The first, ressels of the Russian might have been stopped and destroyed by a more skilful adversary. In their first enterprise 59 under the princes of Kiow, they passed without opposition, and occupied the port of Constantinople in the absence of the emperor Michael, the son of Theophilus. Through a crowd of perils he landed at the palace-stairs, and immediately repaired to a church of the Virgin Mary.60 By the advice of the patriarch, her garment, a precious relic, was drawn from the sanctuary and dipped in the sea; and a seasonable tempest, which determined the retreat of the Russians, was devoutly ascribed to the mother of God. The silence of the Greeks may inspire some doubt of the truth, or at least of The second, the importance, of the second attempt by Oleg, the guardian A.D. 904. of the sons of Ruric, 62 A strong barrier of arms and fortifications defended the Bospnorus: they were eluded by the usual expedient of drawing the boats over the isthmus; and this simple operation is described in the national chronicles as if the Russian fleet had sailed over dry land with a brisk and favourable gale. The leader of the third armament, Igor, the son of Ruric, had chosen a The third, moment of weakness and decay, when the naval powers of A.D. 941. the empire were employed against the Saracens. But if courage be not wanting, the instruments of defence are seldom deficient. Fifteen broken and decayed galleys were boldly launched against the enemy; but instead of the single tube of Greek fire usually planted on the prow, the sides and stern of each vessel were abundantly supplied with that liquid combustible. The engineers were dexterous; the weather was propitious; many thousand Russians, who chose rather to be drowned than burnt, leaped into the sea; and those who escaped to the Thracian shore were inhumanly slaughtered by the peasants and soldiers. Yet one third of the canoes escaped into shallow water; and the next spring Igor was again prepared to retrieve his disgrace and claim his revenge.63 After a long peace, 59 It is to be lamented that Bayer has only given a Dissertation de Russorum primâ Expeditione Constantinopolitana (Comment. Academ. Petropol. tom. vi. p. 365-391). After disentangling some chronological intricacies, he fixes it in the years 864 or 365, a date which might have smoothed some doubts and difficulties in the beginning of M. Levêque's history. When Photius wrote his encyclic epistle on the conversion of the Russians, the miracle was not yet sufficiently ripe; he reproaches the nation as sis porra nai μιαιφονίαν πάντας δευτέρους ταττομενον. 61 Leo Grammaticus, p. 463, 464 [p. 241, ed. Bonn]; Constantini Continuator, in Script. post Theophanem, p. 121, 122 [p. 196, 197, ed. Bonn]; Symeon Logothet. p. 445, 446 [p. 674, 675, ed. Bonn]; Georg. Monach. p. 535, 536 [p. 826, 827, ed. Bonn]; Cedrenus, tom. ii. p. 551 [p. 173, ed. Bonn]; Zonaras, tom. ii. p. 162 [l. xvi. c. 5]. See Nestor and Nicon, in Levêque's Hist. de Russie, tom. i. p. 74-80, Katona (Hist. Ducum, p. 75-79) uses his advantage to disprove this Russian victory, which would cloud the siege of Kiow by the Hungarians. Leo Grammaticus, p. 506, 507 [p. 323, 324, ed. Bonn]; Incert. Contin. p. 263, The fourth Jaroslaus, the great-grandson of Igor, resumed the same project of a naval invasion. A fleet, under the command of his son, was repulsed at the entrance of the Bosphorus, by the same artificial flames But in the rashness of pursuit the vanguard of the Greeks was encompassed by an irresistible multitude of boats and men; their provision of fire was probably exhausted; and twentyfour galleys were either taken, sunk, or destroyed." Negociations and prophecy Yet the threats or calamities of a Russian war were more frequently diverted by treaty than by arms. In these naval hostilities every disadvantage was on the side of the Greeks; their savage enemy afforded no mercy: his poverty promised no spoil; his impenetrable retreat deprived the conqueror of the hopes of revenge; and the pride or weakness of empire indulged an opinion that no honour could be gained or lost in the intercourse with barbarians. At first their demands were high and inadmissible, three pounds of gold for each soldier or mariner of the fleet: the Russian youth adhered to the design of conquest and glory; but the counsels of moderation were recommended by the hoary sages. "Be co tent," they said, "with the liberal offers of Cæsar; is it not far "better to obtain without a combat the possession of gold, silver, "silks, and all the objects of our desires? Are we sure of victory? "Can we conclude a treaty with the sea? We do not tread on the "land; we float on the abyss of water, and a common death hangs 66 9965 over our heads." The memory of these Arctic fleets, that seemed to descend from the polar circle, left a deep impression of terror on the Imperial city. By the vulgar of every rank it was asserted and believed that an equestrian statue in the square of Taurus was secretly inscribed with a prophecy, how the Russians, in the last days, should become masters of Constantinople. In our own time, 66 264 [p. 424, sqq., ed. Bonn]; Symeon Logothet. p. 490, 491; Georg. Monach. p. 588, 589 p. 914, 915, ed. Bonn]; Cedren. tom. ii. p. 629 [p. 316, ed. Bonu]; Zonaras, tom. ii. p. 190, 191 [1. xvi. c. 19]; and Liutprand, 1. v. c. 6, who writes from the narratives of his father-in-law, then ambassador at Constantinople, and corrects the vain exaggeration of the Greeks. I can only appeal to Cedrenus (tom. ii. p. 758, 759 [p. 551, sq., ed. Bonn]) and Zonaras (tom. ii. p. 253, 254 [l. xvii. c. 24]); but they grow more weighty and credible as they draw near to their own times. 65 Nestor, apud Levêque, Hist. de Russie, tom. i. p. 87. 66 This brazen statue, which had been brought from Antioch, and was melted down by the Latins, was supposed to represent either Joshua or Bellerophon-an odd dilemma. See Nicetas Choniates" (p. 413, 414 [ed. Par.; p. 848, 849, ed. Bonn]), Co This prophecy is not mentioned by Nicetas Choniates, who only speaks of a human figure under the fore-hoof of the horse of the equestrian statue, and who states that this figure was destroyed by the Latins because it was supposed to be one of the charmed defences of the city. The passage in Codinus (p. 43, ed. Bonn) is taken from the anonymous writer in Banduri, who thus becomes the only a Russian armament, instead of sailing from the Borysthenes, has circumnavigated the continent of Europe; and the Turkish capital has been threatened by a squadron of strong and lofty ships of war, each of which, with its naval science and thundering artillery, could have sunk or scattered an hundred canoes, such as those of their ancestors. Perhaps the present generation may yet behold the accomplishment of the prediction, of a rare prediction, of which the style is unambiguous and the date unquestionable. A.D. 955-973. By land the Russians were less formidable than by sea; and as they fought for the most part on foot, their irregular legions Reign of must often have been broken and overthrown by the cavalry Swatoslaus, of the Scythian hordes. Yet their growing towns, however slight and imperfect, presented a shelter to the subject, and a barrier to the enemy: the monarchy of Kiow, till a fatal partition, assumed the dominion of the North; and the nations from the Volga to the Danube were subdued or repelled by the arms of Swatoslaus," the son of Igor, the son of Oleg, the son of Ruric. The vigour of his mind and body was fortified by the hardships of a military and savage life. Wrapped in a bear-skin, Swatoslaus usually slept on the ground, his head reclining on a saddle; his diet was coarse and frugal, and, like the heroes of Homer,68 his meat (it was often horse-flesh) was broiled or roasted on the coals. The exercise of war gave stability and discipline to his army; and it may be presumed that no soldier was permitted to transcend the luxury of his chief. By an embassy from Nicephorus, the Greek emperor, he was moved to undertake the conquest of Bulgaria; and a gift of fifteen hundred pounds of gold was laid at his feet to defray the expense, or reward the toils, of the expedition. An army of sixty thousand men was assembled and dinus (de Originibus, C. P. p. 24), and the anonymous writer de Antiquitat. C. P. (Banduri, Imp. Orient. tom. i. p. 17, 18), who lived about the year 1100. They witness the belief of the prophecy; the rest is immaterial. 67 The life of Swatoslaus, or Sviatoslaf, or Sphendosthlabus, is extracted from the Russian Chronicles by M. Levêque (Hist. de Russie, tom. i. p. 94-107). 68 This resemblance may be clearly seen in the ninth book of the Iliad (205-221) in the minute detail of the cookery of Achilles. By such a picture a modern epic poet would disgrace his work and disgust his reader; but the Greek verses are har monious-a dead language can seldom appear low or familiar; and, at the distance of two thousand seven hundred years, we are amused with the primitive manners of antiquity. authority. The words of the monk areἔχει ἐγγεραμμένας ἱστορίας τῶν ἐσχάτων τῇ πόλει, τῶν Ῥωσῶν μελλόντων πορθεῖν τὴν αὐτῶν TAN. But it is not clear from this passage that the name of the Russians appeared in the inscription. It is more probable that the inscription was supposed to relate to the fated destroyers of the city, and that the monk, writing when the memory of the Russian attack was fresh, identified these destroyers with the Russians. See Fraser's Magazine for July, 1854. As to the prophecies still in circulation respecting the capture of Constantinople by the Russians, see Edinburgh Review, vol. 1. p. 340, seq.-S. But embarked; they sailed from the Borysthenes to the Danube; their landing was effected on the Mæsian shore; and, after a sharp encounter, the swords of the Russians prevailed against the arrows of the Bulgarian horse. The vanquished king sunk into the grave; his children were made captive; and his dominions, as far as Mount Hamus, were subdued or ravaged by the northern invaders. instead of relinquishing his prey, and performing his engagements, the Varangian prince was more disposed to advance than to retire, and, had his ambition been crowned with success, the seat of empire in that early period might have been transferred to a more temperate and fruitful climate. Swatoslaus enjoyed and acknowledged the advantages of his new position, in which he could unite, by exchange or rapine, the various productions of the earth. By an easy navigation he might draw from Russia the native commodities of furs, wax, and hydromel: Hungary supplied him with a breed of horses and the spoils of the West; and Greece abounded with gold, silver, and the foreign luxuries which his poverty had affected to disdain. The bands of Patzinacites, Chazars, and Turks repaired to the standard of victory; and the ambassador of Nicephorus betrayed his trust, assumed the purple, and promised to share with his new allies the treasures of the Eastern world. From the banks of the Danube the Russian prince pursued his march as far as Adrianople; a formal summons to evacuate the Roman province was dismissed with contempt; and Swatoslaus fiercely replied that Constantinople might soon expect the presence of an enemy and a master. His defeat by John Zimisces, Nicephorus could no longer expel the mischief which he had introduced; but his throne and wife were inherited by John Zimisces,69 who, in a diminutive body, possessed the spirit A.D. 970-973. and abilities of an hero. The first victory of his lieutenants deprived the Russians of their foreign allies, twenty thousand of whom were either destroyed by the sword, or provoked to revolt, or tempted to desert. Thrace was delivered, but seventy thousand barbarians were still in arms; and the legions that had been recalled from the new conquests of Syria prepared, with the return of the 69 This singular epithet is derived from the Armenian language, and T is interpreted in Greek by Μουζακίτζης, οι μοιρακίτζης. As I profess myself equally ignorant of these words, I may be indulged in the question in the play, "Pray, which of you is the interpreter?" From the context, they seem to signify Adolescentulus (Leo Diacon. 1. iv. MS. apud Ducange, Glossar. Græc. p. 1570)." spring, to march under the banners of a warlike prince, who declared himself the friend and avenger of the injured Bulgaria. The passes of Mount Hæmus had been left unguarded; they were instantly occupied; the Roman vanguard was formed of the immortals (a proud imitation of the Persian style); the emperor led the main body of ten thousand five hundred foot; and the rest of his forces followed in slow and cautious array, with the baggage and military engines. The first exploit of Zimisces was the reduction of Marcianopolis, or Peristhlaba, in two days; the trumpets sounded; the walls were scaled; eight thousand five hundred Russians were put to the sword, and the sons of the Bulgarian king were rescued from an ignominious prison, and invested with a nominal diadem. After these repeated losses Swatoslaus retired to the strong post of Dristra, on the banks of the Danube, and was pursued by an enemy who alternately employed the arms of celerity and delay. The Byzantine galleys ascended he river; the legions completed a line of circumvallation; and the Bussian prince was encompassed, assaulted, and famished in the 1ortifications of the camp and city. Many deeds of valour were performed; several desperate sallies were attempted; nor was it tul after a siege of sixty-five days that Swatoslaus yielded to his adverse fortune. The liberal terms which he obtained announce the prudence of the victor, who respected the valour and apprenended the despair of an unconquered mind. The great duke of Russia bound himself, by solemn imprecations, to relinquish all hostile designs; a safe passage was opened for his return; the liberty of trade and navigation was restored; a measure of corn was distributed to each of his soldiers; and the allowance of twenty-two thousand measures attests the loss and the remnant of the barbarians. After a painful voyage they again reached the mouth of the Borysthenes; but their provisions were exhausted; the season was unfavourable; they passed the winter on the ice; and, before they could prosecute their march, Swatoslaus was surprised and oppressed by the neighbouring tribes, with whom the Greeks entertained a perpetual and useful correspondence. Far different was the return of Zimisces, who was received in his capital like Camillus or Marius, the saviours of ancient Rome. But the merit of the victory was attributed by the pious emperor to 70 In the Sclavonic tongue the name of Peristhlaba implied the great or illustrious city, pryan xai svou xai asyquín, says Anna Comnena (Alexiad, 1. vii. p. 194). From its position between Mount Hamus and the Lower Danube, it appears to fill the ground, or at least the station, of Marcianopolis. The situation of Durostolus, or Dristra, is well known and conspicuous (Comment. Academ. Petropol. tom. ix. p. 415, 416; D'Anville, Géographie Ancienne, tom. i. p. 307, 311). "The political management of the Greeks, more especially with the Patzinacites is explained in the seven first chapters, de Administratione Imperii. |