Alliance Dynamics in the North Black Sea Steppes: Evaluation of Pecheneg, Byzantine and Russian Relations (941-972)

Abstract

In the 10th century, the Pechenegs, played an important role in the North Black Sea steppes, attracted the attention of the Byzantines and Russians, had interests in the region. Byzantine and Russian sources provide information about the Pechenegs, who were their neighboring borderland people. The powers with political and commercial interests in the North Black Sea steppes, covering an area of 2000 km2 including the Ten, Kuban, Middle-Lower Ozi, Kırım and Danube, tried to establish an alliance with the Pechenegs within the framework of friendly relations at times, and at other times they saw them as enemies and fought against them. In 941 and 944, the Russian attacks on the Byzantines shook the balance of alliances in the region and caused the political powers to reconsider their policies. Especially after the death of Igor, the Russians who remained static for 20 years, started to attack within the scope of expansion policy after Svyatoslav I took power. In the face of these dynamic events, new alliances and agreements between political powers became inevitable. In this study, the conjuncture in the North Black Sea steppes between 941-972 has been tried to be described in general terms and the relations between the Byzantines, Russians, Pechenegs and, partially, Khazars in the region have been tried to be evaluated. Where the sources were insufficient, hypotheses were hypothesized and inferences were made.

Keywords

• Pechenegs
• Byzantines
• Russians
• Khazars
• The North Black Sea

Karadeniz’in Kuzeyindeki Bozkırlarda İttifak Dengeleri: Peçenek, Bizans ve Rus İlişkilerinin Değerlendirilmesi (941-972)

Abstract

10. yy’da Karadeniz’in kuzeyindeki bozkırlarda önemli rol oynayan Peçenekler, bölgede çıkarları olan Bizanslıların ve Rusların dikkatlerini çekmiştir. Bizans ve Rus kaynakları, sınır komşusu oldukları Peçenekler hakkında bilgiler sunmaktadır. Ten, Kuban, Orta-Aşağı Özi, Kırım ve Tuna’yı içine alan 2000 km2’lik alanı kapsayan Karadeniz’in kuzeyindeki bozkırlarda siyasi ve ticari çıkarları olan güçler, Peçeneklerle menfaatleri mucibince dostane ilişki çerçevesinde ittifak kurmaya çalışmışlar, yeri geldiğinde ise düşman olarak görüp savaşmışlardır. 941 ve 944 yıllarında Rusların Bizanslılara saldırıları, bölgedeki ittifak dengelerini sarsmış ve siyasi güçlerin politikalarını gözden geçirmelerine neden olmuştur. Özellikle Knyaz Igor’un ölümünden sonra 20 yıl durağan kalan Ruslar, Knyaz I. Svyatoslav’ın iktidarı ele almasıyla genişleme politikası kapsamında saldırılara başlamışlardır. Bu dinamik olaylar karşısında siyasi güçler arasında yeni ittifakların ve antlaşmaların yapılması kaçınılmaz olmuştur. Bu çalışmada, 941-972 yılları arasında Karadeniz’in kuzeyindeki konjonktür genel hatlarıyla aktarılmaya çalışılmış ve bölgede Bizanslıların, Rusların, Peçeneklerin ve kısmi de olsa Hazarların birbirleriyle olan ilişkileri değerlendirilmiştir. Kaynakların yetersiz kaldığı yerlerde hipotezler kurularak çıkarımlarda bulunulmuştur.

Keywords

• Peçenekler
• Bizanslılar
• Ruslar
• Hazarlar
• Karadeniz’in Kuzeyi

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