazan region (more precisely, its western part, its ancient Slavic core, somewhat protruding beyond the space bounded by the Oka River from the north, the Osetra River from the West, the Proney River from the East and South) was inhabited by the Slavic tribes of the Vyatichi and Radimichi, as the chronicle notes, descended from the Poles. Even in the 11th century, these tribes still remembered their arrival here from the West. The indigenous population, very sparse in density, of the Ryazan forest zones were, as Ilovaisky writes, Finns (Ugric-Finnish tribes Merya, Meshchera, Murom, Mordovians, who lived throughout the forested part of Central and Northern modern Russia). The Finnish tribes were gradually either forced out to the east, or, more likely, merged with the Slavs. According to the Primary Chronicle, the Kiev prince Svyatoslav in 964 goes to the Oka and Volga, comes to the Vyatichi and asks them: “Who do you give tribute to?” They answer: “We give the Kozars a shell from the rala” (plow). Then Svyatoslav turns on the Khozars and destroys their kingdom. The Vyatichi, however, do not agree to voluntarily pay tribute, and as the chronicler shows in 966: “Vyatichi defeat Svyatoslav, and impose tribute on them.” His son Vladimir the Saint at least twice, in 987 and 997, had to come here again with his squad (and further to the Volga Bulgarians) and again conquer the warlike Vyatichi, who stubbornly did not want to obey and sought independence. The Kyiv princes finally managed to establish their power here, and the city of Murom was inherited by the son of Vladimir the Holy - St. Gleb. He reigned here for only two years, and then was lured by the flattery of Svyatopolk the Accursed and killed.

Let me remind you that back in the 10th century, under Saint Vladimir, Rus' was more or less united; but already in the 11th century, the fragmentation of Rus' began into fiefs, according to the heirs of the eldest and influential princes. Estates often passed from hand to hand according to the ancient family “ladder” law (when, after the death of an older brother, seniority in the clan was inherited not by his eldest son, but by the younger brother of the deceased, etc.). Now it seems that it would be more reasonable to inherit from father to eldest son (as it became much later), but in the era of constant military raids, princes often died on the battlefield while still young, when their children were still children; leaving the clan without a courageous and combat-ready military leader (who was more likely not a young son, but the brother of the deceased) was unreasonable. Therefore, seniority in the clan passed to the younger brother of the deceased, and not to his son. However, over time, seniority in the clan became more and more confusing and more and more controversial. There were no clear and permanent boundaries between the regions of Rus' at that time, and princes often changed cities and lands either by the right of “laddered inheritance” or by the will of the senior (Grand) prince moving from city to city. Sometimes the townspeople themselves invited some prince, expelled some, but, basically, this was under the control of the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

With the fragmentation of the descendants of the Rurikovichs into separate lines and the weakening of the degree of kinship of the princes, their enmity intensified, then (XI-XII centuries) principalities began to form, independent of each other and the Grand Duke of Kyiv.

The formal date of the founding of Ryazan is considered to be its first mention in the chronicle in 1096. It is not known exactly who founded modern Ryazan, but D.I. Ilovaisky believes that the founder could have been the youngest of the brothers-heirs of the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich (son of the famous Yaroslav the Wise), Yaroslav Svyatoslavich, who received the Pook lands (Ryazan and Murom) into his appanage around 1078. Ilovaisky considers this Yaroslav Svyatoslavich (died in 1129) to be the first independent Ryazan prince. From him came the lines of independent Murom and Ryazan princes.

However, it is also known that a century earlier, the Kiev prince Svyatoslav the Great (or the First, father of Vladimir the Holy) was in these places, marching against the Bulgarians and Khazars in 964, and subjugating the Vyatichi in 966. So the founder of Pereyaslavl of Ryazan (modern Ryazan), as an outpost among the Vyatichi recently subjugated to his will, as well as for the defense of his possessions from the east, could also be the Kiev prince Svyatoslav the Great.

Another interesting fact is that modern Ryazan (formerly Pereyaslavl Ryazan) stands at the confluence of the Lybid and Trubezh rivers with the Oka River; But there are rivers with such names in Kyiv! There is also a Dunaichik stream in Ryazan! Obviously, this is a reminder of our Vyatichi ancestors (or Rurik princes with their squads) about coming here from the West, from Kievan Rus... By the way, there are rivers with the same names in the city of Pereslavl Zalessky, which also speaks of “Kievan” the origin of these toponyms.

The formation of independent principalities was legally enshrined in 1097 at the Lyubech Congress of Princes, when the princes decided: “Everyone should keep his fatherland.” This was a forced matter, since due to the complexity of seniority according to the “ladder law” in the growing descendants of the family of Vladimir the Holy, many already began to lay claim to the main throne, the Kiev throne, and to other rich inheritances. This led to bloody quarrels and wars between the princes. Which, in particular, was the reason for the beginning of the decline of Kyiv as a capital city.

However, the measure taken - to sit in their "fatherland" - became the main reason for the feudal fragmentation of Rus' and its weakening in the face of external enemies. If by the 12th century in Rus' there were about 15 more or less independent appanages, and the princes often moved from one to another, then in the 13th century there were 15 so-called absolutely independent from each other. Great Duchies (their number, however, decreased over time - some of them were subjugated by Lithuania in the 13th-14th centuries) and up to 250 appanage (dependent on the Great) principalities with complex mutual relations.

The Svyatoslavichs (sons of Svyatoslav, son of Yaroslav the Wise): Oleg, David and younger brother, Yaroslav, at the Lyubech Congress of Princes in 1097 were assigned the Principality of Chernigov, which included Chernigov, Tmutrakan, Novgorod Seversky, Ryazan, Murom and the surrounding lands. A little later, when dividing the heirs of the Chernigov principality, the Yaroslavichs (descendants of Yaroslav Svyatoslavich, the youngest son of the above-mentioned Svyatoslav Yaroslavich of Chernigov) inherited the entire middle and lower reaches of the Oka (that is, Murom and Ryazan with the surrounding area). It is this Yaroslav Svyatoslavich (died in 1129) that D.I. Ilovaisky considers to be the first Ryazan prince proper. From him came two princely lines: the Ryazan and Murom princes.

Thus, Ryazan emerged from the tutelage of Chernigov and became an independent principality by the first quarter of the 12th century. However, in 1237, Rus' was subjected to a Mongol-Tatar invasion, and like the rest of the Russian principalities, it fell into vassal dependence on the Horde. However, this dependence was expressed mainly in the payment of annual tribute, the issuance of labels for reigning to representatives of already existing dynasties, and the periodic plunder of Tatar-controlled lands by Horde detachments.

Taking advantage of the bleeding of Rus' from the Tatar invasion, most of the Russian lands in the west (modern Belarus and Ukraine, as well as the Great Russian lands themselves, including the western part of the Chernigov principality, and at times even the Kursk and Smolensk lands (!), captured and subjugated Lithuania. At this moment, Ryazan began its independent struggle with the Tatars, and with Lithuania, and with the rising Moscow - the offspring of the powerful Vladimir-Suzdal princes. The then Lithuania, by the way, was mostly ethnically Russian, because even Kursk from the middle of the 14th century about was part of Lithuania for 150 years (!), and the borders of the Lithuanian principality at that time were in contact with the Ryazan land in the southwest (M.K. Lyubavsky in “Lectures on ancient Russian history until the end of the 16th century” directly writes about “Lithuanian -Russian state", and not about "Lithuania"). Some of the Lithuanian princes even fought on the Kulikovo field on the Russian side, others, however, rushed to the aid of Mamai together with Prince Jagiello (Yagello). And, for example, Oleg Ryazansky was married to the sister of the Lithuanian prince Jagiello, which did not prevent Ryazan and Lithuania from being friends or fighting with each other.

As an independent principality, Ryazan existed for about 400 years, from the beginning of the 12th century to 1521. The Grand Dukes of Moscow managed to annex the Ryazan Principality, the very last of the independent (Great) Russian principalities, after they had subjugated the Lord of the Great Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl...

According to D.I. Ilovaisky (“History of the Ryazan Principality”) and the “Ryazan Encyclopedia” (Press Publishing House, 1999), there were a total of 33 Great (independent, not subordinate to anyone in Rus') Ryazan princes. The genealogy of the Ryazan princes is the subject of reconstruction, carried out mainly by D.I. Ilovaisky, because Ryazan’s own chronicles were not preserved in the fire of numerous fires, and chroniclers of other lands report about Ryazan princes and events in fragments, mentioning only the most significant phenomena. It is known that the Ryazan princes were not Monomakhovichs (descendants of Vladimir Monomakh, who was the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise and the son of Vsevolod Yaroslavich), like the Moscow princes, but Svyatoslavichs (descendants of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, son of Yaroslav the Wise). Since Svyatoslav Yaroslavich was the elder brother of Vsevolod Yaroslavich, then his descendants, the Ryazan princes, formally belonged to a more senior branch of the descendants of Yaroslav the Wise than the Moscow princes. The Moscow princes were directly descended from the princes of Vladimir-Suzdal; The Ryazanskys are from the family of Chernigov princes. Both the Chernigov and Vladimir-Suzdal princes, in turn, descended from the Kyiv princes - from St. Vladimir.

The first Ryazan prince proper was Yaroslav Svyatoslavich (d. 1129) (grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, son of his son Svyatoslav Yaroslavich), he was succeeded by the prince Svyatoslav (from him came the line of the Murom princes), ... and the last was the Great Ryazan Prince Ivan Ivanovich (reigned until 1521).

Princely lines were often intertwined, the deceased or deceased prince was often succeeded not by his son, but by his younger brother (which is quite understandable, because the children of the deceased prince could still be small, but it was necessary to command the squad, repel enemy attacks, etc.) and sometimes the closest relatives (cousins, uncles, nephews) and rivals of the Ryazanskys - the appanage Pronsk princes (the city of Pronsk is one of the most ancient cities of the Ryazan Land) ascended to the Great Ryazan table. Often, on the contrary, the younger heirs of the Great Ryazan Princes sat on the Pronsky table. The history of the Ryazan land is full of clashes between the princes of these two rival ancient cities, which greatly weakened the Ryazan region in the face of external threats. Powerful neighbors (the Cumans, the Suzdalians, and later the Muscovites and the Tatars) often used these contradictions to their advantage, supporting one side or another...

The Ryazan principality reached its greatest power under Prince Oleg Ivanovich (ruled from 1350 to 1402). Under him, the Ryazan principality began minting its own coins.

In 1386, Dmitry Donskoy married his daughter Sophia to the son of the Grand Duke Oleg of Ryazan, Fyodor. With this twinning began a strong rapprochement between the Ryazan and Moscow principalities, which ended 135 years later with the annexation of the Ryazan Land to the Russian state.

The last Grand Duke of Ryazan, Ivan Ivanovich (born c. 1495, died c. 1534) was captured by the Grand Duke of Moscow in 1521, allegedly due to suspicions of relations with the Crimean Khan. (Let me remind you that Moscow was then actively “gathering” Russian lands, so it is unlikely that the accusations had any basis, bearing in mind the centuries-old “love” of Ryazan for the Tatars).

This was preceded by the following events. The uncle of the last Ryazan prince Ivan Ivanovich, Prince Fyodor Vasilyevich (died in 1503 without leaving heirs), transferred his inheritance, a significant part of the lands of the Ryazan principality, including even the former capital of the principality - the city of Old Ryazan, to his uncle in his will To the Moscow Prince Ivan III, and not to his nephew Ivan Ivanovich, his brother’s son, as was supposed under the agreement of 1496 between the Ryazan princes, brothers Ivan and Fyodor Vasilyevich. Having received the Ryazan inheritance of Fyodor Vasilyevich, Moscow Prince Ivan III began to call himself, along with other titles, Prince of Ryazan (even though he still owned only part of the Ryazan land)... At that moment, the heir to the Grand Duke of Ryazan Ivan Ivanovich was only 8 years old, so that he could not stand up for his rights. And his father, the penultimate Grand Duke of Ryazan Ivan Vasilyevich, died 3 years before. And so it turned out that by the time of Ivan Ivanovich’s enthronement on the Ryazan table, only a part remained of the former Ryazan principality, covered on all sides by the Moscow lands... The act of Prince Fyodor Vasilyevich can be justified, obviously, by his admiration for the Moscow Prince Ivan III, the unconditional Hero of that time, which finally threw off the hated Tatar-Mongol yoke in 1480. In addition, Prince Fyodor Vasilyevich obviously wanted to unite the forces and resources of the Ryazan and Moscow principalities as part of a single state. By this time, the most far-sighted princes realized that in order to build a powerful Russian state, it was necessary to abandon local patriotism and personal ambitions. It must be said that the grandmother of the last Ryazan prince Ivan Ivanovich, (mother of his father Ivan Vasilyevich and uncle Fyodor Vasilyevich) Princess Anna, was from the family of the Great Moscow Princes. She was the daughter of Vasily the Dark and the sister of Ivan III, Grand Dukes of Moscow. Ivan III, having married for the second time the Byzantine princess Sophia from the royal family of Palaiologos, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine Palaiologos, began to be called Tsar himself. It is known about Sophia that before marrying Ivan III, she lived in exile in Italy, where the descendants of the Byzantine emperors had moved shortly before, fleeing from the Turks who had captured Byzantium and Constantinople. They wooed Sofia and french king and the Duke of Milan; however, not wanting to betray Orthodoxy, Princess Sofia refused them. Under Ivan III, the Byzantine double-headed eagle was adopted as the state symbol of the Russian state. Hence the continuity: “Moscow is the third Rome, and there will never be a fourth.” Obviously, at this time ancient manuscripts, the legacy of the Byzantine emperors, were also transported to Rus', laying the foundation for the famous “library of Ivan the Terrible.”

Ivan Vasilyevich III, who annexed many Russian lands to his Moscow possessions, in particular Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Smolensk, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, as well as many western and southern Russian cities, previously subordinate to Lithuania, who overthrew Tatar yoke, who took Kazan by storm and imprisoned there a khan friendly to him, who successfully fought with Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Russian historians called the Great, and the people sometimes called them the Terrible, just as they later named his grandson and namesake, Ivan Vasilyevich IV the Terrible). Ivan III loved his sister, Princess Anna of Ryazan, and received him in Moscow with great honor. The Ryazan princes Ivan and Fyodor Vasilyevich, the sons of Princess Anna, were already at that time loyal allies of Ivan III, their uncle, although they remained independent Grand Dukes. The name of Princess Anna is associated with the memory of peace and silence during the 37 years that the beloved sister of Ivan III spent on Ryazan Land. She died in 1501.

By the way, this story shows that the Moscow princes collected Russian lands not only by force of arms and money, but also through dynastic marriages, consistently pursuing this policy for several generations. In intelligence, strategic thinking, perseverance in pursuit of the goal, as well as in creative approach you cannot refuse them to carry it out.

After Ivan III, his son Vasily Ivanovich, who was the Grand Duke of Ryazan Ivan Ivanovich’s cousin, ascended the Moscow table. Despite this, having reached adulthood and matured, the last Grand Duke of Ryazan Ivan Ivanovich began to strive for independence for himself and his principality, for which he was summoned in 1521 (according to other sources in 1517) to Moscow and arrested.

Taking advantage of the confusion during the Crimean Tatars' attack on Moscow in 1521, the last Grand Duke of Ryazan, Ivan Ivanovich, fled from Moscow captivity to Lithuania, where he was allocated lands in the Troki Voivodeship. The Crimean Khan wrote to Prince Ivan Ivanovich in Lithuania, invited him to come to him, making attempts to lure him away in order to use him as a popular ally in Ryazan in the wars against the Russian (then Moscow) state. However, Prince Ivan Ivanovich did not succumb to these promises, did not go to Crimea, nor made any attempts to return to the Ryazan table or take revenge on Moscow. He did not live long in Lithuania; according to Ilovaisky, he died there around 1534.

Thus, since 1521, the Ryazan principality lost its own princes and was the last of the independent Russian principalities to become part of the Russian state.

It is interesting that in 1444, in the chronicle, when describing the reflection of the raid of the Tatar prince Mustafa, the Ryazan Cossacks were mentioned for the first time; They laid the foundation for the Russian Cossacks. Dankov was formerly called Donkov, after the Don River on which it stands), further south from Dankov, Yelets, Lebedyan, from the Ryazan Ukraine, as they said then - there were free lands where people from central Rus' settled, free, no central authority people who do not obey are Cossacks.

After the annexation of the Ryazan principality to the Moscow principality in 1521, the Ryazan governorship was formed: instead of the Ryazan prince, a governor appointed from Moscow began to rule.

The first governor of Ryazan was Ivan Vasilyevich Khabar, also known as Khabar Simsky (and actually, for real, Obraztsov Ivan Vasilyevich). He became famous for the fact that in 1521, through military cunning, he took away from the Crimean Khan Muhammad Giray (or otherwise Magmed Giray) a letter of obligation of the Grand Duke of Moscow to be an eternal tributary of the Crimean Khan. The Moscow boyars gave Muhammad Giray such a letter so that only he would leave Moscow, which he devastated in 1521 (the Grand Duke of Moscow himself fled from the city at that time). Having approached Pereyaslavl Ryazansky from Moscow, Mohammed Giray presented a letter and presented it, saying that I am the master here too! And the Ryazan people, under the leadership of their brave governor, requisitioned this letter and drove the Krymchaks away from Pereyaslavl in Ryazan with cannons. - He knows how to read, damn it, don’t marvel at us! The Crimean Tatars also had guns, but the Ryazan gunners turned out to be more skillful than the Turkish ones, which the Tatars took with them on their campaign against Rus'.

During the construction of the Belgorod abatis line to protect invasions from the Steppe, Ryazan governors and governors founded the cities of Voronezh (1586), Tambov (1636), Kozlov (1635), Usman (1645). These cities and the lands adjacent to them were populated mainly by Ryazan service people and peasants.

In 1709, Peter I divided the territory of Russia into 8 provinces. Part of the Ryazan region became part of the Moscow province as Pereyaslavl-Ryazan district (it included the cities of Pereyaslavl Ryazan, Zaraysk, Mikhailov, Pronsk, Gremyachiy, Pecherniki with districts). The southern lands of the Ryazan region were then assigned to the Azov province (later called Voronezh): the cities of Shatsk, Ryazhsk, Skopin, Sapozhok, Dankov, Lebedyan with counties. The eastern regions: the cities of Kasimov, Kadom, Elatma with counties - were assigned to the Kazan province. However, the provinces turned out to be too large and difficult to manage, so a second reform followed.

In 1719, according to a new reform, the provinces were divided into provinces. The entire territory of the Russian Empire was divided into 50 provinces; The Pereyaslavl-Ryazan province was also formed as part of the Moscow province, which included: Zaraysk, Mikhailov, Gremyachiy, Pronsk, Pecherniki, Sapozhok with counties. In the Azov province, the Yelets province included: Dankov, Skopin, Lebedyan. Ryazhsk was assigned to the Tambov province. To the Shatsk province - Kasimov, Kadom, Elatma.

Thus, the borders of the historical Ryazan region were repeatedly redrawn and its lands and cities fell into various administrative-territorial divisions of Russia.

During the reign of Catherine II, a new territorial and administrative reform was carried out. According to the Decree of Catherine II of February 28, 1778 “On the establishment of the Ryazan province”, an independent Ryazan province was established consisting of 12 districts: Ryazan (Pereyaslavl Ryazan was then renamed Ryazan), Zaraisky, Mikhailovsky, Pronsky, Ryazhsky , Sapozhkovsky, Kasimovsky, Skopinsky, Elatomsky, Egoryevsky, Spassky, Dankovsky. On October 16, 1779, the city of Elatma and the district were transferred to the Tambov province, and the village of Ranenburg (formerly Slobodskoye) was transferred from the Tambov province to the Ryazan province; it was also renamed a city and the corresponding district of the Ryazan province was created.

In 1860, the Ryazan province included the following counties: Ryazan, Pronsky, Mikhailovsky, Zaraisky, Egoryevsky, Spassky, Kasimovsky, Sapozhkovsky, Ryazhsky, Skopinsky, Dankovsky and Ranenburgsky (this is documented on the map of the 1860 edition, given, for example, in the Ryazan Encyclopedia ", publishing house "Press", 1999). In this form, the Ryazan province survived until October revolution 1917. On May 4, 1922, by resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR, Yegoryevsky and Zaraisky districts were transferred from Ryazan to the Moscow region. On January 4, 1923, the Elatomsky and Shatsky districts (without three volosts) of the Tambov province were transferred to the Ryazan region. In 1926, they were transferred from the Ryazan region to the Vladimir city of Gus-Khrustalny and a number of other points in the Kasimov district. In 1929, almost the entire Ryazan province, and at the same time the Tula province, became part of the Moscow region. On September 26, 1937, by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Moscow region was divided into three regions: Moscow, Ryazan and Tula. 39 districts from the Moscow region (which before the revolution were part of the Ryazan province) were transferred to the Ryazan region and, in addition, 13 districts from the Voronezh region were annexed to the Ryazan region. In January 1954, 10 districts (originating from the pre-revolutionary lands of the Ryazan and Voronezh provinces) were transferred to the newly formed Lipetsk region from the Ryazan region.

Thus, as a result of all the redrawings, in Soviet times the districts of Zaraisky and Yegoryevsky (went to the Moscow region in 1922), Dankovsky and Ranenburgsky (went to the Lipetsk region, formed on January 6, 1954), and the city of Gus-Khrustalny were cut off from the Ryazan province with the region (passed to the Vladimir region in 1926). At the same time, the Elatomsky, Shatsky, Kadomsky and Sasovsky districts were annexed from the Tambov region to the Ryazan region (in 1923).

The city of Shatsk and its district were part of the Tambov province from the 18th century until the 20th century, which was reflected in the historical coat of arms of this city. However, the city of Shatsk was founded in the 16th century on the Ryazan Ukraine (outskirts), as they said then, and in front of the Wild Field (Steppe). It was a stronghold of the Shatskaya zaseki, which stretched for 300 miles along the line: Shatsk - Sapozhok - Ryazhsk - Skopin, covering the Ryazan land, and all of what was then Russia from the southeast. The city of Shatsk and its district were then populated by Ryazan servicemen and peasants. Kadom and Elatma are listed in the Nikon Chronicle (XII-XIII centuries) in the list of “Rezan cities”.

The coats of arms of the cities of Zaraysk, Yegoryevsk, Ranenburg, renamed Chaplygin in 1948, and a comparison with the coats of arms of the cities of Ryazan indicate their Ryazan historical basis (on the upper golden field of the coat of arms there is a princely cap with a green top, under it a sword crossed with a scabbard).

For these reasons, natives of these cities and lands (for example, sculptor A.S. Golubkin, philologist V.V. Vinogradov and Marshal K.A. Meretskov, born in the city of Zaraisk or Zaraisk district of the Ryazan province, and now it is the Moscow region; historian We consider D.I. Ilovaisky and mathematician S.A. Chaplygin, born in the city of Ranenburg, Ryazan province, now Chaplygin, Lipetsk region, to be our fellow Ryazan residents, especially since they were born in the Ryazan province and themselves They considered themselves Ryazan residents.

Many generations of Ryazan residents have moved to Moscow, as a large city and center, for various reasons over the centuries. So many of those who do not consider themselves Ryazan residents also have “Ryazan roots”. According to the Ryazan community in Moscow, currently up to half a million direct immigrants from the Ryazan region live in the capital.

Scientific work in archeology

Ryazan Principality in the XI-XIII centuries. and its material culture

Introduction

§1. Description of the settlement

§2. History of the Ryazan land

§3. Topography of Old Ryazan

Chapter 2 – The internal state of the Ryazan principality and its external relations

§4. Characteristics of princes, boyars and people

§7. Murom inheritance

Chapter 3 – Features of material culture

§9. Basic Crafts

§12. Beliefs and religion

Conclusion

Bibliography

Applications

Introduction

For the study of the ancient Russian city, archaeological research is the most important. Their significance is especially great due to the fact that the city archives of ancient Rus' have not been preserved, and the chronicle news about the cities is extremely scattered.

Bourgeois historiography in old, pre-revolutionary Russia had little interest in the history of Russian cities. Accordingly, archaeological excavations were unsystematic, random, amateur in nature and, due to their poor methodology, gave science less than they could have given.

Archaeologists began planned, systematic excavations of ancient Russian cities not so long ago. At the same time, they were faced with such specific historical and cultural problems as questions of the origin of the city, the development of urban crafts, art, the study of the history of housing, etc. In parallel with the widespread excavations, work is underway to summarize the materials already accumulated in museums and archives, according to bringing together literary sources. The problem of the history of the Russian city took its corresponding place in Russian historiography.

Not only has not a single ancient Russian city been completely excavated, which in most cases is completely impossible, but in not a single city have excavations reached such a scale that a significant part of its territory has been explored. If we had waited for such exhaustive research, we would have had to postpone writing the history of ancient Russian cities for tens or even a hundred years, since the process of excavating a city is very labor-intensive and, even with a large expenditure of effort and money, requires a lot of time. Meanwhile, if the excavations cover the most important areas of the city, then in most cases it is possible to get a more or less complete picture of its history and historical topography without waiting for the excavations to be completely completed. Among the cities studied in some detail in archaeological terms is the ancient capital of the Ryazan principality - Old Ryazan.

The settlement of Old Ryazan is located 50 km from the modern city of Ryazan on the right high and steep bank of the Oka, opposite the city of Spassk, 4 km downstream of the Oka from the confluence of the Pronya. Now nothing remains of the ancient city on the surface of the earth except the majestic ramparts surrounding its territory. On the eastern side of the rampart there are three gates: Isadsky, Old Pronsky and New Pronsky. The northwestern part of the settlement is separated from the rest of the territory by an internal rampart, in the middle of which there is a gate (Northern).

The Staroryazan settlement is one of the most remarkable archaeological monuments in our country. Unlike other ancient Russian cities, the later development of which interferes with excavations, Old Ryazan is entirely open to archaeological research. There are almost no buildings on the site, and many years of excavations according to a specific plan made it possible to study the topography of the ancient city and get an idea of various aspects of the life of the population. Archaeological materials from Old Ryazan are so extensive and important that they undoubtedly deserve detailed publication and research.

Old Ryazan as an archaeological monument is primarily associated with the dramatic events of the Mongol-Tatar invasion. This is a unique reference monument; the only capital of one of the largest principalities of ancient Rus', which turned into a “dead city”. Old Ryazan ceased to exist as a city as a result of the invasions of the Tatar-Mongol troops, starting in 1237. Unlike other capital cities of medieval Rus', taken and destroyed by the Mongols. Old Ryazan was unable to recover from numerous attacks by the Tatars and subsequently lost its significance as a major urban center.

The history of the emergence and further development of Old Ryazan, as it is drawn in the light of archaeological data, in many ways does not fit into the framework of traditional ideas of Russian historiography. Thus, it is usually believed that the most ancient Russian cities arose in places where the rural population was concentrated. The emergence of Old Ryazan does not correspond to this model. A relatively powerful fortress emerged as an important military outpost on territory not yet developed by the Slavs and only later acquired a network of numerous rural settlements.

The usual ideas that as the city grows, its original core (the Kremlin) retains the significance of the administrative and religious center, where the estates of the elite of society were concentrated, also does not correspond to the real situation in Old Ryazan. After the construction of the grandiose fortifications of the Southern settlement, all the vital centers of the city moved here. All three stone churches were built on the Southern Settlement (in the oldest part of the city, on the Northern Settlement, there are no similar buildings). The richest estates, finds of treasures of precious items, expensive imported things are concentrated in the Southern settlement.

Based on the results of excavations carried out in different years on the territory of Old Ryazan, archaeologists were able to discover invaluable cultural and historical materials, on the basis of which conclusions were drawn about the material and cultural life of the inhabitants of this region. On the territory of the Old Ryazan Principality, remains of jewelry, weapons, clothing and shoes, tools and other items made of metal, glass and bone were found, which undoubtedly is proof of the high level of development of the material culture of Old Ryazan, and also makes it possible to discover the trade and political connections of the city .

Thus, we can conclude that archaeological excavations of ancient Russian cities are of enormous importance for recreating the external appearance of the city and studying its material and cultural life.

The main sources of information for writing this scientific work were the works of A. L. Mongait “Old Ryazan” and the works of D. I. Ilovaisky “History of the Ryazan Principality”. These works most fully reflect information about the history and material culture of the Old Ryazan principality, which allows us to consider all aspects of the life of the inhabitants of Old Ryazan. The works of A. L. Mongait and V. P. Darkevich are the most valuable for studying the history of the settlement, since both of the scientists presented in different years supervised excavations on the territory of Old Ryazan and recorded all stages of the excavations in their works. Also for my work, I studied and selected materials from the following literary sources: Avdusin D.A. “Archaeology of the USSR”, Kolchin B.A. "Ancient Rus'. City, castle, village”, Tikhomirov D. “Ancient Russian cities”. Many of the publications listed above contain outdated information, since they were published in the period from 1955 to 1993, so I made some adjustments to the information using more advanced sources, such as: the Avanta + encyclopedia, “History of Russia and its closest neighbors” , part 1”, as well as the articles “The Heart of Pereyaslavl Ryazansky” from the magazine “Science and Life” and “Old Ryazan: yesterday, today, tomorrow” from the newspaper “Ryazan Vedomosti”. Partial information was taken from Internet sources given in the list of references.

Chapter 1 – History of the Ryazan land and topography of Old Ryazan

§1. Description of the settlement

The Staroryazan settlement is currently a plowed field, surrounded on the southern and eastern sides by a rampart with a deep ditch. The remains of the ancient rampart have been preserved in Old Ryazan to this day. The rampart surrounded the city on three sides; on the fourth, Ryazan was covered by the natural steepness of the river bank. In terms of the size of the occupied area, the city stood out from among ordinary fortified castles. . The northern side of the settlement is limited by a ravine, along the bottom of which flows the Serebryanka stream, which flows into the Oka. This ravine is very deep with steep banks. Over time, its branches cut deeply into the territory of the settlement, destroying a significant part of it. The other part of the ravine ran along the line of the ditch. The part of the rampart, separated by a ravine from the rest of the site, rises in the form of a separate hill (Fig. 1).

The southern side of the settlement partially adjoins the right bank of the stream, which the local population calls the Black River, and the western side is washed by the Oka. In the southern part, ravines also cut into the site, partially destroying its ramparts and ditches. Only from the east does the settlement have no natural boundaries and merges with the adjacent fields. Here its territory is separated by a rampart. In plan it is close to a quadrangle.

Currently, the remains of the ramparts have a length of about 1500 m. Previously, the ramparts were much longer, since only the steep Oka bank apparently did not need to be strengthened with a rampart and a ditch. However, there is information that the ramparts also ran along the western side of the fort. Here is what Cherepnin writes about this: “The outer ramparts that fenced the city from the west along the high bank of the Oka for 600 fathoms, and from the northeast, along the left bank of Serebryanka for 180 fathoms, disappeared without a trace: they crumbled along with the steep banks of the Oka and Serebryanka over the past 120 years. On a special plan of the Pereslavl district, Staroryazan camp, the mountain side of the village of Staraya Ryazan, taken in 1774, May 31 by land surveyor Alexander Protasov, all the outer shafts were marked and represented a closed line of an irregular pentagon shape. According to the measurements of land surveyor Protasov, the area of the settlement, surrounded by ramparts, contained more than 48 acres, the length of the outer ramparts themselves reached 1,480 fathoms, which had a width of 5 fathoms at the base.”

Krom (the oldest part of the city) occupied a remote cape between the Oka and Serebryanka. The advantages of this location were the convenience of defense and the ability to expand the city while maintaining the strategic advantages of the position. Ryazan Krom had an area of 0.4 hectares and originally served as a fortress-refuge. Probably, Krom was mainly built up with siege courts and, judging by the excavation materials, not earlier than the second half of the 11th century. Residential estates were located in Podol (area - 8 hectares). Its early part extended from the left bank of the Serebryanka mouth to the ravine at the junction of the Middle and Capital cities. The courtyards had to be located at a safe distance, both from the zone of spring floods and from landslides from the coastal cliffs.

Krom had two gate towers: one at the end of the ramp for ascending to the fortress, from the Podol side, the second - on the opposite, southern side, closed the entrance from the road.

Soon after the creation of Krom, due to population growth, the fortified part of the city increased 18 times. The new part (Northern Settlement) was an independent fortress, separated by a hollow from Krom. On the floor side, a rampart with a dry ditch has been preserved, cutting off part of the plateau between Oka and Serebryanka. As a result of the erosion of this ditch, a branched ravine was formed in the south. . Due to the longer existence of this part of the city, the cultural layer here is thicker than within the Southern settlement (up to 1 m), the stratigraphy is more complex - this was also facilitated by the high building density. If the structures of the upper horizon, despite late excavations, can be reconstructed, then the buildings of the lower tiers are too fragmentary. Based on the remains of their underground areas, cellars, utility pits, which cut each other during redevelopment, complete estate complexes are not being restored. .

From the wall blocking the hollow on the slopes of Krom and the Northern settlement, there remained faint screes of shafts from the backfilling of cages. This junction of two fortresses is one of the key nodes in the fortification of the city: the enemy who penetrated here came under crossfire from both sides. The passage gate with the tower is conventionally called “Silver” - after its exit to Serebryanka.

A road passed through the Spassky Gate (named for its proximity to the Spassky Cathedral), from which an opening remained in the rampart of the Northern settlement. On the plans of the 19th century. it is called Bolshoi and remains to this day the main road through the settlement. It cut the city into two unequal parts - the western, smaller, triangular in plan, and the eastern, approaching a quadrangle.

The space between Krom and the Northern settlement on the Oka side is called Mezhgradiy (area 0.7 hectares). The travel gates from Mezhgradia to Podil are marked as Podolskie. The peculiarity of the defensive unit was that there was a ramp leading to this gate from the Middle City. In the event of a siege of Ryazan, a small section of Mezhgradiya, sandwiched by the steep slopes of both fortresses, could be used as a corral for cattle.

Simultaneously with the Middle Town, Zaserebryanye (area 5 hectares) was populated - a territory on the right bank of Serebryanka, gently rising to the foot of Sokolinaya Mountain. The site at the mouth of Serebryanka acquires even greater significance: a place of trading at the pier and a possible crossing across the Oka to the road to Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky.

With the transformation of Ryazan into the capital of the reigning land, it became one of the largest centers of ancient Rus' and, in terms of the size of the fortified area, was one of the ten main cities of the same time. A new city (Southern Settlement) is practically being added to the old, fortified part. From the original core, the city expands in the only possible directions: in the north it is limited by a ravine, along the bottom of which Serebryanka flows, in the south - the Black River. On the eastern, floor side, which had no natural boundaries, a powerful fortification system was created.

The southern fortification, surrounded by walls, occupied an area of about 55-57 hectares, and in total with Krom and the Northern fortification - over 60 hectares. Judging by the undeveloped areas, it was clearly open to further settlement, which was interrupted by the Mongol invasion. In the 12th century, the administrative center of the city was moved to the Southern Settlement; from that time on, the richest dwellings and temples were built here. In this part of the city, in contrast to the Northern settlement, which housed mainly craft workshops, there were mainly residential areas. .

§2. History of the Ryazan land

According to the list of Russian cities of the late XIV - early XV centuries. in the Ryazan land there were a significant number of urban settlements, but all these populated areas were, apparently, simply fortified points with an insignificant urban population. In the entire Ryazan land, you can indicate 4 cities with a more or less large population - Old Ryazan, Murom, Pronsk and Pereyaslavl Ryazan. .

In order to understand the history of Old Ryazan - the capital of the principality, it is necessary to briefly outline some facts from the history of the Ryazan principality, known from chronicles and other written sources. After the first mention in the chronicle of Ryazan in 1096 (in connection with the appearance of Oleg Svyatoslavich here), Ryazan was not mentioned for almost 30 years. Only in 1114 is the death of Roman Vseslavich reported here. The political history of the Murom-Ryazan land for this thirty years is unknown. In 1127, Yaroslav Svyatoslavich of Chernigov, expelled from Chernigov, became the prince of Murom-Ryazan. He died two years later, and Murom, Ryazan and Pronsk became the inheritance of his sons. Obviously, at this time Murom was considered the main city, since Yaroslav from Chernigov returned not to Ryazan, but to Murom, and his children, by seniority, occupy the Murom table. This continued until the middle of the 12th century, when the eldest Ryazan princes stopped moving to Murom. The complete separation of the Ryazan principality from the Murom principality begins, the importance of the leading city in the land passes to Ryazan. By this time, the paths laid through the Vyatic forests brought Ryazan closer to other Russian centers, and this led to an increase in the importance of Ryazan and a decline in the importance of Murom, through which the circular route to the middle Oka previously lay. The period of the highest rise of Ryazan begins. The beginning of intensive construction on the Southern settlement and the construction of powerful fortifications around the entire city date back to this time (mid-12th century).

In the VIII-IX centuries. class relations arise in the Murom-Ryazan land. Class differentiation is increasing among the population. Rich and poor burials are more and more sharply differentiated by grave goods; burials with weapons stand out more clearly as the richest. By this time, shifting agriculture was already flourishing here (in the Ryazan and Murom burial grounds, iron axes, sickles, and linen fabrics were often found). Crafts (primarily blacksmithing) stand out. The development of shifting agriculture, crafts and trade increased property differentiation and the decomposition of the clan system. When in the 10th century The Vyatichi colonize the region of the Ryazan current of the Oka, and the Krivichi colonize the region of the Murom current; they find here approximately the same level of socio-economic relations at which they themselves are located. This is still a tribal system, but with a sharply differentiated social elite, with a feudal mode of production already beginning to take shape. While in Kievan Rus in the 9th century there was already an established feudal system, and the process of class formation ends with the creation of an early feudal state, in northeastern Rus' this process proceeds more slowly. In general, the pace of social development of the Oka lands and the Don region in comparison with the Dnieper region and the Ilmen region was somewhat slower. Given this, we must assume that in the 11th century. The Murom-Ryazan land was not yet completely subjugated to the feudal lords; it was just beginning to be developed. A significant part of the indigenous local population resisted feudalization and the forced Christianization that accompanied it.

It was difficult for the first princes to maintain power in the Murom-Ryazan land; they clashed with local tribal princelings. The distance from Kyiv and Chernigov also made it difficult to establish strong princely power.

The first Murom-Ryazan princes, Oleg and Yaroslav, considered the Murom-Ryazan land as a source of funds for the fight for Chernigov. In the 11th century They obviously established tributary relations in it.

The history of the Murom-Ryazan land is filled with fratricidal strife among the princes. The civil strife of the Ryazan princes, their struggle with their northern neighbors - the princes of Vladimir-Suzdal and the struggle with the Polovtsian steppe kept the principality in constant military tension, ruined the population, weakened the trade potential of the Ryazan land and the possibility of its cultural and economic influence on the rest of Rus'.

The border position of the Ryazan land, especially in the area where the Polovtsians put strong pressure on Rus', left its mark on the entire history of the principality. This largely determined the activities of his princes and influenced the life of the people. The Ryazan princes either desperately resisted the Polovtsians, or, not wanting to subordinate their policies to the all-Russian idea of unifying the country, looked for allies among the nomads. Orientation towards the latter was the traditional policy of the Chernigov Olgovichi, who sought to maintain their independence. The dynasty of Ryazan princes also adjoined them. Therefore, sandwiched between the steppe and a powerful neighbor from the north, the Ryazan princes either found refuge and support among the Polovtsians, or opposed them.

The rapid growth of the importance of the Vladimir-Suzdal land created a dangerous neighbor for the Murom-Ryazan principality. The Vladimir-Suzdal princes were interested in the Murom-Ryazan land, since this land provided grain for northeastern Rus', a trade route to the south and east lay through this land, and also because it could serve as a barrier in the fight against nomads. The territorial proximity of the Vladimir-Suzdal land to the Ryazan land and the outlying position of the latter facilitated its subordination to the Vladimir-Suzdal princes. However, this was accomplished only as a result of a long and persistent struggle.

Thus, in 1146, the Murom-Ryazan prince Rostislav Yaroslavich sided with the Kyiv prince Izyaslav Mstislavich against Yuri Dolgoruky. Rostislav's attack on the Suzdal land, however, distracted Yuri's forces from the campaign against Kyiv, but it cost Rostislav himself dearly. The sons of Yuri came to Ryazan with an army, and Rostislav was forced to flee to the Polovtsians. Obviously, unpreparedness for a serious fight with Suzdal forced Rostislav to resort to an alliance with Yuri Dolgoruky, who a year later gave him the opportunity to return to Ryazan. Later (in 1152) Rostislav took part in the campaign against Kyiv against his former ally Izyaslav. But the union of the Ryazan and Suzdal princes was short-lived. In 1154, Yuri drove out Rostislav and imprisoned his son Andrei in Ryazan. This time Rostislav, instead of trying to gain Yuri's trust, expelled his son with the help of the Polovtsy and regained Ryazan.

From the time of the reign of Rostislav, the complete separation of the Ryazan principality from the Murom principality began. Murom soon finally submits to the Vladimir-Suzdal princes.

From the very beginning of its isolation, the Ryazan principality found itself more and more in the sphere of political and economic influence of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Yuri's successors had complete freedom over both the Ryazan princes and their military forces, and the Ryazan region itself.

Only in 1174, when Andrei Bogolyubsky died as a result of a boyar conspiracy, did the Ryazan princes try not only to break out of forced obedience to the Vladimir prince, but also to intervene in the affairs of their northern neighbor. The Rostov boyars, who seized power, came into agreement with the Ryazan prince Gleb Rostislavich, and with their joint efforts they planted Gleb's Shuri - Mstislav and Yaropolk Rostislavich - in Vladimir. These two proteges of the Rostov boyars, with their policies, caused an uprising in Vladimir, which ended with the enthronement of the brothers Andrei-Mikhalka and Vsevolod. Gleb of Ryazan did not have sufficient strength to speak out in defense of his proteges. After some time, Gleb of Ryazan, together with his brother-in-law Mstislav, opposed the Vladimir prince and burned Moscow and its environs. This was the beginning of a war that determined the political fate of Ryazan for the next half century. Both sides gathered significant forces. In addition to the Vladimir people, Vsevolod’s troops included both Chernigov and Novgorod people, and Gleb called on the Polovtsians for help. On March 7, 1177, at the Kolaksha River, the Ryazan people were defeated.

The Ryazan princes became vassals of the Vladimir-Suzdal princes. Vsevolod III intervened in all conflicts that arose between the Ryazan princes, suppressed all their attempts to disobey and with a firm hand restored order in the large and restless family of the Ryazan princes.

So, in 1180, when Roman Glebovich tried to take away some volosts from his brothers Vsevolod and Vladimir, who reigned in Pronsk, Vsevolod III went to Ryazan. Despite the support of Svyatoslav of Chernigov, the Ryazan people were defeated. The constant defeats of the Ryazan regiments from the Suzdal ones were explained not by chance or luck of the Suzdal people, but by their numerical and technical superiority, as well as by the greater organization of the Suzdal army compared to the Ryazan army, which was staffed from individual detachments of petty princes. Vsevolod forced the Ryazan princes to peace “with all his will.” He divided the volosts between the brothers and forced the Ryazan princes to enter into a fight with Svyatopolk of Chernigov. The peace was broken in 1186 due to a clash between the Ryazan princes and the Pron princes. Vsevolod III's attempts to reconcile them were unsuccessful, and he again took the side of the Pron princes. The Ryazan princes, frightened, lifted the siege from Pronsk. But, when the main forces of the Vladimir prince left, the Ryazan people besieged Pronsk a second time and took the city. Peace negotiations between Vsevolod III and the Ryazan princes were unsuccessful. Vsevolod led troops to the Ryazan region and “destroyed their land and burned it all.” At the same time, the Polovtsy attacked from the south. Resistance was unthinkable, and the Ryazan princes returned to vassal relations with Vsevolod. These relations were established for 20 years, and Vsevolod not only forced the Ryazan princes to participate in his campaigns, but also considered himself obliged to defend the Ryazan lands from the Polovtsians.

In 1207, the third war between Ryazan and Vsevolod began. Getting ready to go to Chernigov, Vsevolod sent for the Murom prince and the Ryazan Glebovichs. They left, but, according to the Vladimir princely chronicler, Vsevolod received information that the Ryazan princes secretly entered into relations with the Chernigov Olgovichs. He arrested six Ryazan princes and sent them to Vladimir, while he himself went on a punitive expedition across the Ryazan land. Vsevolod besieged and took Pronsk and forced Ryazan to submission. He placed his mayors in the Ryazan cities, and sent his son Yaroslav to the Ryazan table. It seemed that the Ryazan land became entirely part of the Vladimir principality and forever lost its independence. But the Ryazan people, having formed a conspiracy, killed and imprisoned many of Yaroslav’s warriors. Vsevolod and his army approached the walls of Ryazan, hoping that the thrice conquered city would not dare to contradict its conqueror in any way. However, the Ryazan people, according to the Vladimir chronicler, sent him “a violent speech, according to their custom and disobedience.” The enraged Vsevolod took Ryazan, ordered the residents to leave the city with whatever property they could carry, and burned the city. Probably, part of the destroyed houses found in excavations, dating back to the first decades of the 13th century, burned not during the capture of Ryazan by the Tatars, but during the defeat of the city by Vsevolod in 1208.

Vsevolod, despite the constant resistance of the Ryazan people, resolutely sought to subjugate the Ryazan land. But when, after the death of Vsevolod, feudal wars began in the Vladimir land itself, the independence of the Ryazan principality was restored for a short time. Already in 1212, Yuri released all the Ryazan princes and Bishop Arseny, taking from them an oath of obedience and fidelity. This act, which at first glance seems unexpected and mysterious in its goals, is explained by the fact that Yuri could not waste his energy on keeping the Ryazan land submissive and preferred to have princes there dependent on him.

We are almost unknown to the events of Ryazan history from the 20s of the 13th century. until 1237, when Ryazan experienced the disasters of the Tatar-Mongol invasion. Old Ryazan was the first to take the blow from Batu’s army. One of the most dramatic episodes of Russian history begins in Ryazan land. At the beginning of the winter of 1237, the Tatars from Volga Bulgaria crossed to the Ryazan border. The princes, led by Yuri Ingvarevich, decided to resist, but, knowing about the enormous strength of the Tatars and not relying on their own strength, they turned to Yuri of Suzdal for help; Yuri frivolously refused to join his regiments with the Ryazan ones for a joint fight. By this time, a significant part of the land had already been conquered, and on December 16 the Tatars besieged Ryazan. For five days the residents of Ryazan heroically defended their city. On December 21, the Tatars stormed the city, took it and burned it. Prince Yuri and members of his family were killed. .

Unlike other cities of medieval Rus', taken and destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols, Old Ryazan was never able to recover from the disaster - active city life in it began to gradually fade, and it gradually lost its former “metropolitan” significance of the Ryazan principality. The entire political, economic, and religious life of the principality eventually moved to the city of Pereyaslavl Ryazan, located about 60 km northwest of Old Ryazan. But excavations made it possible to conclude that the city “did not die” overnight as a capital, but “smoldered” for some time, while maintaining some kind of political and economic role. In any case, archaeologists continue to find objects and things at the site dating back to the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. .

The transfer of the capital to Pereyaslavl did not, however, lead to its renaming to Ryazan. Only in the 16th century. this name gradually spread to Pereyaslavl, but the official renaming dates back to 1778, when Catherine II issued a decree about this. Until the 16th century, when speaking about Ryazan, chronicles always meant the city of Ryazan, i.e. Old Ryazan. .

§3. Topography of Old Ryazan

Economic development of the Oka right bank almost on a 10-kilometer stretch from the village. Fatyanovka in the north to the village. Nikitin in the south was due to exceptionally favorable natural conditions. The so-called northern chernozem south of Ryazan is a transition from Central Russian turfy loams on loess, distributed in a narrow strip along the right high bank of the Oka, to typical chernozem. South of Ryazan, stripes of oak and birch forest-steppe alternated with steppe islands invading from the south. The meadow lands on the left bank of the Oka River opposite Ryazan, where the width of the floodplain reaches 12 km, have long been famous. In the past, the floodplain was occupied by lipo-oak forests; it abounds in lakes. On the Meshcherskaya side there were huge tracts of northern-type coniferous forests with many lakes surrounded by swamps. In the region of the Ryazan Poochye, everything was conducive to arable farming, fishing, crafts, and household crafts. The city and surrounding villages formed a single economic complex, which is confirmed by their topography. .

The main archaeological materials extracted from the Staroryazan settlement date back to the 11th-13th centuries, and although the history of Old Ryazan does not fit into this chronological framework, it begins long before the 11th century. and does not end with the defeat of Batu - nevertheless, the period of the dawn of the city - the middle of the 12th - the beginning of the 13th century - is most clearly reflected in the general topography of the settlement.

At this time, the Northern settlement was the main craft district of the city. Here you can find workshops of jewelers, bone carvers, a workshop of amber beads, ceramic and metallurgical forges. The northern settlement is very densely populated, the dwellings are located close to one another, interspersed with workshops. However, it must be said that all this was discovered mainly in the part of the Northern settlement, lying to the east of the road crossing the settlement. The western (or rather, southwestern) part, which is smaller in area, is built up with modern houses and therefore has undergone little excavation. Here the ancient dwellings are very poorly preserved. Their remains are covered by a 13th-century cemetery. All the burials were carried out as if in a fire. The burial pits are surrounded by ash stains and the remains of burnt wooden buildings; There are a lot of coals everywhere in the cultural layer. Apparently, the dwellings here were destroyed by fire shortly before the cemetery appeared.

The cemeteries of Old Ryazan are of significant interest for elucidating the topography of the city. The location of cemeteries very often changed in different periods of the city’s history, and now, by the presence of a cemetery of one time or another in a given site of the settlement, one can judge when a particular area was populated and when they stopped settling here, giving way to a burial ground. However, in medieval cities they did not always bury their dead far from their homes. Some ancient cemeteries are located in close proximity to residential areas, while others are located far to the side.

In the eastern part of the Northern settlement in close proximity to the dwellings of the 12th-13th centuries. there was a cemetery of the same time. 90 burials were opened here. The dead in the cemetery lie in shallow holes with their heads to the west and southwest, most often without belongings, with their arms crossed over their chests. The duration of the existence of this cemetery is revealed by the presence of burials overlapping each other. Some of the burials date back to the end of the 12th century. This is burial No. 46, in which a copper lattice ring was found on the index finger of the right hand. This, as well as other artifacts found in this cemetery (crystal spherical beads, a seven-lobed temple ring) connect it with the Vyatic burial mounds of the 12th century.

The cemetery contains a number of later burials, some with signs of violent death. The ornaments of gold-embroidered fabric, in particular the image of two birds near a tree, similar to the scenes of Kyiv kolta, allow us to date some of this group of burials to the beginning of the 13th century. There are family burials in the cemetery (No. 4, 5 and 6): a man, a woman and a teenager 10-12 years old. Obviously, a large group of burials dating back to the last period of the cemetery’s existence is associated with the events of 1237. These are buried victims of Baty’s defeat. This statement is also supported by the fact that in a significant part of the burials, including all those that we refer to as later, as well as in all burials with traces of violent death, the deceased were buried with their heads to the southwest, and not to west. This can be explained by the fact that all the mentioned burials were carried out simultaneously, in winter, when orientation to the sun, due to the low solstice, inevitably leads to a similar error. The Tatar defeat of Old Ryazan occurred in December 1237.

The southern settlement has been studied much less well than the northern one. It has undergone less excavation, in addition, it occupies a much larger area and even the most intensive work would require decades to fully study it.

The main landmarks on the Southern settlement are three stone churches: Borisoglebsky, Spassky and Assumption.

The first is located in the southern part of the city, on the “embankment”, the second - not far from the inner rampart, the third - in the southern part, near the southern outer rampart. Near the temples there were cemeteries that were contemporary with the temples, and sometimes existed longer than the temples themselves. This connection between the temple and the cemetery is so natural that the proximity of the church could be determined by the presence of burials.

In the southeastern part of the Southern settlement in 1950, 23 burials of another ancient burial ground were also discovered. The burial rite is ordinary, Christian, with the head to the west, with arms crossed on the chest, without belongings, in rectangular burial pits, judging by the finds of nails, probably in wooden plank coffins. The layer in which the graves were dug is pre-Mongol. The cemetery probably dates back to pre-Mongol times. No traces of a church were found within the excavation site; It is possible that this cemetery was not connected with the church, or that there was a small wooden chapel here, the remains of which have not survived.

The third ancient cemetery on the Southern settlement was discovered on a cape at a steep descent to the bank of the Oka, opposite the ravine separating the embankment from the temple, excavated in 1888. In the middle of the cape rises a hill with a diameter of 8 m and a height of 0.5 m. It turned out that underneath it there is a whole group of burials. The burials were carried out according to Christian rites, with the head facing west, with arms crossed on the chest. Some are in wooden coffins in the form of a log or in coffins made of boards. Slab bricks (20 x 20 x 4 cm) were placed under the heads of some of the dead. The cemetery is located on the cultural layer of the 11th - early 12th centuries. Thus, this site was inhabited before the cemetery appeared here. Consequently, already in the 11th century. the settlement went beyond the inner rampart, and in the 12th century. this place became deserted and was turned into a cemetery.

In the central part of the Southern settlement, at the intersection of the roads leading to the village of Shatrishchi and to Pronsk, several excavations were made, which made it possible to find out that the cultural layer here is poorly saturated with finds and dates back not only to pre-Mongol, but also to later times. Apparently, the central part of the settlement, near the road leading to the New Pronsky Gate, was under gardens and vegetable gardens and was inhabited only for a short time.

Most of the treasures, and the most valuable of them, were found at the Southern settlement. Only one treasure of silver items from 1887 was found in the ancient town at the northern end of the settlement. Treasure 1868, treasure 1937-1950. and the richest treasure of gold items from 1822 were found along the roads in different parts of the Southern settlement. Only in one case (treasure from 1937-1950) are the circumstances of the discovery known - the treasure was hidden in the stove of the home. It is possible that in other cases the treasures were hidden in dwellings, but during plowing or erosion of the layer they ended up in the ground.

The varying degrees of population of the Southern settlement and the presence of large uninhabited areas here are explained not only by the fact that these areas were located under gardens and orchards, but also by the fact that during the construction of the outer ramparts, not only residential areas, but also large areas were included in the city limits. free from development in anticipation of the subsequent growth of the city. Apparently, the city within the new city wall had not yet been completely built up by the time the importance of Old Ryazan began to decline and, consequently, the population began to decline. For the same reason, there were no suburbs located outside the city ramparts. This can be judged from the reconnaissance carried out, as well as from the excavations of A.I. Cherepnin behind the rampart on the right bank of the Chernaya River. In the 10 trenches laid here, “there were no remains of ancient housing and no signs of graves.” .

Chapter 2 – The internal state of the Ryazan principality and its external relations §4. Characteristics of princes, boyars and people

The position of the Ryazan boyars was unlikely to differ significantly from the position of the Moscow boyars. The boyars are mentioned as princely advisers in the letters of grant of Prince Oleg Ivanovich. Inter-princely agreements say that the boyars are obliged to go to war with the prince they serve, no matter where they live, and in the event of a siege, to defend the city.

The prince, in turn, undertook to “guard” the boyars of another prince, estates and purchased lands located in his inheritance.

In addition to the boyars and squads, the Ryazan princes had a fairly extensive courtyard, consisting of both free servants and slaves: clerks, treasurers, housekeepers, bailiffs, tiuns, customs officers, coachmen, beekeepers, beavers, catchers, not-drivers, grooms, gardeners, hounds, hawks...

The Ryazan boyars were very significant and strong, its descendants in the 16th-17th centuries. represented one of the powerful city corporations. During the Time of Troubles she was very active. Prominent figures of that period emerged from it - the Lyapunovs, Sunbulovs, Kikins, Pashkovs.

As for the Ryazan princes themselves, then, undoubtedly, this is the most warlike and restless branch of the Rurik house, at the same time the most cruel and insidious; nowhere were violations of the cross-kiss, treason and villainy between close relatives so frequent. A striking example of this is the fratricide of July 20, 1217. The Ryazan princes, more than others, forget about the unity of Rurik’s generation, about the integrity of the Russian land and pursue only their own personal interests.

Those unpleasant properties that were present in the character of the princes were also reflected in the character of the urban class, for which there is chronicle evidence. So in 1207, Vsevolod III, starting the siege of Pronsk, wanted to enter into negotiations with the citizens, but in response he received a “violent speech” from them. The following year, 1208, when he approached Ryazan with the intention of punishing citizens for treachery against his son Yaroslav, the Ryazan people also sent him “a violent speech according to their custom and disobedience.” Although such a review belonged to the chronicler of Suzdal, hostile to the Ryazans; but we cannot deny its validity for lack of contrary evidence. For all its toughness, the character of the Ryazan people was not devoid of other more attractive qualities; such are indomitable courage or a penchant for youth and constant devotion to one’s princes, that is, to one’s independence.

Speaking about the population of the Ryazan region, one cannot help but pay special attention to the princely squad. The number of vigilantes in Ryazan was apparently quite significant. Even in times of peace, princes appear several times in history, surrounded by a large retinue: for example, on the occasion of the incident in Isady, it is said that, along with six princes, “the boyar and servants were killed without number”; When the Olgov Monastery was founded, 300 boyars and 600 ordinary men were present with three princes. Further, one cannot help but notice that the boyar class had a rather strong influence on the events of the Ryazan principality. This influence is especially visible in strife, and in many cases casts a rather unfavorable light on the class itself. Given the fragmentation of inheritances and frequent strife, the princes naturally tried to bind the warriors to themselves with various benefits and favors; but the boyars often abused their right of council, and, probably for personal reasons, supported the discord of the princes. Thus, on the occasion of the war between the Glebovichs in 1186, it is hinted at the boyars who quarreled between them; Further, the chronicle mentions the “damned Duma members of Gleb and Constantine” who plotted the massacre of the brethren. We do not know to what extent the zeal of the boyars extended to the Ryazan princes during their struggle with Suzdal; at least we see that they patiently share the fate of the latter and languish with them in the Vladimir dungeons. Let us recall those few names of the Ryazan boyars of the pre-Tatar period that were preserved in the sources.

Firstly, several thousand attract our attention. We know of four: one of them, Constantine, in 1148, beat many Polovtsians who were fleeing; but the other three are remembered only for their unhappy fate. In 1135, the thousand-year-old Ivan Andreevich, nicknamed Dolgy, was killed in Ryazan. Twenty years later, the same thing happened to Andrei Glebov in Ryazan Belgorod; his relatives killed him at night. In 1209, the third thousand, Matvey Andreevich, was killed in Kadoma. Such a murder of thousands may hint at some more general phenomenon than just personal enmity. It is very likely that with the isolation of the Ryazan principality, things did not happen without a silent struggle between the growing princely power and such zemstvo leaders as the thousand. Further mention of the Ryazan boyars is: Ivor Miroslavich, governor, captured on the banks of the Vlena; Dedilets and Boris Kunevich, who persuade the people of Vladimir, after the death of Bogolyubsky, to call the Rostislavichs to reign. On Kolaksha, along with the princes, Yakov Dedenkov and Olstin were captured in addition to Dedilets; the latter name reveals barbarian origin. There is no doubt that the barbarian element was stronger in the Ryazan squad than in other principalities close to the nomads. But besides these pale faces, Ryazan antiquity can also point to those examples of Russian knights-heroes, over whom popular imagination loves to dwell. This is the Ryazan hero Dobrynya the Golden Belt (his nickname probably indicates the splendor of his armor). Not finding sufficient food for his revelry at home, he, like the knights of Vladimir the Red Sun, goes to seek glory in other parts of Rus'; appears in the camp of Konstantin Vsevolodovich at Lipitsa, together with Alexander Popovich and Nefedy Dikun; and, eight years later, he lays down his head on Kalka, again together with Alexander Popovich.

Moving on to the material life of the population in a given era, we do not find any accurate information on this matter, and must limit ourselves to a few general conclusions. The occupations of rural residents, of course, were determined by the character of the country. We don’t know what progress agriculture made before the 13th century; however, there is no doubt that it was the main source of food where rich fields lay between the forests. Cattle breeding was developed especially in the southern parts of the principality; beekeeping and animal hunting were carried out in the forests; lakes and rivers supplied large quantities of fish. .

§5. Christian element of the population

It is difficult to determine to what extent the Slavic element penetrated into the mass of the native population during the first period in the history of the Murom-Ryazan principality; but, generally speaking, at the beginning of the 13th century. it was not yet significant. Of course, the majority of the urban class and part of the rural residents between Oka and Pronea belonged to it; The Slavic tribe grew especially quickly along the banks of the Oka. From the beginning of the 13th century. The names of five churchyards located near the town of Olgova have reached us; firstly, they all sound Slavic, and secondly, they represent a fairly significant population figure, namely: in Pesochna there are approximately 300 families, in Holoholno - 150, in Zayachin - 200, in Vepriya - 220 and in Zayachkovo - 160 families . The space to the north and east of this strip was inhabited by an almost complete Finnish population, that is, Merya, Meshchera and Mordovians, with the exception of cities.

The gradual Slavicization of the Ryazan region was closely connected with the successes of Christianity. These two phenomena constantly walked hand in hand in the distant ends of ancient Rus' and with mutual assistance facilitated their movement. It can be noted that the successes of Christianity took place here quietly, slowly, without much struggle. There is no way to define the boundaries between the baptized and pagan populations; we only know that the first was concentrated in the central region, mainly along the banks of the Oka. The multiplying number of temples is the best sign of the spread of the holy religion. In addition to some proper names, the sources contain general expressions that hint at a significant number of temples in the ancient Ryazan region. In 1207, Bishop Arseny sent a message to Vsevolod: “Great Prince!” Do not omit honest places; do not burn the churches of the saints, in them a sacrifice to God and a prayer is made for you”; in 1237, the Tatars on their way to Ryazan “burned many holy churches and monasteries and burned villages.” In 1132, according to the chronicle, the Polovtsian prince Amurat was baptized in Ryazan; and in the legend about the invasion of Batu it is said in praise of the Ryazan princes that with their affection they attracted many children and brothers from unfaithful kings and converted them to the true faith. Here, under the name of unfaithful tsars, of course, we must understand the Polovtsian khans, whose relatives sometimes entered the service of neighboring Russian princes and were baptized. However, at the beginning of the 13th century. Christianity had not yet managed to penetrate deep into the Meshchera and Mordovian forests, of course, with the exception of cities and their immediate environs. The spread and establishment of the church in this region received new strength since the separation of the Murom-Ryazan region from Chernigov in diocesan terms, in 1198.

It is known how deep roots monasticism took in ancient Russia and how quickly the number of monasteries began to increase everywhere from the 11th century. There were also many monasteries in the Ryazan region, as in other places; but very few of them trace their origins back to the pre-Tatar era. Sources point to only one Oleg's monastery, which still exists 12 versts from the provincial town on the high steep bank of the Oka; It is separated from the place where the town of Olgov lay by a deep ravine of the Gusevka River. The foundation of the monastery was laid by the Grand Duke of Ryazan Ingvar Igorevich; he, together with his brothers Yuri and Oleg, built a temple here in the name of the Mother of God.

Despite the outward signs of piety, the softening influence of Christianity on popular morality was not soon discovered in the Ryazan region. This beneficial influence was hindered by many circumstances in which the character of the population was formed. Meshchera, which made up the bulk of the population, plays a suffering role throughout Russian history, and reveals its existence through very few events; but the Mordovians, who were related to her, who lived further to the east, have long been a people with independent activity and a warlike, restless character. In the XII and XIII centuries. the Finnish element, apparently, was just beginning to penetrate the Slavic principle, of course, processing it in its own way and significantly distorting this principle. On the other hand, the dominant part of the population was not distinguished by attractive properties. Lack of security and constant fear of losing their property, freedom and life, of course, had an adverse effect on the moral and material well-being of the people. Hence it is clear why the Ryazan principality lagged behind others in the matter of education, and its inhabitants for a long time were distinguished by their savagery and coarseness of their morals. .

§6. Borders and trade relations

Trade activity along the Oka gained new strength since the banks of this river were covered with towns. Oka more and more became the main route of communication between Bulgaria and southern Russia. The ancient cities of Murom and Ryazan, apparently, were distinguished by their prosperity. Reading the words of the mentioned legend about how the Tatars, having taken Ryazan, by the way, “and all the deliberate wealth of Chernigov and Kiev, took away,” one might think that merchants from southern Rus' lived in this city with their goods. Bread, metal products, pearls, silk and paper fabrics and other luxury items came here from Bulgaria; South Russian merchants brought mainly Greek goods: various kinds of pavoloks, precious weapons and church decorations; There is no doubt that Novgorod residents also visited Oka and brought German products: wines, weapons, linen fabrics, etc. From the 11th century. one of the popular routes of ancient Russia ceased: from the Oka along the Don and the Sea of Surozh to rich Taurida. The ferocious Polovtsy came and occupied all the southern steppes. If the Kyiv princes had to send troops to escort Greek ships along the Dnieper, then there was no way for peaceful merchants to sail on the Don. The extent to which this path fell into oblivion by the beginning of the 13th century can be partially concluded from the story about the bringing of the Korsun icon. Eustathius has not heard of the Ryazan land at all, and does not know in which direction it lies; only from some experienced people does he learn that it is possible to reach Ryazan by going up the Dnieper; but that he would have to pass through the land of the filthy Polovtsians. Since the route between the Dnieper and Oka was not safe, he chose another, much longer, but quieter one, around Western Europe. However, the same legend reveals that Ryazan was in direct relations with the inhabitants of the Greek regions and even with the Byzantine court. Such relations were maintained mainly by clergy, who always found honor and affectionate reception in Russia. Even before Eustathius appeared in Ryazan, Euphrosynus was appointed bishop; he brought with him the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria from Mount Athos, which is why he was called Svyatogorets. This also includes the legend about the icon of John the Theologian, sent by the patriarch as a gift to the Ryazan prince. Further, in a word of praise to the Ryazan princes it is said that they “have great love for the Greek kings and have taken many gifts from them.” After this, one might think that Fyodor Yuryevich’s wife Eupraxia, who, according to legend, came from a royal family, was precisely a Byzantine (if not Polovtsian) princess. Such relations partially introduced the upper class to Greek civilization; and the presence of an educated clergy could have a beneficial effect on the spread of literacy. .

Also among the Russian goods exported for exchange were furs and leathers, wax and honey. Among furs, the first place in quantity was occupied by squirrel skins, which differed in grade depending on the place of extraction. They were transported in large barrels. More expensive goods were valuable varieties of fur - sable, otter, marten, beaver. A prominent place belonged to the export of wax, which was widely used in the courts of European sovereigns and in church use. The Hanseatic merchants demanded that the wax should not have any kind of impurities, “not be mixed with oil, or with acorns, or with resin, or with peas.” The export of honey, “fish tooth” (walrus bone) and flax also brought great profits. .

§7. Murom inheritance

Information about the geography of the Murom principality is so poor that we must be content with almost only assumptions. Its borders in the north extended at least to the Klyazma, and in the south to the mouths of Gus on one side and Moksha on the other. Signs of life and activity in this corner of ancient Russia are visible only on the banks of the Oka. Archaeologists have not discovered a single city here, with the exception of Murom; one can, however, assume that there were others: a branch of the Murom Yaroslavichs already in the 12th century. took on significant proportions; It couldn’t all be concentrated in Murom alone; and our ancient princes did not have the habit of living in unfortified villages, especially next to warlike savages. The city of Murom itself is located on one of the high hills of the left bank of the Oka; it was bordered by forests to the southeast and fields to the northwest. Having quite active trade relations with the Kama Bulgarians, Murom very early became one of the prosperous cities of ancient Russia. Strategically, until the beginning of the 12th century. served as the extreme fortified point of northeastern Rus' and often had to withstand attacks from the Mordovians and Kama Bulgarians; but in 1221, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri II founded Nizhny Novgorod at the mouth of the Oka, and Murom partially lost its former significance. From the time of Dolgoruky, the Principality of Murom became more and more separated from Ryazan and came under Suzdal influence, so that at the beginning of the 13th century. it retained only a shadow of independence, and only by unconditional submission to their neighbor did the Murom princes acquire the right to quiet possession of their volosts. The connection between Murom and Ryazan, however, did not stop for a long time, because in addition to the kinship of the princely branches, it was supported by church relations; At first, both principalities were subordinate to the Chernigov bishop in matters of hierarchy, and from the end of the 12th century they formed a special bishopric. But the most living, continuous connection, of course, was the nurse of the Eye; if we cannot point out the cities that existed along its banks between Murom and Izheslavl, at least fishermen’s villages were not rare there. In 1228, in April, David Yuryevich died as a schema-monk, several months after the death of one of his sons. His father's volost was inherited by another son, Yuri. It is unknown for what reasons his sister, who was married to Svyatoslav, the son of Vsevolod III, retired to Murom to her brothers in the same year and took monastic vows here. Of course, Yuri Davidovich did not rule the principality alone, and had to share it with his relatives and cousins.

In the east and south, the Ryazan borders could have a definite character even less than in the north and west. In the latter case, the expansion of borders met with strong opposition from the Suzdal and Severn princes, while in the opposite direction, Ryazan colonization could quite freely go deeper into the neighboring forests and steppes. Here she met wild tribes of Finns and Polovtsians, who had to retreat before the highest level of citizenship, and indeed the borders of the principality were not slow to spread far in this direction. In the east they were lost in the Mordovian wilds. However, we have several data to indicate approximately. In the second half of the 11th and early 12th centuries. the entire space south of Pronya was occupied by Polovtsian nomads; but in the 12th century, the Slavic beginning little by little began to push the nomads further into the steppes. The banks of the upper Don are covered with flourishing cities; however, whether they really were “red and deliberately evil,” as they say in the famous journey of Metropolitan Pimen, is difficult to judge; Maybe the author got carried away here with his own eloquence. The names of these cities remain unknown to us with the exception of one or two. Not far from the sources of the Don, apparently, lay Kir Mikhailov; from the name of the city it can be assumed that its founder was the Pron prince Cyrus Michael; Pronsk, apparently, served as the metropolis of the Don colonies. Further, you can also call Dubok on the Don. The most extreme fortified point in the Ryazan Ukraine was Yelets, located on the lower reaches of Bystraya Sosna; it is mentioned for the first time in 1147.

§8. Neighborhood with Mordovians and Polovtsians

From the east and south, the Murom-Ryazan principality in the form of an arc encircled the vast lands of the Mordovians and Polovtsians. The neighborhood of savages, of course, could not but have a significant influence on the internal and external development of the principality: relations towards them were generally hostile. Less often, chronicles mention wars with the Mordovians, more often about the Polovtsians. Until the 13th century. we actually once encountered a serious war with the first, precisely in 1103; The chroniclers are silent about minor clashes; rumors from this remote side, of course, rarely reached them. Therefore, the description of the campaigns that were carried out in the 20s of the 13th century is very important for us. troops of Grand Duke Yuri II. The first campaign was undertaken in the fall of 1228 under the command of Yuryev’s nephew Vasilko and boyar Eremey Glebovich Okoya and Volga; but they soon returned due to inclement weather. In the winter of the same year, in January, the Grand Duke himself, with his brother Yaroslav, two nephews and Yuri Davidovich of Murom, moved to the Mordovian land and attacked the volost of Purgas. The Russians burned and poisoned the grain, beat the cattle, and sent the prisoners home. Mordva hid in the forests and firmament; and those who did not manage to escape were beaten by Yuri’s youths. The youths of other Suzdal princes, also wanting to distinguish themselves or counting on booty, slowly went deeper into the forest thicket; but they were ambushed and exterminated by the enemies, who in turn did not escape revenge from the Russians. In 1232, the Grand Duke again sent his troops to Mordovians with Murom and Ryazan help; The Russians again burned enemy villages. These wars throw light on the geographical state and life of the Mordovian tribe in those days and lead us to the following conclusions. Their country was covered with dense forests; The Mordvins led a sedentary life, engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture, and lived in villages. Although we don’t see any cities; but the word firmament, used by the chronicler, suggests some special places, probably strengthened by nature itself. One can also assume the existence of trading activity in the neighborhood with the Bulgarians and Russians. Politically, the Mordovians did not represent any unity and were ruled by native princes. These princes were often in hostile relations with each other; such are Purgas and Puresh. Strife, weakening the strength of the Mordovian tribe, forced the rulers to look for allies, and thus made it easier for neighboring peoples to access the depths of the Mordovian lands: so Puresh resorted to the patronage of the Grand Duke of Vladimir; and the Bulgarians help Purgas. The local rulers are so rich that they can hire foreign warriors: at Purgas we find a ragtag Russian squad in service: and the son of Puresh comes against him with the Polovtsians. All this shows that in the 12th century. The Mordvins begin to group into significant masses, headed by native princes, who probably united in their hands the power of the former village elders. Such a union in the masses gave them the opportunity to squeeze out their neighbors with great success, which undoubtedly caused campaigns in such significant forces on the part of the Grand Duke of Vladimir, who in turn took advantage of the civil strife of the local rulers.

Not as sedentary as the Mordovians, but even more wild and restless, are the Polovtsians. The southern part of the Ryazan Ukraine was covered by them from three sides: Russian cities on the banks of the Don and settlements on Voronezh, it seems, did not prevent the barbarian hordes from sometimes spreading their nomads inside the corner that these two rivers form. The struggle between the Ryazan people and the Polovtsians continued continuously until the appearance of the Tatars; at the beginning of the 12th century. the advantage is noticeably leaning towards the former; the Polovtsians succeed in sudden raids; but as soon as the barbarians hear that the Ryazan princes are gathering together, they immediately flee to the steppes. In their persecution, the princes delved deeper and deeper into the Polovtsian lands: in 1150 they defeated them on the Velikaya Vorona River, and in 1199, together with Vsevolod III, they drove the Polovtsians to the shores of the sea and walked along all the Don steppes. But such campaigns could not stop the raids; Princely strife continued to give the barbarians a reason to devastate Russian fields and villages, either in the form of robbers or as allies. The princes were friends with the khans, entered into kinship with them, and sought refuge and troops with them in case of their failures. .

Chapter 3 – Features of material culture §9. Basic Crafts

Research by Soviet scientists has proven that the basis for the growth of the ancient Russian city was the development of crafts.

This also applies to Old Ryazan. Numerous workshops opened at the site indicate that handicraft production was the most important occupation of the inhabitants.

The most abundant archaeological material - ceramics - is equally interesting for studying the crafts and life of the population. Since ceramics has a number of stable features that help in dating, establishing connections and even ethnic interpretation of individual archaeological cultures, archaeologists rightly consider it to be the most valuable historical source and pay a lot of attention to it in their research. Basically, ceramics are characterized by the method of production, ceramic dough, firing, ornament, marks and purpose.

Preparation method. Molded ceramics were discovered twice: in the lower layers of excavation No. 2 (1946) and in the northern part of excavation No. 2A (1948). These are fragments of jar-shaped vessels made of coarse clay dough with a significant admixture of grit. One of the fragments is decorated along the edge with cuttings. The same ceramics were found in the scree of the ravine crossing the Northern settlement. Since the amount of molded ceramics found in Old Ryazan is very small, it does not characterize an entire layer and cannot be counted statistically. However, this pottery is unlikely to be random; it was discovered in the lower layers of the Northern settlement, which is the oldest part of the Staroryazan settlement. Its small number is explained by the fact that part of the cape between the Oka and Serebryanka was destroyed by a ravine and washed away by the Oka.

For Old Ryazan ceramics of the X-XIII centuries. It is characterized by a circular manufacturing method, and, moreover, on a hand wheel. There are almost no bottoms removed from the circle by cutting with wire or thread. The shooting is usually sandy. The manufacturing method, both in ancient times and now, is a spiral-braid molding with subsequent alignment on a circle and application of an ornament.

Ceramic dough. Clay suitable for making dishes is available in abundance within the Ryazan land. The most common post-Tertiary clays are glacial moraine and deluvial loams, which are still used to make bricks and simple utensils. According to the ceramic test, Ryazan ceramics are divided into white, yellow, gray and red. Gray contains a slightly larger admixture of fireclay and sand than white and red. This division of ceramic dough by color is arbitrary, since fractured shards can be dark brown, grayish-red, and others.

Ryazan craftsmen knew very well what clay was needed to make particular dishes. Therefore, in ceramics there is a dependence of the composition of the dough on the purpose and quality of the vessel, as well as on the time of its manufacture. Fat and lean clays were used for dishes. Fatty clays were better processed on the potter's wheel, but were more deformed when drying and cracked during firing, as well as when cooking food over high heat. Lean clays dried faster, fired better and cracked less. For ceremonial dishes, which no longer fell into the fire after firing, fatty clay could also be used. If there was no such thing on site, it was made by “extortion”. If they wanted to give a vessel significant strength and at the same time splendor, it was engobed, that is, it was made from clay of the same composition, usually thin, and covered on top with rich clay, giving a smooth and beautiful surface.

Burning. The quality of firing of the shards varies greatly. Along with uniformly calcined, sonorous ones, there are those that are strongly burned on both the outer and inner sides, but not calcined in the middle, which is revealed by the gray or black color of the clay, visible in the fracture of the shard in the middle. The latter can be classified as kiln-fired ceramics, while the former can be classified as furnace-fired ceramics. However, this division is not always accurate. Vessels that were lightly burned in a forge could be heavily burned when used in a kiln, and as a result, the fractured shard acquired an uneven layered appearance. Furnace firing was often very weak and difficult to distinguish from kiln firing. Low firing is generally characteristic of ceramics of the 11th-13th centuries.

Ornament. Most of the Ryazan ceramics, as well as Slavic ceramics in general, are equipped with linear and wavy patterns. However, Old Ryazan is characterized by the presence of a significant number of vessels with jagged ornaments applied using a gear wheel or stamp. The most ancient ceramics, decorated with a jagged stamp in the shape of a vessel (with a straight neck and a slightly profiled rim), are similar to the Borshev-Romensky one. These vessels are covered along the shoulders with a jagged herringbone pattern imitating the rope pattern of Romny pottery. Sometimes the edge of the vessel along the rim is decorated with notches. Sometimes a relief ornament is applied to a convex roller specially left for this purpose on the wall of the vessel. On some vessels, the roller was not made during the molding of the vessel, but was stuck on later to apply the ornament.

The jagged ornament is found in two types: applied with a wheel in the form of horizontal stripes and embossed in the form of a Christmas tree pattern. There are vessels that are completely ornamented over the entire surface. Sometimes along the shoulders of the vessel there are “garlands” descending downwards, applied with a serrated stamp. In general, in ornamentation, despite the general standard techniques, individual masters show significant ingenuity. Some vessels are decorated from top to bottom, while on most decorated vessels the ornament is located along the shoulders.

Brands. A number of marks are known that were found in the Ryazan region at the Dyadkovsky, Tolpinsky, Kazarsky settlements, in Pronsk and in Old Ryazan (Fig. 2). Very few brands come from villages. In the Staroryazan excavations of our time, as in the excavations of previous years, a fairly significant number of vessels with marks on the bottom were found. In the excavations of Gorodtsov, about 60 vessels with marks were found, and in the excavations of 1945-1950 - over 120. In relation to the total amount of ceramics found, this is only 1%.

Hallmarks are always of great interest, as they are considered as a sign of a craftsman. Based on their study, conclusions are drawn about the nature of pottery production, the number of craftsmen at a given site, etc. A large literature is devoted to the issue of stamps, and yet it cannot be considered resolved. The most complete overview of opinions is given in Rybakov’s book. He comes to the conclusion that “the close industrial connection of the marks with the potter’s wheel and the complete absence of any predecessors on the molded ceramics of pagan times do not allow us to see pagan symbols in them and confirm the idea that these are signs of artisan potters.”

The mark was carved in the center of the potter's wheel on which the pot was molded. The circle was sprinkled with ash or sand so that the finished vessel could be removed. The hallmark is usually simple; it is easy to remember and easy to reproduce. Stamps form several groups, of which the most common is the group with circles. The latter are sometimes filled with a mesh and look like a wheel with spokes; sometimes a cross is inscribed in the circle. A five-pointed star, a cross in the form of a swastika, and a swastika in the form of a “Segner wheel” are often found. The most common marks are key, rosette, arrow, and variously combined squares. Very rarely - an image of an animal, a flattened skin with a clearly visible head, tail and paws. The rarest sign is the so-called “sign of Rurik”, encountered twice - the trident. .

In Old Ryazan, on a found vessel it is written: “I sent new wine to Prince Bogunka.” “Bogunka” is apparently the signature of the scribe. (Wine in Ancient Rus' they called only grape wine). Frequent finds of inscriptions on things indicate the prevalence of literacy in ancient Russian cities. .

Purpose. Among ceramic products, a number of special-purpose items should be noted.

· Clay spindle whorls. There are relatively few of them: only 42 by 365 slate. In the 11th century clay whorls were completely replaced by slate ones imported from Volyn.

· The so-called “breads”. Small clay cakes are round or oval, decorated at the top with intersecting cut lines or dots applied in a spiral. These “breads” were children's toys or, which is very likely, had ritual significance.

· Pots of very small sizes, which are like a model of a large pot. Probably children's toys or salt shakers.

· Crucibles. Very small sizes, thin-walled, with a spout for draining, served to melt the glass mass with which ceramic products were coated. For melting non-ferrous metal, crucibles in the form of small thick-walled pots were used.

· Watered eggs (“pysanky”), hollow, painted, sometimes with a pebble inside (rattle).

· “Kyiv type” lamps, on a high hollow leg, thick-bodied, white clay; the upper part is in the form of a cup of regular hemispherical shape.

· Vessels for making cottage cheese with 6-8 holes in the bottom; usually white, well fired, low pots.

· Well-fired red clay frying pans, from which only hexagonal and oval handles have survived. .

Metallurgical production in Old Ryazan, as in most other ancient Russian cities, was based on local raw materials, mainly on swamp ores, which are found on Prona and Osetra and in especially large quantities in the immediate vicinity of Old Ryazan - along the banks of the Pra and Kadi rivers .

In Old Ryazan, two cheese furnaces were found (Fig. 11), near which there are a lot of slags, krits, and blowing nozzles. The method of obtaining iron was the same, cheese-making, but the volume of blast furnaces increased. .

No forges have yet been found in Old Ryazan. But the products of Ryazan blacksmiths are so numerous and varied that, trying to characterize them, we would have to give a description of most of all the finds on the fortifications of the Ryazan land. After all, after ceramics, iron objects are the most abundant archaeological material. Therefore, we will consider only individual specimens that are of particular interest for study.

Among the mass products of Ryazan blacksmiths, the most common are knives, but in addition to the common wedge-shaped knives, there are knives whose handles were not put on the handle, but formed a continuation of the knife blade. There were holes punched in it for rivets, with the help of which two wooden plates were attached to the handle. The original find is a large, massive knife, the iron handle of which ends in a disk with six holes into which iron rings are threaded. This is probably a military weapon (modern peoples of South Africa have similar throwing knives).

Ryazan blacksmiths made not only knives, but also complex instruments. Such a device is, for example, a Roman scale - a steelyard. The production of such objects requires, in addition to the high technological culture of the blacksmith, also his literacy, which is necessary to correctly calibrate the lever of the scales.

Although the work of a mechanic is a direct continuation of the work of a blacksmith, the specialization of crafts in Rus' in the 10th-13th centuries. went so far that not only mechanics differed from blacksmiths, but also a division of labor appeared within these specialties.

The most complex products of locksmiths were locks and keys. Castles that existed in Rus' are divided into the following types:

· Internal door locks (wooden latches, only the key and brackets are made of metal). These locks are unlocked from the outside with a crank key. The latter are usually two-pronged and have a ring on the handle for wearing.

· Internal mortise locks of caskets and chests, usually lined with a figured copper plate.

· Padlocks with a key that has a groove and a key that is bent at the end. .

Intricate padlocks with keys of complex designs were sold and were very popular in neighboring countries under the name “Russian” locks. The German author Theophilus testified to the high art of niello and enamel. .

Amber and glass production. In 1926, V. A. Gorodtsov opened a workshop for the production of amber beads at the Northern settlement. As excavations continued in the same area, amber beads and pieces of amber, partially processed, were found. Due to poor preservation, it was not possible to clearly identify the dwelling in which the workshop was located.

As for glass beads, it is likely that a significant part of them were made locally, although so far no workshops for their manufacture have been found either in the Ryazan land or anywhere else in ancient Rus'. Thousands of fragments of glass bracelets were found in Old Ryazan. Evidence of their local production can be found in the discovery of a defective glass bracelet (Fig. 3). The bracelets were made from a glass strand folded into a ring while hot. The defective bracelet was crushed at the time of manufacture, the welding at the place where the ends were fastened was done incorrectly, as a result it turned out to be heart-shaped instead of round. Proof that the bracelet was damaged during the production process is the presence at the welding site of a trace from a metal rod on which the bracelet was transferred in a hot state after soldering. It is unlikely that the defective bracelet was brought to the site. It is more natural to assume that there was local production of glass bracelets.

Bone carving production includes a number of items that were in the process of processing and found unfinished. Such, for example, is a trapezoidal bone comb with an ornament in the form of parallel lines (1949). On this comb, teeth cuts are made on one side only. The other side was left unfinished.

Products made of bone and horn are numerous and varied. These are, first of all, the combs and handles of knives. The skill of the Ryazan bone carvers is also evidenced by a skillfully carved bone plate in the shape of a cat (Fig. 4), a whip handle carved from bone, and a turned handle in the shape of a barrel, decorated with an eye pattern.

Copper foundry is represented by finds of copper slag, pieces of copper, crucibles with traces of molten metal, bronze jewelry uncut after casting, and stone foundry molds.

Of great interest are two casting molds made of dense slate (Fig. 5). One of the forms is four-sided. On one side of it there is a socket for casting a round convex pendant, on which coarse grain is imitated. On the other - for casting a square plaque with a triangular and dotted pattern. On the third side there is a nest for casting balls with a diameter of 8 mm. The stone from which the mold was made had apparently been used before, since on the fourth side there was preserved part of a socket for casting a twisted copper ring. The stone with this socket was split and new foundry sockets were made on three of its sides. The forms were obviously covered with a smooth lid; ingots lead to each nest. The beaded pendant has an eyelet for hanging on a necklace. To do this, a channel was left in the mold, perpendicular to the casting, into which an iron rod was inserted. The metal flowed around the rod, which was then removed, leaving a hole in the eye.

The second casting mold is three-sided. On one side there is a nest for casting a coin-shaped plaque, decorated along the edge with a crenate pattern; in the middle there are two cross-shaped intersecting ovals. On the other there is a socket for casting a flat four-pointed cross with expanding branches and teeth - “rays” at its ends; there is also a channel perpendicular to the casting (for the eye). On the third side there is a nest for casting flat pendants in the form of triangles with three balls along the lower wide edge and with a ring for hanging at the top. Similar decorations were common in late Chud antiquities, for example, among the Mordovians in the 12th-13th centuries. The discovery of a casting mold for these decorations in Old Ryazan serves as one of the proofs that Ryazan artisans worked for export to the Mordovian lands.

Metal engraving is represented in Old Ryazan by a number of finds, among which an interesting copper plate with the image of Jesus Christ, found in excavations in 1950.

In the State Historical Museum there is a part of sheet copper fittings, probably church doors with the image of a baptism (Fig. 6). The size of the plate is 32.2 X 25.5 cm. In the museum's report, the plate is dated to the 13th century. The drawing is made using the gold marking method, which consists of scratching the design on a copper plate coated with a special varnish with a sharp instrument; The areas cleared of varnish are etched with acid and filled with gold amalgam. When heated, gold bonds firmly with copper. This method of gilding was widespread in the 12th-13th centuries. With its help, images were made on the famous doors of the Suzdal Cathedral. .

A fairly wide range of different tools was used in figurative woodworking and artistic carving. Chisels were found - straight and oblique, chisels with a figured blade, chisels with figured blades, various cutters - such as cranberries with a straight and figured blade, jamb knives and cutter knives, spoons. (Fig. 12) .

Products made of gold and silver are of exceptional interest. Four large treasures, as well as individual gold and silver objects, were found at the Staroryazan settlement (Fig. 7).

The first significant discovery that drew attention to Slavic-Russian antiquities was a treasure found at the site of Old Ryazan in 1822. While plowing, peasant Ermolaev found gold plaques, medallions and beads, which were called “Ryazan barms” in scientific literature. .

The treasure, found in 1822, was plowed out of the ground at the Southern Settlement, near the main road (Fig. 9). The things, apparently, were in a leather bag, since several decayed small scraps of leather were found along with them. The total weight of the treasure is 6 pounds 83 spools. Of the items in the 1822 treasure, first of all, 11 round plaques stand out, which Kondakov divides into three selections or series.

The first selection consists of a pair of large blown pendant kolts (diameter 126 mm, thickness 45 mm), richly decorated with stones, enamel and gold filigree (Fig. 8). On the front side of these colts, on inset shields with cloisonné enamel, young beardless St. the princes are obviously Boris and Gleb. Around the shields there is a pearl and wide border with a filigree pattern and large stones in nests. On the reverse side, in the middle, there is a white yakhont, trimmed with pearls. Nine large stones are placed along the rim among the filigree. The stones are set into nests, some of the nests are raised above the surface of the colts using openwork filigree weaving in the form of arches, which transmit light from below to the stone.

The second selection consists of three large (75-80 mm in diameter) round medallions in the form of flat shields. Convex enamel medallions with images of saints are placed in the middle, surrounded by a wide frame with stones and filigree. On the medallions are images of the Mother of God Oranta, St. Irina and Varvara. The last two enamels are certainly Russian, according to N.P. Kondakov, local Ryazan work. This is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that Russian letters are mixed with Greek in the inscriptions.

The third selection consists of six medallions (the sizes of four large ones are from 95 to 107 mm; two small ones are 75 mm each), flat on the back side, adapted to be worn on a cord and decorated on the front side with stones and filigree. The filigree here is special: to create great depth and relief, the craftsmen forged twisted gold threads into thin strips with a ribbed upper edge, and these strips were soldered edgewise to the surface of the medallion. On top of this filigree is placed and soldered the filigree that makes up the second tier. .

The discovery of the “Ryazan barmas,” interesting and important in itself, drew attention to the site of Old Ryazan, where the find was made. In 1836, excavations began here. Ancient temples and houses were discovered and thus it was established where the ancient capital of the Ryazan principality was located. .

§10. Agriculture and crafts

The Slavs who colonized the region of the middle Oka already had some agricultural skills. They primarily occupied fertile, predominantly black soil lands.

Arable farming on the fertile Ryazan land made it possible to obtain an abundance of grain not only for consumption, but also for export to the Novgorod land.

In the XI-XIII centuries. not only the village, but also the city was associated with agriculture. Finds of agricultural implements and large grain pits in Old Ryazan, Pronsk and other settlements indicate this. Consequently, residents of the cities of the Ryazan land, along with crafts and trade, sowed grain and raised livestock.

Agricultural tools in Old Ryazan are represented mainly by sickles and scythes. In excavations in 1926, four sickles were found, only one of which was almost complete; its length is 32 cm, the width of the blade at its widest point is 3 cm; The sickle has a welded steel smooth (without teeth) blade. In form it belongs to the Moscow type. Found in excavations in 1948 and 1950. the sickles, as far as can be judged from the surviving fragments, belong to the same type. One of the sickles was examined by B.A. Kolchin and turned out to be all-steel, heat-treated.

Five braids were found. They differ from those existing now and belong to the pink salmon type. The braids in the middle part are slightly curved; for fastening to the handle, they had a curved hook, which was driven into the wooden handle. The blades of some of them have holes punched in them. Obviously, the end of the wooden handle, as is done now, was wrapped with a belt, which was also passed through a hole in the braid.

A.V. Kiryanov, who studied grains from the Old Ryazan dwellings of the 11th-12th centuries, located on the Northern settlement, established that a variety of agricultural crops were cultivated in Ryazan. Among them, the leading ones were rye, wheat and millet. Barley, oats, and legumes - peas were of less importance. Flax and hemp were cultivated among the spinning oil crops. Few weed seeds were found, and therefore the composition of the weeds does not allow us to judge the nature of the arable land.

Along with arable farming, cattle breeding was an important branch of agriculture for the Ryazan people. Osteological material allows us to judge about it.

The cattle bred in Old Ryazan were significantly smaller in size than modern Oka cattle and in this respect were close to Meshchera cattle. In the X-XIII centuries. The Oka breed of cattle did not yet exist. It appeared later, when better feeding conditions were created. The Old Ryazan cow developed in a forest belt where there was not enough food and poisonous herbs were found.

This type of cattle was extremely undemanding in terms of feeding and housing conditions. In second place after cattle in terms of the number of bone finds are pigs, in third place are horses, and in fourth place are small cattle. Of the total number of mammal bones, bones of cattle account for 51.4%, pigs - 22.7%, horses 13.9% and small cattle - 12.0%.

The number of wild animal bones in materials from Old Ryazan is relatively small - 5.3% of the total according to Tsalkin or 6.3% according to Bogolyubsky. The animals presented here are mainly hunted for meat (elk, wild boar, roe deer). A major role in the economy of Old Ryazan was played by hunting for moose, which were found in abundance in the forests along the banks of the Oka River and were widely consumed as food.

Animals hunted for furs almost never came to the site, although hunting for them was widespread. The bones of wild birds have not been identified. Among poultry, the bones of geese, ducks and, in the greatest number, chickens were found.

Hunting is reflected in excavations not only by finds of bones of game animals, but also arrows. Of the total mass of arrows found in Old Ryazan, most can be classified equally as combat and hunting. Some arrows were for special purposes. For example, for hunting squirrels and other small fur-bearing animals, socketed bone arrows with a blunt edge (so as not to spoil the skins) were used. Forked arrows were used for bird hunting.

Fishing played a prominent role in the Ryazan land. The abundance of rivers rich in fish, even in ancient times, contributed to the development of fishing, which served in the 10th-13th centuries. an important auxiliary fishery available to every household. Fishing implements - hooks, sinkers from seines - were found in almost all the dwellings of Old Ryazan. Sinkers - clay and stone, in shape - cylindrical, ovoid and spherical. Hooks are forged iron, very rarely made of drawn wire, from 8 to 2.1 cm in length and 0.5-0.2 cm in cross-section. The shape of the hooks is uniform and similar to modern ones.

The significance and distribution of beekeeping in ancient Rus' is known. An archaeological sign of this craft are the so-called tree spikes, found in Staraya Ryazan, Pronsk, Tolpin. In the Murom legend about Peter and Fevronia and in the life of St. Konstantin mentions the spread of beekeeping as an important trade in the Murom-Ryazan land. Oleg's grant to the Olgov monastery specifically mentions on-board lands.

§eleven. Features of excavated household items

Let us note those household finds that were not included in other sections of the work.

A huge amount of flints was found on the territory of Old Ryazan. They are usually roll-shaped, less often oval or rectangular.

Clay lamps in the form of a flat bowl on a high hollow leg and metal lamps in the form of a bronze tripod were discovered. The beams were fixed in the lights. The light is usually a metal rod, one end of which is pointed (for driving into wood), the other is spread out or has the shape of a fork, between the teeth of which a splinter is fixed.

Of note are bone earwigs and bone tally tags. One of these tags, found at the Northern settlement in the 12th century layer, is a piece of a sheep or cow rib, with notches made on the concave side (Fig. 10). The ends of the ribs are trimmed. At one end is through hole for hanging tags. There are a total of 34 notches on the tag, the first 10 notches are separated by a notch.

Mass finds include bone (or horn) combs. They are usually trapezoidal, double-sided, made from a whole horn. Less often - rectangular with a horn lining in the middle on copper rivets. In most cases, the middle part of the ridge is equipped with an ocellar or crenate ornament. The bone handles of the knives are also decorated.

Children's toys are represented by products made of bone and baked clay. Several hummers have been found from the bones of sheep, cows, and metacarpal bones of pigs. Stone and clay eggs covered with glaze, small clay vessels, clay whistles in the shape of animals, etc. were found in the residential layers.

Let's say a few words about military household items found in Old Ryazan. Some of them may have been used for hunting.

Four spear tips were found at the Staroryazan settlement. All of them are laurel-leaved (“flame-shaped”) and have a tubular sleeve for mounting on the shaft. Some tips have an awl-shaped (tetrahedral with a sharp piercing end) blade and a cone-shaped sleeve. Spears with similar tips were intended to pierce chain mail.

Seven battle axes with a wide blade and a deep cut at the handle (to lighten the weight) were found in Old Ryazan.

The spurs were found in the wreckage. They consisted of a semi-oval plate, at the ends of which there were oblong through slots for a belt. In the middle of the plate, perpendicular to it, a pointed spike was attached. The stirrups were made from a whole piece of iron. The shape of the stirrups is arched. The bow was forged from a flat piece of iron and had an oblong protrusion at the top, in which there was a slot for a belt. The lower part, intended for the foot, was an oval-shaped plate, wide in the middle. Horse bits consisted of two rods connected by loops and two movable rings at the edges.

Among the arrowheads found, a significant part are armor-piercing three- and tetrahedral (pyramidal), intended for piercing chain mail, helmets, shields, etc., i.e. against warriors in armor.

Three arrows from the 10th century layer. were three-lobed with a thickened tip. A large group consisted of lanceolate-shaped tips, almost all of them had a long awl-shaped handle. Between the handle and the blade there was a roller for resting on the shaft. A number of tips have a flat diamond-shaped blade.

A double-spike socketed arrow 8.3 cm long was found, of which 3.9 cm is on the blade. Such arrows are typical for the southwestern regions of Kievan Rus in the 10th-12th centuries. and for Western European countries. They were used mainly against warriors who were not protected by armor, as well as for hunting. .

Among the household items found by archaeologists are fragments of keys and locks, children's toys, and shards of pottery. But the main attention was attracted by the spout-spout of the ancient “hand wash”, made of clay in the shape of a lamb’s head. Curved horns and bulging, as if surprised, eyes give his pretty face a lively expression. The head of the lamb on the “hand” is not accidental. Ethnographer of the 19th century A. N. Afanasyev in his work “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature” said that in the folklore worldview of the Slavs, heavy clouds ready to rain were associated with shaggy heavenly rams, sheep or goats. It is not for nothing that such clouds are still called lambs today, and among the Bulgarians – the sheep of Elijah the Prophet. In the symbolism of folk artistic reinterpretations, the image of a ram was associated with ideas about pouring water.

And the chess pieces (bone and wood) found by archaeologists in a small excavation area indicate that the same intellectual games that the royal court was fond of flourished in the city. .

§12. Beliefs and religion

Religion occupied a very important place in life medieval city.

Many stone and metal crosses and pendant icons were found at the Staroryazan settlement. Among them, especially noteworthy is a cast copper icon with an image of an archangel, found in the baptismal chapel of the Boris and Gleb Church during excavations in 1836. A very primitive image and rough casting make it possible to attribute the icon to early works of small sculpture and date it to the 11th century. A cast copper cross with a depiction of a crucifix dates back to the same time; the edges of the cross are slightly rounded, the crucifix is depicted frontally, and the hands are disproportionately large.

The struggle between paganism and Christianity, observed in a number of facts, is extremely interesting. Despite the long period that had passed since the adoption of Christianity, and also despite the fact that Christianity enjoyed all the advantages of the state religion, elements of paganism persisted in Old Ryazan, as in other Russian cities, for quite a long time. Archaeologists observe this, in particular, in burial rites.

In the land of the Vyatichi, Christianization proceeded more slowly than in other parts of ancient Rus'. Judging by the report of the murder of Kuksha by the defenders of paganism, the preaching of Christianity was unsafe here even in the 12th century. Apparently, until the 12th century. The Vyatichi people maintained the ritual of burning corpses (perhaps this explains the absence of Vyatichi mounds in the 10th-11th centuries) until the 14th century. The Vyatichi retained the custom of burial in mounds, which the Christian Church fought against. In cities, the burial mound ritual was abandoned much earlier. But even in the 12th century. in Old Ryazan we find in the burial rite some similarities with the Vyatic burial mounds. This is manifested in sprinkling coal on the deceased, leaving a pot of food in the grave, and finding coals, fragments of pots, and animal bones—remnants of funeral feasts—in the mounds of graves in the city cemetery. Just as was done in burial mounds, the townspeople buried the dead in a dugout wooden log and wrapped it in birch bark.

Individual items found in city cemetery graves link the Staroryazanskoe cemetery of the 12th-13th centuries. on the Northern settlement with contemporary Vyatic mounds. These include crystal spherical beads, seven-lobed temple rings and lattice rings. The fact that things belonging to the Vyatichi people were found at the Staroryazan city cemetery is a curious and rarely observed phenomenon, since tribal outfits are usually found only in village mounds of the 12th century. This is explained by the stability of ancient customs among the Vyatichi. Even in the city, which was under the rule of feudal lords, the characteristic features of the tribal attire were not completely erased, and burials with Vyatka rings, beads and temple rings were found in a burial ground without burial mounds.

It should be noted that we find individual items from the Vyatic tribal outfit only in the cemeteries of the Northern settlement. In the Southern Settlement, such things are found in residential layers. This indicates a rather late existence of Vyatic things, when numerous burials appeared at the Northern settlement, mostly dating back to the 13th century.

The burial ritual in the tombs opened in the cathedral is not clear, since the burials were probably disturbed. This may explain Tikhomirov’s finding of many skulls in one tomb. However, it is possible that the burial of several people in one coffin took place after Batu’s defeat of Old Ryazan, as stated in “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu.” Ingvar Ingorevich, having collected the corpses of the dead princes, boyars and governors, “brought them to the city of Rezan” and put some of them together “in a single race.” In the burials we opened in the western porch of the Boris and Gleb Cathedral, three joint burials were found.

A relic of paganism was the spread of amulets in the form of bear fangs with holes drilled for braid, as well as hare bones, etc.

The dual faith typical of all ancient Russian culture is reflected, as we see, in the materials of Old Ryazan. .

Conclusion

Archaeological studies of Old Ryazan have shown that Slavic city arose on the territory previously occupied first by the Gorodets settlement, and then by the Mordovian-Erzi village, which gave the city its name. The Slavs, who had previously penetrated into the region of the middle reaches of the Oka in separate groups, in the 10th century. completely colonized it. But the emergence of the city of Old Ryazan not as the original settlement of the Slavs, but as a center of crafts, trade and at the same time its transformation into an important administrative center, dates back only to the 11th century. Only from this time can we talk about the city not in the concept of the ancient Russian chronicler, as a fenced and fortified settlement, but about the city as social phenomenon which arose with the separation of crafts and trade from agriculture.

The basis for the prosperity of Ryazan and its existence as a city was the development of crafts. Numerous workshops opened at the site indicate that handicraft production was the most important occupation of the inhabitants. The presence in Old Ryazan of metallurgical production, processing of iron, wood, amber, glass, bone, stone, non-ferrous metals, etc. has been established. Ryazan artisans early, back in the 11th century, learned to make steel and use it technical properties to create tools and household items. The predominance of the Slavic ethnic element in the Ryazan land was ensured by the more rapid social and cultural development of the Slavs, which took place under the influence and support of the powerful Kyiv state. The highest achievement of Ryazan artisans were products made of non-ferrous metals.

Old Ryazan was an important trading center. Archaeological finds indicate its extensive trade relations, the import of goods from the East, Byzantium and Western Europe. Ryazan craftsmen also worked for export, in particular, they produced individual items for sale to the Mordovians. But the most important export item was bread. Not only the village, but also the city was associated with agriculture. Residents of Old Ryazan, along with crafts and trade, sowed grain and raised livestock. As a result of the excavations, interesting data were obtained to characterize the life of the urban population of ancient Rus', to judge clothing, jewelry, beliefs, literacy, etc.

Excavations of Old Ryazan provided important materials on the history of Russian culture and craft, as well as the ancient Russian city. As a result of archaeological research, it can be argued that Old Ryazan was one of the most important cultural and craft centers of ancient Rus', whose role in the history of our homeland was not fully appreciated due to the loss of Ryazan chronicles. Archeology made up for the lack of written sources and helped restore the history of the ancient capital of the Ryazan principality.

The significance of archaeological research in Old Ryazan is not limited to the fact that we learned the history of the capital of one of the Russian principalities, no matter how interesting it may be in itself. If the historical and cultural significance of such great centers of Rus' as Kyiv and Novgorod has long been determined, then northeastern Rus' is still characterized by many historians as a backward outskirts that has not reached a level of development even close to Kyiv. Meanwhile, archaeological data testify not only to the high level of development of the culture of the Ryazan land, but also to its amazing proximity, and sometimes complete identity, with the culture of Kyiv and Chernigov. The remarkable monuments of material culture found in Old Ryazan are irrefutable evidence of the high level of cultural development in different parts of the ancient Russian land, even on its very outskirts.

The geographical position of the Ryazan land, its marginal position in relation to other Russian lands, its proximity to the steppe border, to the Chud tribes of the Volga region and the Bulgarian state, the fact that an important trade route to the East passed through the Ryazan land - left an imprint on its entire history. This gave it some features of originality and created a number of conditions that distinguished the development of the Ryazan land and its capital from the development of other Russian lands and cities. The need to defend the city forced the residents of Old Ryazan to improve the techniques of making weapons and ways to protect their territories by erecting embankments and digging ditches. The favorable location of the settlement relative to trade routes is one of important conditions development of crafts. The fertility of the soil and the availability of space for pastures contributed to the development of agriculture and cattle breeding in the territory of the principality.

The Ryazan principality, due to its border position in the south of Rus', was more closely connected with the Horde than others. Such close proximity to it interfered with the material well-being of the inhabitants, as well as the development of Christian civilization, crafts, trade and literacy.

After crafts, the most important basis for the development of Old Ryazan was trade. The capital of the Ryazan land was advantageously located on the most important trade route along the Oka. Judging by the 23 treasures of oriental coins found within the Ryazan land, it becomes obvious that the Oka was still in the 8th - 11th centuries. was a busy commercial thoroughfare. Most of these treasures were buried along the Oka and only very a small amount of of which on the banks of Pair, Verda, Ranova and Pra, south of the Oka. Treasures from the 9th – early 10th centuries gravitate towards this pool. The Oka trade route led from the Slavic countries to Bulgaria, and from there, along the Volga, to the Arab countries and Central Asia.

Old Ryazan, very advantageously located in the area of three navigable rivers Oka, Pronya and Pary and in close proximity to the greatest water artery of Eastern Europe - the Volga, already by its geographical location had all the data to turn into a large city.

No matter how fragmentary the archaeological materials on the development of trade in Old Ryazan are, they still indicate extensive trade ties, the import of goods from the East, from Byzantium and Western Europe.

Such a neighborhood as the Mordovians and especially the Polovtsians, of course, could only delay the internal development of the Ryazan principality and put a kind of stamp on the forms of life. It harmed the well-being of the region and maintained the brute physical strength of the people in constant tension.

The close proximity to the Tatar-Mongols greatly hampered the development of Old Ryazan society. In the first time after the Tatar invasion, the progress of Christian preaching within the Ryazan region slowed down. Although the Tatars, as is known, did not persecute the Orthodox faith; but the close proximity to them and frequent robberies, of course, interfered with the material well-being of the inhabitants and the development of Christian civilization. Nevertheless, the holy faith continued to constantly gain new fans. The metropolitan charters at Chervny Yar indicate the presence of a settled Christian population in the areas between the Don and Khoper.

A brief description of the various crafts of the capital of the Ryazan land refutes the opinion about the alleged backwardness of the culture of the Ryazan land. Old Ryazan did not lag behind Kyiv, Chernigov, Novgorod and other great centers of ancient Russian culture and craft. Old Ryazan craftsmen were famous for their products; it is especially worth highlighting the skill of local jewelers. Treasures excavated on the territory of Old Ryazan confirm this statement. Gold kolta, barms and beads are made in an unusually fine and decorative manner.

Hunting, fishing, beekeeping, which in Old Ryazan are to one degree or another reflected in archaeological materials, provided the city residents with only additional food products. The main branches of agriculture were farming and cattle breeding, for which favorable conditions were created on the territory of the principality. High soil fertility made it possible to grow bread not only to provide food for the inhabitants of the principality, but also to export it to other lands.

High level The development of the material culture of the principality is also confirmed by the finds of all kinds of everyday items: ceramic products for various purposes, children's toys, military and military weapons.

Considering the spiritual sphere of life of the Staraya Ryazan principality, one should pay attention to the fact that in Old Ryazan, as in other Russian cities, elements of paganism were preserved for quite a long time, but despite this, the majority of residents adopted Christianity. It follows from this that the level of cultural and spiritual development of the inhabitants of the principality was quite high, compared to many regions in which pagan views were the popular faith until the 20th century. manifested themselves in rituals, round dance games, songs, fairy tales and folk art.

After analyzing all the information I collected to write a scientific work, I came to the conclusion that the Ryazan principality and its capital - Old Ryazan in the period from the 11th to the 13th centuries. had an extremely developed material culture for this period. This was reflected in the level of development of agriculture, the skill of local artisans, the level of development of trade, as well as foreign policy relations. The development of the principality reached its peak by the 13th century, but the Tatar-Mongol invasion interrupted its development and created conditions in which the Ryazan principality could no longer exist, first as a capital, and then in general. But, despite the short-lived existence of the principality, the inhabitants of Old Ryazan created their own immortal material culture, which archaeologists are still studying. I believe that the study of the material values of ancient Russian cities allows us to more deeply trace not only the history of a given region, but also the history of the entire country, which is very important for recreating the historical appearance of Russia in the period of the 11th-13th centuries.

The settlement of Old Ryazan and the entire Ryazan principality were important in the development of Rus'. For example, the Old Ryazan lands were an important defensive line that protected large cities from the invasions of the Polovtsians and Tatars, taking on the bulk of their attacks.

Also, Old Ryazan was one of the main trading points on the way to the East and Asia, which made it possible to establish relations with its southern neighbors.

And, of course, the ancient settlement of Old Ryazan and the adjacent territory were one of the most significant cultural and craft centers in Rus'.

Bibliography

1. Avdusin D.A., Archeology of the USSR; Publishing house "Higher School", 1977.

2. Darkevich V.P. Ancient Ryazan, 1993.

3. Darkevich V.P., Borisevich G.V., The ancient capital of the Ryazan land: XI-XIII centuries, M., 1995.

4. History of the Ryazan Principality. Works by D. I. Ilovaisky, M. - Published by bookseller A. L. Vasilyev, 1884.

5. Amalrik A.S., Mongait A.L., What is archeology, M., 1966.

6. Kolchin B.A., Ancient Rus'. City, castle, village, M., 1985.

7. Mongait A.L., Staraya Ryazan, M. - 1955.

8. Tikhomirov D., Old Russian cities, M., 1956.

9. Gordienko V., Old Ryazan: yesterday, today, tomorrow, Newspaper "Ryazan Gazette" No. 10, 2003.

10. “The Heart of Pereyaslavl Ryazansky”, magazine “Science and Life”, No. 6, 2007.

11. Encyclopedia “Avanta +”, volume 5 “History of Russia and its closest neighbors”, part 1. “From the ancient Slavs to Peter the Great”, M., 1998.

12. http://rv.ryazan.ru

13. http://liberea.gerodot.ru

14. http://www.archeologia.ru

Applications

Rice. 1. Plan of the settlement of Old Ryazan with indication of excavation sites.

Boris and Gleb Cathedral, a - excavations in 1836; b - excavations in 1926; c - excavations 1948 Spassky Cathedral - excavations 1888 Assumption Cathedral - excavations 1949 1 - excavation 1945 No. 1; 2 - excavation 1945 No. 2; 3 - section of the shaft at the New Pronsky Gate in 1945; 4 - section of the shaft 1945; 5.- excavation 1946 No. 1; 6 - excavation in 1946; No. 2; 7 - excavation 1948 No. 2A; 8 - excavation 1948 No. 2B; 9 - excavation 1948 No. 2B; 10-excavation 1949 No. 2G; 11 - excavation 1946 No. 3; 12 - excavation 1946 No. 4; 13 - excavation 1946 No. 5; 14 - pit 1946; 15 - excavation 1949 No. 1; 26 - excavation 1949 No. 2; 17 - excavation 1950 No. 1; 18- excavation 1950 No. 2; 19 - excavation 1950 No. 3; 20 - excavation 1950 No. 4; 21 - excavation 1950 No. 5; 22 - excavation 1950 No. 6; 23 - excavation 1950 No. 7B; 24 - excavation 1950 No. 8; 25 - excavation 1950 No. 9; 26 - excavation 1950 No. 10; 27 - excavation 1950 No. 11; 28 - excavation 1950 No. 12; 29 - excavation 1950 No. 13; 30 - excavation 1950 No. 14; 31 - excavation 1950 No. 15; 32 - section of the rampart at the Isad Gate, 1950.

Rice. 2. Stamps on the bottoms of ceramic vessels and the “sign of the Rurikovichs”

Rice. 3. Defective glass bracelet

Rice. 4. Bone plate

Rice. 5. Casting molds

Rice. 6 Copper plate of church doors

Rice. 7. Star Silver Colt. Treasure from the beginning of the 13th century.

Rice. 8. Gold Colt with the image of Prince Gleb. Filigree, cloisonne enamel. 12th century

Rice. 9. Gold beads (treasure 1822)

1 – counting tag; 2 – whip handle; 3 – bone tube with three holes

A conglomerate of feudal states: Rostov-Suzdal, Smolensk, Ryazan, Murom, Galicia-Volyn, Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, Polotsk-Minsk, Turovo-Pinsk, Tmutarakan, Kiev, Novgorod land. Within these Principalities, smaller feudal formations took shape and a process of fragmentation was observed. In the 12th-13th centuries. The system of immunities that liberated...

“Vsevolodich, having heard that the sons of Vsevolozh had gone to Tver to Volodymer to their father.” II. Relations between Tver and Moscow with late XIII centuries 1. The rise of Moscow In 1263, Alexander Nevsky died, and his younger brother Yaroslav Yaroslavovich established himself on the grand-ducal throne. He did a lot to strengthen his homeland - the “young” city of Tver. Three sons of Prince Alexander...

In order to understand the history of Old Ryazan - the capital of the principality, it is necessary to briefly outline some facts from the history of the Ryazan principality, known from chronicles and other written sources. After the first mention in the chronicle of Ryazan in 1096 (in connection with the appearance of Oleg Svyatoslavich here), Ryazan was not mentioned for almost 30 years. Only in 1114 is the death of Roman Vseslavich reported here. The political history of the Murom-Ryazan land for this thirty years is unknown. In 1127, Yaroslav Svyatoslavich of Chernigov, expelled from Chernigov, became the prince of Murom-Ryazan. He died two years later, and Murom, Ryazan and Pronsk became the inheritance of his sons. Obviously, at this time Murom was considered the main city, since Yaroslav from Chernigov returned not to Ryazan, but to Murom, and his children, by seniority, occupy the Murom table . This continued until the middle of the 12th century, when the eldest Ryazan princes stopped moving to Murom. The complete separation of the Ryazan principality from the Murom principality begins, the importance of the leading city in the land passes to Ryazan. By this time, the paths laid through the Vyatic forests brought Ryazan closer to other Russian centers, and this led to an increase in the importance of Ryazan and a decline in the importance of Murom, through which the circular route to the middle Oka previously lay. The period of the highest rise of Ryazan begins. The beginning of intensive construction on the Southern settlement and the construction of powerful fortifications around the entire city date back to this time (mid-12th century).

In the VIII-IX centuries. class relations arise in the Murom-Ryazan land. Class differentiation is increasing among the population. Rich and poor burials are more and more sharply differentiated by grave goods; burials with weapons stand out more clearly as the richest. By this time, shifting agriculture was already flourishing here (in the Ryazan and Murom burial grounds, iron axes, sickles, and linen fabrics were often found). Crafts stand out (primarily blacksmithing) . The development of shifting agriculture, crafts and trade increased property differentiation and the decomposition of the clan system. When in the 10th century The Vyatichi colonize the region of the Ryazan current of the Oka, and the Krivichi colonize the region of the Murom current; they find here approximately the same level of socio-economic relations at which they themselves are located. This is still a tribal system, but with a sharply differentiated social elite, with a feudal mode of production already beginning to take shape. While in Kievan Rus in the 9th century there was already an established feudal system, and the process of class formation ends with the creation of an early feudal state, in northeastern Rus' this process proceeds more slowly. In general, the pace of social development of the Oka lands and the Don region in comparison with the Dnieper region and the Ilmen region was somewhat slower. Given this, we must assume that in the 11th century. The Murom-Ryazan land was not yet completely subjugated to the feudal lords; it was just beginning to be developed. A significant part of the indigenous local population resisted feudalization and the forced Christianization that accompanied it.

From the time of the reign of Rostislav, the complete separation of the Ryazan principality from the Murom principality began. Murom soon finally submits to the Vladimir-Suzdal princes.

Pavel Kruglov 10/9/2015

Ryazan Principality

AND

OLD RYAZAN

This was the case until the arrival of the Slavs at the end of the first millennium after Christ. They moved from the southwest gradually, without wars or aggression. From the works of D.I. Ilovaisky: “The most extreme Slavic tribe in the east in the 9th century. are Vyatichi. As is known, the chronicler has preserved a curious legend about the origin of the Vyatichi and their neighbors Radimichi, from which they conclude that these tribes, separated from the Lyakh family, took their places much later than the other Slavs, and that the people still retained the memory of them in the 11th century. moving east. The Vyatichi occupied the upper reaches of the Oka, and thus came into contact with the Merya and the Mordovians, who, apparently, moved north without much struggle. There could hardly be serious reasons for a collision with aliens given the huge amount of empty land and the insignificance of the Finnish household. Moreover, the Finnish tribe itself, poorly gifted by nature, with a clear lack of energy, as a result of an unchangeable historical law, had to give way everywhere to a more developed breed. It is difficult to draw boundaries between Meshchera and its new neighbors; We can roughly say that the villages of the Vyatichi in the first centuries of our history extended to the Lopasnya River in the north and to the upper reaches of the Don in the east ».

Nestor the chronicler depicts in few but very bright colors the pagan life of some Slavic tribes. "And Radimichi, and Vyatichi, and the North have one custom: I live in the forest, like every beast, eating everything unclean, blasphemy in them before their fathers and before their daughters-in-law; Bratsina was in them, but the games were mezhusely. I’m going to the games, to the dancing, and all the demonic games, and that wife who was with her; I also have two and three wives. And if someone dies, I perform a funeral feast over him, and according to this I put a great treasure and burn it in the treasure of the dead man, and then, having collected the bones, I put it in a small vessel and put it on a pillar on the paths, which is what the Vyatichi people do even now ».

With the subordination of the Vyatichi to the Kyiv princes, starting with Vladimir the Baptist, the upper reaches of the Oka became part of the Russian possessions. The mouths of this river belonged to them even before, therefore the middle course could no longer remain outside the boundaries of the nascent state, especially since the small native population was not able to provide significant resistance to the Russian princes. The chronicle does not even mention the conquest of Meshchera, which was naturally implied during Vladimir’s campaigns to the northeast. His successors in the 11th century calmly walked with their squads through the Meshchera lands and waged internecine wars here, not paying attention to the poor residents.

Initially, all this was the Chernigov principality, extended to the north, with the capital in the city of the same name, but later, afterexileYaroslavSvyatoslavich fromChernigovVsevolodOlgovich ( 1127 ) principalitybecame isolated, the border lay slightly west of the upper Don. Principality with ccenterin Murom, which includedAndRyazanAndVhistoriographydenotedHowMuromo- Ryazanskoeprincipality, stood outfromcompositionChernigovskyprincipalitiesunderpowerdescendantsYaroslav. Ryazanskoethe principality aroseHowdestinyVhiscompositionV1129 year . INend1150 - XyearscenterprincipalitiesmovedfromMurom inRyazan, AWithstarted1160 - XyearsMuromskoyeprincipality it turned outfrom- underauthoritiesRyazanprinces, Butin historiographycontinuesbe consideredHowPartMuromo- Ryazanskyprincipalitiesright up tobefore Mongolianinvasions .

The Ryazan principality occupied the territory from the Middle Oka, where the heart of the Ryazan lands was located, to the border of the Zalessk lands in the north, and the upper reaches of the Don and Voronezh in the south, thus including the basins of small rivers: Moscow, Pary, Moksha, Verda, Natyr, Devitsa and Potudani. In the west was the border of the Chernigov principality, and in the south was the Wild Field, from which constant raids of the Polovtsians took place.

IN1152 yearRyazan residentsparticipatedVhikeRostislavwith YuriDolgorukyunderChernigov. Afterof deathRostislavV1153 year seniorVfamilyturned out to beVladimirSvyatoslavich , AndNikon ChroniclecallshisgreatRyazanprince. Afterof deathVladimir( 1161 ) hisdescendants established themselvesVMurome, AGlebRostislavich Andhisdescendants— VRyazan. AtGlebeRostislavichRyazan residents participatedVhikingAndreyBogolyubskyagainstVolgaBulgars V1172 year AndunderVyshgorodV1173 .

IngvarIgorevich V1219 year masteredeveryoneRyazanskyto the princedom. SubsequentlyRyazanprincesactedVunionWithVladimir. Byof deathIngvaryaV1235 year thronetookhisJrBrotherYuri . AthimRyazanskoeto the principality reachedlargesizes, ByaverageflowriversOkieWithhertributaries, Andhadrowlargecities( OldRyazan , PereyaslavlRyazansky , Pronsk , Belgorod, Rostislavl , Izheslavets , Oak, Perevitsk , KolomnaAndetc.). In essence, it was Russian Ukraine.

The capital of the principality was, of course, a large city - Ryazan. But not the Ryazan that we know today; this city was then called Pereyaslavl-Ryazansky. The old capital was located seventy kilometers from it, downstream of the Oka.

Under 1096, the chronicle speaks of Oleg, who was not accepted by the Smolny residents: “and go to Ryazan " Consequently, Ryazan as a city existed even before this year, but this is the first mention of it in the chronicles.

Perhaps the name came from the verb “to cut” or from the name of an ancient coin “cutting ", but most likely it comes from the word "cassock ”, and designated a swampy place overgrown with coastal bushes. Hence the names of the rivers south of the city "... Cassock ", and the name of the nearby city Ryazhsk.

Historians believe that the city was founded in the 10th - early 11th centuries. Since 1096, the city has its own prince - Oleg Svyatoslavovich. At the end of the 12th century, Ryazan received the bishop's chair. In 1208, the Vladimir prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, having ordered all residents to be taken out of the city, destroyed it. But Ryazan recovered and continued its existence as the capital of the principality. In December 1237, during the first Tatar-Mongol invasion, the city was destroyed again. It is believed that after this, the city was no longer able to recover from the destruction, and began to fade away, until in the 14th century the capital of the principality was moved to Pereyaslavl-Ryazan, which was renamed Ryazan by Catherine II, and under this name it is known to us Now.

In any case, there is very little data that has reached us. To fill in the gaps, archaeological excavations were carried out at the site of the old settlement,nwhich began in 1945 under the leadership of the famous Soviet archaeologist A.L. Mongait's excavations in Ryazan, through the use of technology for opening up large areas (excavation areas reached up to 1200-1500 square meters or more), as well as scientific stratification, however, brought disappointing results. Firstly, it turned out that it is almost impossible to isolate traces of the fires of 1208 (when Ryazan was destroyed by the Russians) and 1237, when the city was burned by the Mongols. Secondly, the cultural layer on the site turned out to be quite thin - 30-60 centimeters on average, occasionally reaching 2 meters in the cellar areas. This indirectly indicates that the city existed for a relatively short time (the rate of formation of the cultural layer is different everywhere, of course, but for pre-Mongol Rus' the criterion of 1 year - 0.5-1 cm of cultural layer is generally justified). For example, the thickness of the cultural layer in the excavation on the Kremlin Hill in Murom, dating back to the 11th-15th centuries, reaches almost 4.5 meters, the cultural layers of Pereyaslavl-Ryazan, dating back to the 12th-13th centuries, have a thickness of up to 2 meters, which existed in the Ryazan land in the 12th -XIII centuries the city of Boldyzh existed for about 100-150 years and the thickness of its cultural layer was on average about 1-1.5 meters.

The first significant archaeological event that drew attention to Old Ryazan was the accidental discovery of unique gold jewelry in 1822. In 1836, archaeological excavations began at the site. Before 1945, they were carried out quite rarely, but from 1945 to 1950, work was already carried out by an expedition from the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Academy of Sciences under the leadership of A.L. Mongaita. In 1966, Alexander Lvovich resumed work, then transferred it to V.P. in 1970. Darkevich, who worked until 1979. Since 1994, the baton of research has been taken up by A.V. Chernetsov - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Slavic-Russian Archeology at the Institute of Archeology Russian Academy Sci.

During the entire period of research, three stone temples, objects of ancient Russian art, residential and industrial complexes, and cemeteries were discovered at the site. different eras. But most of all, Old Ryazan is famous for its treasures of valuable items from the era of Ancient Rus'. On the eve of the capture of the city by the Mongol-Tatars, the townspeople hid their valuables - silver and gold jewelry, money - in the hope of getting them when the danger passed. In total, 16 treasures were found at the site. There were, of course, much more hidden. But some of them were lost to science - found by chance, they were sold, broken, and melted down. And some, we hope, will still be discovered.

The settlement of Old Ryazan is divided into two parts - a large one in the south (we will henceforth call it the southern settlement) and a small area separated by an internal rampart in the north (the northern settlement). Summarizing the results of these reconnaissance excavations with the results of exploration in 1943 and excavations of previous years, it is possible to establish that the eastern part of the southern settlement was sparsely populated in ancient times. The coastal region was densely populated. The cultural layer is thicker here. The residential complexes are located in two layers: the later one with brick ovens, the earlier one with adobe ovens.

The houses of old Ryazan were of two types: ground type, made of logs, measuring 7*7 meters and semi-ground, approximately 3.5*3.5 meters. Both types of dwellings had adobe ovens, base about one square meter. In the half-earth houses, wooden bunks stretched along two walls, and utility pits were discovered near the wall opposite them, most likely analogues of cellars, possibly covered with lids, similar to modern cellars.

Anyone can come here, just seventy kilometers from present-day Ryazan, a pontoon crossing and after two kilometers you are there. Now the place where the capital of the Ryazan principality was previously located is the high right bank of the Oka River, with preserved, but already “swallowed” earthen ramparts. There are no roads left along which carts used to roll, peasants wandered, and princely messengers rushed. A falcon calmly soars over the hill, where the prince’s mansion and the houses of the nearby squad previously stood, looking at its prey in the grass. And below, near the river, where the fishing boats were pulled out on the shore, untouched reeds sway in the wind...