Askold and Dir rule in Kyiv
According to the Primary Chronicle, Askold and Dir, two of Rurik’s men on their way to Constantinople, stopped at the small town of Kyiv, whose Polans were paying tribute to the Khazars, and ruled there until Oleg killed them in 882.
- Date
- 862–882start: year known, uncertain; end: year known · duration: ≈ 20 years
- Place
- Kyivtoday: Kyiv, Ukraine · Eastern Europe
- Participants
- Askold and Dir, East Slavs
- Threads
- Eastern Europe and Rus’ before the Baptism (1st–10th c.)
- Also known as
- Askold; Dir; Аскольд; Дир; Аскольдова могила
The chronicle places their arrival under 862, together with the calling of the Varangians, and ascribes to them the attack on Constantinople, which it dates to 866 but which took place in 860 — so they may have ruled in Kyiv before 862, and the start date here is doubtful. The late Nikon Chronicle adds campaigns against the Polochans and the Pechenegs, of doubtful value.
Many historians doubt that the two ruled together: their graves were shown in different places — Askold’s on the Hungarian Hill above the Dnieper, Dir’s behind the church of St Irene — and the pair may be an artificial union of two rulers or of two local traditions. Whether they were Varangians, as the chronicle says, or members of a local dynasty descended from Kyi, as some historians have argued, is also disputed.
Connections
Related events
- Rus’ attack on Constantinople18 June – 4 August 860 · Balkans and Anatoliathe chronicle ascribes the attack to Askold and Dir and dates it to 866
- Oleg takes Kyiv882 · Eastern EuropeOleg ended their rule by killing them
Same participants
- Calling of the Varangians862 · Eastern Europevia East Slavs
Same place
- Kyiv culturec. 200 – between 400 and 430 · Eastern Europe
- Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv: the legendary founding of Kyivbetween 500 and 700 · Eastern Europe
- First Christianization of the Rus’between 860 and 867 · Eastern Europe
- The Pechenegs first come to the Rus’ land915 · Eastern Europe
- Constantine VII describes the Rus’ route to Constantinoplebetween 948 and 952 · Eastern Europe
- Pecheneg siege of Kyiv968 · Eastern Europe
- Feud of the Sviatoslavichi977 – between 978 and 980 · Eastern Europe
- Vladimir’s pagan pantheonbetween 978 and 980 · Eastern Europe
- Vladimir’s choice of faith986–987 · Eastern Europe
- Baptism of Rus’988 · Eastern Europe
- Building of the Church of the Tithes989–996 · Eastern Europe
- The first Rus’ coinsbetween 988 and 1000 – 1015 · Eastern Europe
- Siege of Kyiv5 September – between 19 November and 6 December 1240 · Eastern Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 5 years of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Great Heathen Army in England865–878
- Mission of Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia863 – 6 April 885
- Battle of EdingtonMay 878
- Viking siege of Parisbetween 24 November and 25 November 885 – October 886
Balkans and Anatolia
- Christianization of Bulgaria864
- Rus’ attack on Constantinople18 June – 4 August 860
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Askold and Dir
- Wikipedia (Russian): Аскольд
- Wikipedia (Russian): Дир
- Повесть временных лет / Подгот. текста, пер., ст. и коммент. Д. С. Лихачёва; под ред. В. П. Адриановой-Перетц. — 2-е изд. — СПб.: Наука, 1996.