Kievan Rus'

Kievan Rus'
c. 880–1240
Rurikid princely emblems depicted on coins: Left: Vladimir the Great (10–11th century) Right: Yaroslav the Wise (11th century)
A map of Kievan Rus' after the death of Yaroslav I in 1054
Capital	Kiev (882–1240)
Common languages	Old East Slavic Old Church Slavonic (literary)[1] Old Norse Finnic languages
Religion	Slavic paganism (native faith of Slavs) Reformed state paganism (official until 10th century) Orthodox Christianity (official since 10th cent.) Norse paganism (locally practiced) Finnish paganism (native faith of Finnic peoples)
Demonym(s)	Rus'
Government	Monarchy
Prince
• c. 882–912 (first)	Oleg the Wise
Legislature	Veche
History
• Established	c. 880
• Conquest of Khazar Khaganate	965–969
• Christianization	c. 988
• Russkaya Pravda	1050s[2]
• Mongol invasion	1237–1241
• Siege of Kiev	1240
Area
1000[3]	1,330,000 km2 (510,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1000[3]	5.4 million
Currency	Grivna
Preceded by Succeeded by Ilmen Slavs Krivichs Chud Volga Finns Dregoviches Radimichs Eastern Polans Severians Drevlians Vyatichi Volhynians White Croatia Tivertsi Ulichs Principality of Kiev Novgorod Republic Principality of Chernigov Principality of Pereyaslavl Vladimir-Suzdal Principality of Volhynia Principality of Galicia Principality of Polotsk Principality of Smolensk Principality of Ryazan Mongol Empire

Kievan Rus',^[a][b] also known as Kyivan Rus',^[6][7] was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities^[8] in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.^[9][10] Encompassing a variety of polities and peoples, including East Slavic, Norse,^[11][12] and Finnic, it was ruled by the Rurik dynasty, founded by the Varangian prince Rurik.^[13] The name was coined by Russian historians in the 19th century to describe the period when Kiev was at the center. At its greatest extent in the mid-11th century, Kievan Rus' stretched from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south and from the headwaters of the Vistula in the west to the Taman Peninsula in the east,^[14][15] uniting the East Slavic tribes.^[10]

According to the Primary Chronicle, the first ruler to unite East Slavic lands into what would become Kievan Rus' was Oleg the Wise (r. 879–912). He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east,^[10] and took control of the city. Sviatoslav I (r. 943–972) achieved the first major territorial expansion of the state, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great (r. 980–1015) spread Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus' reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise (r. 1019–1054); his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the Russkaya Pravda, shortly after his death.^[2]

The state began to decline in the late 11th century, gradually disintegrating into various rival regional powers throughout the 12th century.^[16] It was further weakened by external factors, such as the decline of the Byzantine Empire, its major economic partner, and the accompanying diminution of trade routes through its territory.^[17] It finally fell to the Mongol invasion in the mid-13th century, though the Rurik dynasty would continue to rule until the death of Feodor I of Russia in 1598.^[18] The modern nations of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestor,^[c] with Belarus and Russia deriving their names from it, and the name Kievan Rus' derived from what is now the capital of Ukraine.^[12][6]

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