The most accessible Ukrainian history (3) The strongest Viking: Sviatoslav.

Beginners may not know that the Danes once occupied a dominant position in British history for a long time, and the Normans who later landed in the famous Normans also came from northern Europe. They have a very famous name in history: Vikings, but their names are different in different places. They are called Nordic or Norman in Western Europe and Varanji in Eastern Europe. Here we are. The vikings began their own era in Europe. In different parts of Europe, Vikings can do anything, and their footprints are all over Britain, France, Italy, Russia and so on. The Viking era lasted from the end of the 8th century to the second half of the 20th century. According to Byzantine records, their history in Ukraine was no later than 838. This year, the envoy representing King Ross appeared in Constantinople to express the wish of peace and friendship to the empire. But soon, the vikings fell out with Byzantium. A group of vikings went south along the Dnieper River, crossed the Black Sea, entered the Bosphorus and attacked Constantinople. In June 860, the vikings even dared to attack the powerful Byzantine capital, and Constantinople and the whole empire were caught off guard. At that time, the empire faced the fierce offensive of the people in the south, and Emperor Mikhail was fighting in Asia Minor. His fleet was far away in the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, so the northern front was relatively empty, allowing the vikings to successfully break through the capital, but the vikings were not well equipped, not to mention Constantinople, a thousand-year-old imperial city. Look at the picture below and feel which one is so easy to break. When the Vikings saw no chance, they attacked the suburbs and looted churches and manors. Speaking of which, students who have read the first two chapters may ask, where is the danger of being awesome? In fact, the relationship between Hazare and Byzantium is quite good. Hazar Khan Zabil lent Byzantine emperor Chirac 40,000 soldiers to fight Persia, and Chirac used this support army to level Sassanbos province in Azerbaijan. With this friendship, the relationship between the two sides has been deepened and strengthened. There were many royal marriages between Byzantine and Hazare, and the benefits immediately appeared. Byzantine emperor Justinian II fled directly to Hazare during his exile and married a sister of Khan, who later became the queen of Tiodola. When Constantine V arrived, he also married the daughter of Cosac Han and became the queen of Irani. Their son, Emperor Leo IV, is better known by his nickname Leo of Kossa. It must be said that the benefits of the alliance between the two sides were actually enjoyed by the Byzantines. Hazare people constantly helped Byzantium to resist all kinds of enemies. Without the help of Hazare, it is hard to say that Byzantium can exist for thousands of years in the future. However, Hazard shed too much blood and contributed too much strength to Byzantium, so that Hazard was constantly repelled in the face of a new grassland power, which gave the Vikings a chance to sneak attack. Poor Hazard fought on two fronts, the vicious Pechneg in the east and the Viking harassment in the west and north. Igor, the real founder of Ross, his wife Olga and his son Sviatoslav always adhered to a policy that the harm must be destroyed to attack Byzantium. When Sviatoslav was in power, after a series of battles, he seized the Hazzard fortress Sark in the Don River area and turned it into an outpost of the Russians. Then, Idil, the capital of Hazare Khanate on the Volga River, was looted, and the vassal of Hazare, the Volga Bulgarians, was defeated. In the end, Hazare Khanate was destroyed by the constant attacks of Vikings and Pehnegs, and the struggle between Hazare and Vikings for control of Slavic tribes basically ended. Now the leader of Ukraine is undoubtedly a Viking! The vikings who razed the Ukrainian grasslands could continue to attack Byzantium without any worries. In 860, 907 and 94 1 year, the vikings came to Constantinople three times. Byzantium has no support from Hazare, and can only rely on itself. In desperation, Byzantium broke out with strong fighting capacity. With the advantages of naval and Greek firepower technology, the Vikings were finally defeated. In this way, the intransigent parties finally sat down to negotiate. In 944, the Byzantine Emperor Romanus I signed a peace treaty with Igor, the Grand Duke of Kiev, which temporarily eliminated the hostility between the two sides. Since then, the relationship between the two sides has become increasingly close. Some Russians, eager for wealth, came to Byzantium to help the empire fight as mercenaries. Byzantine culture also began to have a great influence on Russian society. Olga personally visited Constantinople and was baptized by an all-Christian bishop. Olga's conversion also promoted the Christianization of the Russians. However, the Christianization of the Ross people was not so smooth, so Sviatoslav refused to be a Christian and still lived in a polytheistic way. At the same time, tear up the peace treaty with Byzantium and continue to fight with Byzantium. The tortured Byzantines had to spend money to buy peace. They paid Sviatoslav a large sum of money to attack the Bulgarians in the Balkans, the enemy of Byzantium. Hehe, the ancients learned this trick long ago. Sviatoslav is a warrior. When he got the money, he immediately turned his gun and marched into the Balkans. He easily hanged the Bulgarian army. The Byzantines thought he would give them the land he had acquired. Sviatoslav replied: How far is it? Why should I give you my site? Sviatoslav is so awesome because he thinks he is the absolute leader in this region, but don't forget that there is a fiercer enemy in the East: the Pehne people. The Byzantines changed their tactics and began to buy off a large number of Pehne people and let them attack Kiev. Sviatoslav had to go back to Lee to deal with the Pehnes. He has to say that Sviatoslav's force value is high, and the fierce Pechneg people are no match at all. More importantly, when attacking the Pechneg people, he knew that Byzantium was behind him. The enraged Vikings turned their guns to attack Byzantium, and besieged the Byzantine city Adrian Fort, which was less than 150 miles (about 24 1 km). The imperial court was in a panic, and the frightened emperor John Chimiskis offered huge compensation and promised to be good friends with the Vikings. Sviatoslav believed the Byzantines again, and he began to withdraw his troops on his way back to Kiev. He wouldn't have thought that the Byzantines had secretly told the Pehnes about his retreat route. Pace Viateau Slav, a lean man, was killed by Pecheneg's cavalry, and his skull was made into a wine glass. Sviatoslav was known as the "brave man" in history, and this title really conformed to his life. He made expeditions to the East and the West, and almost never failed in his life. The only failure was that he was killed by a conspiracy attack. He laid a large area of land for the vikings, but it was his son, Vladimir, who was called the great, who really changed the vikings. Vladimir's choice has a far-reaching impact on his country and the whole history of Eastern Europe. He not only brought Ross into the Christian world, but also made him a part of Eastern Christianity. Many consequences not only had a great impact at the beginning of the second millennium, but also today. Please look forward to the next chapter, the appearance of the Great Emperor.