Oleg
Oleg (date of birth unknown - died 912)
The eldest member of the subsequent Ducal family, in what became the principality of Great Novgorod, the first metropolis in Russia. Three years later he moved southwards and, after taking Smolensk and other places, fixed his residence at Kiev, which he made his capital and where he erected a fortress. He gradually compelled the surrounding tribes to pay him tribute, extending his conquests in all directions (883-903). In 907, with a host made up of all the subject tribes, largely Slavonic but with some Finnic, he sailed against the Eastern Roman Empire in a fleet consisting, according to the lyetopis, of 2000 vessels, each of which held 40 men; but this estimate is plainly an exaggeration.
On reaching Constantinople, Oleg disembarked his forces, mercilessly ravaged the suburbs of the imperial city, and compelled the Emperor to pay tribute, provide his men with provisions for the return journey, and take fifty hostages from the city. A formal treaty was then concluded, which the Slavonians swore to observe in the names of their gods Perun and Volos. Oleg returned to Kiev laden with golden ornaments, costly cloths, wines, and all manner of precious things. In 911 he sent an embassy of fourteen persons to Constantinople to get the former treaty confirmed and enlarged. The names of these ambassadors are preserved and they point to the Scandinavian origin of Oleg's host; there is not a Slavonic name among them. A new and elaborate treaty, the terms of which have come down to us, was now concluded between Kiev and the Romans, a treaty which evidently sought to bind the two states closely together and obviate all possible differences which might arise between them in the future. There was also to be free trade between them, and 'Russians' might enter the service of the Roman Emperor if they desired it. The envoys returned to Kiev in 912 after being shown the splendours of Constantinople and being instructed in the rudiments of the Orthodox faith. In the autumn of the same year Oleg died and was buried at Kiev.
