Changes

The Eastern Roman Empire, often known as the Byzantine Empire, was the successor to the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Empire, the eastern provinces continued to keep alive the traditions of Rome. However, over time the Eastern provinces became Greek in culture and outlook. After the expansion of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Justinian II, it fell into a period of decline known as the ‘Byzantine Dark Ages’. The eastern Roman Empire faced complete extinction at the hands of first the Persians, then the Arabs. However, it recovered and by the 9th century AD under a series of soldier-emperors, it was once again flourishing, politically and culturally. To the north, the area occupied by modern Ukraine and Russia was people by mainly Slavic tribes. Legend has it that a group of Viking warriors under a leader known as Rurik was invited by them to become their leader. The Norsemen who came from Sweden were part of the great expansion from Scandinavia that changed Europe. The Vikings became a ruling aristocracy who governed a great many tribes and who eventually created a state centered around Kiev and this became a very important trading center <ref>, David Christian. A History of Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia (London, Blackwell, 1999), p 189</ref>. The Vikings over time began to merge with their Slavic and Finnic subjects and became known as the Rus, from this comes the name of Russia. Over a period of decades’, the Rus expanded from Kiev and dominated large areas of modern Ukraine and central and southern Russia. The Rus state was not only the first Russian polity but is also seen as an important stage in the emergence of the Russian people.

[[File: RUS 2.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A 19th-century painting of the conversion of Prince Vladimir]]

==Byzantine-Rus contacts==

It appears that the Rus dominated the trade routes between northern Europe and the Black Sea and that their merchants acted as middlemen specifically in the fur trade. It also appears that Rus merchants often visited the spectacular city of Byzantium. However, the Byzantines preoccupied with the Bulgars and the Arab threats that they paid little attention to the growing power of Rus. However, this was to change in 860 when the Rus raided the environs of Byzantium before being beaten back. In 941, the Rus threatened the Christian Empire with invasion, but a peace agreement prevents war<ref>, John Julius Norwich. Byzantium, The Apogee (London, Penguin Books, 1992), p 145</ref>. This treaty led to the development of more trade and it appears that Christians missionaries began to follow the merchants and brought the Gospel to the people of the Steppe. However, in 970 A.D under Grand Prince Syratalov, the Rus after conquering the Bulgar Empire invaded Byzantium. It took two years of hard fighting for the Byzantines to defeat the Rus. All the time it appears that Byzantine cultural influence penetrated into Kievan Rus, as the first Russian state was known. It seems that a mother of a Grand Prince, Olga was baptized by Byzantine missionaries. The Grand Princess Olga ruled as regent for her son Syratalov, however despite his mothers’ influence he remained an avowed pagan. Christianity was slowly growing in Rus, but it remained overwhelmingly pagan <ref>Norwich, p 67</ref>. This was to change in around 1000 AD, when Basil II and Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev (958-1015 AD) came to an arrangement. The Rus leader agreed to support Basil in his civil war with a rebel in return for the hand of his sister in marriage. As part of this bargain, Vladimir agreed to convert to Greek Orthodox Christianity. Vladimir under the influence of his wife became a zealous Christian and the Grand Prince personally tossed pagan idols into a river<ref>Norwich, p 71</ref>. The Grand Prince is today recognized as a saint in the Orthodox Church. It is widely believed that Vladimir used the Christian Church to unify his realm. Like many other ‘state-builders’ Vladimir used religion to extend his own power and to discipline his people. After the death of Vladimir, the Kiev Rus state flourished for several more decades until the Empire began to fragment because of a series of succession disputes. The interactions between the Byzantine Empire and the various Russian states that emerged in the wake of the fall of the Kievan Rus continued for some centuries but was interrupted by the Mongols conquest of the Russian principalities.