Oleg I of Chernigov
Oleg Sviatoslavich of Chernigov, sometimes also styled as
of Tmutarakan, was a
Rurikid prince whose equivocal adventures ignited political unrest in
Kievan Rus at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries.
One of the sons of
Sviatoslav II of Kiev, Oleg was named after his grand uncle. In the
1070s, he ruled the towns of
Rostov and
Lutsk, whence he made a raid into
Bohemia in
1076. The same year his father died in
Kiev and was succeeded by his brother
Vsevolod. Failing to get along with him, Oleg had to flee to a distant
Chernigovian domain on the
Black Sea shore, called
Tmutarakan. There he made an alliance with the
Kipchaks, and with their support returned his father's patrimony,
Chernigov, modern
Chernihiv, (
1078). It was the first time when
Slavic princes, in order to achieve their ends, brought pagan hordes to the walls of Russian cities.
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Oleg is buried in the Savior Cathedral of Chernigov (1031-36). |
On
October 3,
1078 Oleg's forces clashed with Vsevolod of Kiev at the Nezhatinnaya Niva (or Nezhatina Niva, today's
Nizhyn). He was defeated and escaped to Tmutarakan, where the
Khazars had him imprisoned and sent in chains to
Constantinople. The emperor, who was a relative and ally of Vsevolod, exiled him to
Rhodes. There he married a noble lady, Theophano Mouzalonissa, who bore him several children.
Four years later, we again find him active in Tmutarakan, where he adopted the title "
archon of
Khazaria". In
1094, he returned with the
Kipchaks to Rus and captured Chernigov. There ensued a prolonged internecine struggle with his cousins
Sviatopolk and
Vladimir Monomakh. One of the most prominent princes of Kievan period who never attained the Kievan throne, he died on
August 1,
1115 and was buried in Chernigov.
The Tale of Igor's Campaign styles him
Gorislavich, poetically deriving his patronimic from the Russian word for sorrow. His descendants, known as Olgovichi, were archrivals of Vladimir's descendants (known as Monomakhovichi) in their struggle for supremacy in Rus.
Reference
*
Russian Primary Chronicle
