Oleg the Wise

Oleg
Lay of Oleg the Wise by Viktor Vasnetsov (1899)
Prince of Kiev
Reign881/2/889[1] – 912/922/940s[2]
PredecessorAskold and Dir
SuccessorIgor
Prince of Novgorod
Reign879–912
PredecessorRurik?[2]
SuccessorIgor
Died912[2]
Burial
Kiev (PVL[3]) or Ladoga (NPL[4])
Dynastydisputed[2]
Fatherunknown[1]
ReligionNorse paganism

Oleg (Old East Slavic: Ѡлегъ, Ольгъ;[5][6] Old Norse: Helgi; died 912),[7] also known as Oleg the Wise,[a] was a Varangian prince of the Rus' who became prince of Kiev,[8][9][10][11] and laid the foundations of the Kievan Rus' state.[12]

According to the Primary Chronicle, he succeeded his "kinsman" Rurik as ruler of Novgorod, and subdued many of the East Slavic tribes to his rule, extending his control from Novgorod to the south along the Dnieper river. Oleg also launched a successful attack on Constantinople. He died in 912 and was succeeded by Rurik's son, Igor.

This traditional dating has been challenged by some historians, who point out that it is inconsistent with such other sources as the Schechter Letter, which mentions the activities of a certain khagan HLGW (Hebrew: הלגו usually transcribed Helgu. Compare Swedish first name Helge.) of Rus' as late as the 940s, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Romanus I. The nature of Oleg's relationship with the Rurikid ruling family of the Rus', and specifically with his successor Igor of Kiev, is a matter of much controversy among historians.[13]

  1. ^ a b Ostrowski 2018, p. 44.
  2. ^ a b c d Ostrowski 2018, p. 42–44.
  3. ^ Ostrowski 2018, p. 32–33.
  4. ^ Ostrowski 2018, p. 40.
  5. ^ Chronicles by the Hypatian Lists (ЛѢТОПИСЬ ПО ИПАТЬЕВСКОМУ СПИСКУ) Archived 6 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Vasmer, Max. "Этимологический словарь Макса Фасмера". p. Олег. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Sveerne". www.fortidensjelling.dk. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  8. ^ Brook, Kevin Alan (2006). The Jews of Khazaria. Second Edition. London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. p. 55. ISBN 9781442203020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  9. ^ Kendrick, T. D. (2018). A History of the Vikings. Routledge. pp. 508–509, 847. ISBN 9781136242397. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  10. ^ Reuter, Timothy (1995). The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 3, c.900–c.1024. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 891. ISBN 9780521364478. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  11. ^ Lock, Peter (2013). The Routledge Companion to the Crusades. Routledge. p. 8. ISBN 9781135131371. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  12. ^ Dimnik 2004, p. 259.
  13. ^ Ostrowski 2018, p. 30–31, 39.


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