Novgorod doesn't have a certain date of foundation. The mid 9th century is mentioned on Sofia First Chronicle as its foundation date, but its not certain. Novgorod means New Town, in medieval russian.
According to the Primary Chronicle, four east slavic tribes, the Krivichs, the Merias, Veses and Chuds, lived in the area of Novgorod and paid tribute and were ruled by the Rus, who styled themselves princes.
The 4 tribes driven the Rus' back and began to rule themselves, refusing to pay them anymore tributes. They had little to no laws, discord came, and soon after, war.
To restore order, they called back the Rus'. They came, and among them, a man named Rurik and his two brothers, Sineus and Trovor. Respectively, they established themselves in Novgorod, Beloozero and Izborsk.
Both brothers died, and Rurik took over their power and lands and founded the Rurikid Dynasty.
Further south, there was a town named Kiev, that paid tribute to the Khazars. Two travellers named Askold and Dir settled in the town and began to rule it, with other fellow varangians.
Rurik died years later, and a kinsmen of his named Oleg ruled as regent for Rurik's son. Oleg led military expeditions and captured Kiev. He killed Askold and Dir and founded the state of Kievan Rus'.
Oleg named the conquered settlement the "mother of cities", and became the first Grand Prince of Kiev.
Kiev was the capital and the most powerful city, but Novgorod was the second, due to its size, its wealth and political influence. Novgorod helped Yaroslav the Wise rise to the throne of Grand Prince,
and he favored them by giving them more autonomy and privileges. Thus, the foundations for the Republic of Novgorod were laid. It still was part of the Kievan Rus', but it evolved and became independent in everything but name.
In the 12th century, the unified state fragmentated and the many principalities began to dispute over land.
Current situation
Novgorod experienced some succesion crisis over the last 3 decades. First, Mstislav the Bold seized the throne of Novgorod, and another man, named Vsevolod, Grand Prince of Vladimir, had Novgorod as one of his holdings.
He sent his son Yaroslav to deal with Mstislav. They waged several battles, and in the end made peace, and Yaroslav married Mstislav's daughter.
The conflicts seemed to stop. Vsevolod had two other sons, Konstantin and Yuri. Yuri was the most loved, and his father wanted him to be the ruler of Rostov and Konstantin to rule Vladimir. Konstantin was the elder son,
and he declared that he'd rule both territories or nothing at all.
On his deathbed, Vsevolod disinherited Konstantin. Yuri would ascend to both thrones. Vsevolod died, and Konstantin allied himself with Mstislav the Bold, while his son in law, Yaroslav, decided to support Yuri.
On the battle of Lipitsa river, Yuri and Yaroslav lost, and Konstantin became the prince of Vladimir, making Yuri and Yaroslav flee.
Konstantin died without children 2 years later, and Yuri returned to Vladimir and became the prince. Yuri installed his loyal brother Yaroslav as the ruler of Novgorod. Now, Yaroslav must regain the power of the Republic.
War and unrest made many towns and princes that once were part of novgorodian territory declare independence. Yaroslav must bring them back to the fold.
Novgorod has plenty of room to expand southwards, but Galicia Volhynia is there, and they'll also be hungry for more conquests. After the Battle of Kalka River on 1224, the mongols dealt a crushing defeat on the Rus',
but they retreated and did not return yet. If they do and find the Rus' principalities warring against each other, yet another crushing defeat might be dealt.
To the west, are the Teutonic Knights, close neighbours, powerful and hungry for more lands, but at the moment, they're busy warring with the heathens of Lithuania and Prussia, and for now, have no reasons to attack Novgorod.
An alliance should be assured with either Lithuania or Prussia to eliminate the Teutonic Knights. If this is achieved, the entire baltic might be ripe for the taking, and maybe even Scandinavia,
and Novgorod might become the greatest empire in eastern europe.
Starting Provinces
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
Goverment & society
Novgorod is often seen as a democratic government, it was something like a hereditary oligarchy, with most offices being elected by the boyars and rich citizens.
The boyars(most powerful rank of nobility, second only to princes or tsars) in Novgorod weren't the same as of other Rus' principalities, for the title was not specific to a caste, and every rich citizen could have hope
to become one. The boyars and wealthy merchants participated in the veches, a popular assembly and the highest legislature and judicial authority of the Republic. On the year of 1136, the veche imprisoned a prince
and expelled him from Novgorod. After that, the veche became the supreme authority of the state. The veche invited the princes and dismissed them as well. They also had the right to elect bishops(archbishops as of 1165)
from their clergy.
According to some sources, the veche had among its powers the election of town officials, the posadnik(mayors) and tysyatsky(thousandman), though it can't be certain, seeing that a man would hold one of these offices
for several consecutive years, and oftenly he'd be suceeded by his son or another close relative, indicating that it was more hereditary than elective.
Among the other institutions was the tysyatsky, thousandman, a military commander. They would also supervise the city fortifications, act as ambassadors and judges in commercial courts and convene the veches.
There was also the posadnik, elected locally, and the prince of Kiev would place them to rule on his behalf when he was away. Every year, the posadnik were ellected from the veche.
The offices of posadnik and tysyatsky formed the Sovet Gospod, the Council of Lords, and both offices were in the hand of the boyar families. The posadnik managed the affairs of the city and oversaw tax collection as well.
The archbishop was another important office. Their large profit was used to buy lands and breed cattle and raise horses to the novgorodian army. They administrated ecclesiastical courts and shared decision-making
with the boyars of the city. The eternal rivalries of the boyars would most of the times be solved by the archbishop, for he was the best conciliatory agent.
The city
The date of the town's foundation is not certain. Chronicles put the foundation date in 859, and claim that by this date, it was already a large trading settlement in the north, but the city of today is dated to
the late 10th century. Before that, however, there was a hill fort called Gorodishche, known as Holmgĺrd to the varangians. This hill fort was situated southeast of the Volkhov River, a mile away from the present city, and probably was the residence of Rurik and other princes, until Yaroslav the Wise built his palace.
The city was divided in kontsy, that translates to ends and is essentially boroughs. These ends were originally three allied settlements, each belonging to three tribes near the Volkhov River. These tribes would gather together
to discuss trade and security. The settlements were Nerev, Liudin and Slavno. They united themselves, while still maintaining their own autonomy.
The city is located north of Lake Ilmen and in both banks of the Volkhov River.
Army
The novgorodians, with their city near Lake Ilmen and the Volkhov River, had a large fleet, used for plundering or trading. Their armies were divided in druzhina, armed and mounted household guards, loyal beyond question, well trained and equipped, though small in numbers; varjazi, or more known as varangians, Scandinavian mercenary retinues hired by the richest princes; urban militias, levied from the Slav and Scandinavian merchant class and led by a tysiatsky; their loyalty lied with their town rather than their prince, and as such, they were unused against other Rus’ princes.
Most of the northern infantry was equipped with small axes, javelins, spears, short swords, bows for younger men and helmets for wealthy ones; Lamellar had become a common sort of armor in the 13thcentury. Crossbows were also used by the militias, and the weapon was solely used on northwestern Russia.
Their cavalry was still a problem, and steppe nomads served as auxiliaries. Exiled steppe nobles entered the Kievan realm and served as strong cavalrymen known as Chernye Klobuki, the Black Hoods.
Overall, Russian equipments and tactics were mainly a hybrid style, meant to deal with the static armies of the north and the mobile armies of the south.
Before the Roman Empire, the region of this state was populated by several tribes, such as the Lugii, Goths and Vandals. Once the Western Roman Empire fell, the area was populated by the West Slavs, with people like the Lendians, Masovians and Pomeranians.
Before the rus', the region of Halychyna , or Galicia, was part of the Moravian Empire, and later to Hungary. As of the 10th, the state was part of White Croatia, who was a part of Bohemia, in a region known as Red Ruthenia.
Generally, slavic historians agree that the name is derived from halka, an East Slavic word that means Jackdaw. The local folk however, say it comes from a legendary "Prince Halychyna", the first ruler of these lands.
History
Before the union
The Grand Prince of Kiev, Vladimir the Great, conquered several Red Ruthenian strongholds near the end of the 10th century, and established the city of Volodymyr-Volynsky, capital of Vladimir in Volhynia, a principality, firstly ruled by his son Vsevolod.
Years later, the father and uncle of a prince died, and for his own safety, this prince was transferred to Smolensk, and Vladimir in Volhynia was passed to Rostislav. Almost all of the Rus' princes were kin, and the throne to Kiev would be inherited by the current ruler's oldest brother. And then it'd pass to the other brother, and if no brothers were left, the throne would pass to the eldest living son of the oldest brother. If a man never held the Kievan throne, his son wouldn't, and these princes were named izgoi.
Rostislav's father never held the throne, making him an izgoi. His uncles gave him Volhynia and Halych after its prince went to Smolensk, but Rostislav didn't like the region he was at and fled to cease another city belonging to another principality, and later he was murdered. Vsevolod of Kiev, in the Council of Liubech, divided the principalities of Halych and Volhynia between his sons. Vladimir in Volhynia(Volodymyr Volynsky), Peremyshl and Zvenyhorod and Terebovlia, respectively ruled by Davyd Igorevich, Volodar(ruling both Peremyshl and Zvenyhorod) and Ryurik Rostislavich, all sons of Rostislav. Ryurik died later and was replaced by Vasilko, his brother.
Vasilko of Terebovlia passed Halych to a son of his, Ivan, and when Vasilko died, Halych became its own principality ruled by Ivan, while Terebovlia passed to Igor, another son of Vasilko. The son of Volodar, Volodymyrko, prince of Zvenyhorod, ceased Peremyshl when his brother died, and soon he united all of the others: Terebovlia and Halych, making the latter his capital.
The union
Yaroslav Osmomysl, the son of Volodymyr who unified Halych, had only one legitimate son, Vladimir. Yaroslav's wife, Olga, was the daughter of the Grand Prince of Kiev. Yaroslav separated from Olga and took as his mistress a boyar's daughter. Vladimir and Olga fled to Poland, and the boyars burned the mistress and forced Yaroslav to take back his wife.
They also imprisioned Yaroslav's favorite and illegitimate son, Oleg. The family was broken and entered into several conflicts, but theyt were all resolved, and it was Yaroslav's last wish to grant Halych to Oleg, his illegitimate son, and Peremyshl to Vladimir, but the boyars deposed Oleg and installed Vladimir in power. Vladimir was not a good ruler, and prince Roman of Volhynia urged the boyars to expel Vladimir and make Vasilko, oldest son of Vladimir, prince.
They threatened to murder his wife, and soon he took her, his two sons and fled to Hungary, where they were protected by king Béla. Oleg entered the city, with help of the Casimir of Poland. Oleg was killed by the townsfolk, who also invited Roman to become their prince. When he did that, Béla marched to the city to install his ally on power.
Roman fled to Volhynia, and Béla, instead of giving Halych to Vladimir as he promised, gave to his elder son, Andrew, and sent both Vladimir and his wife to Hungary, where they became prisoners. Vladimir managed to escape, and managed to get help of the same man that helped his half-brother, Casimir of Poland. Casimir helped Vladimir by sending troops to Halych, and when Vladimir returned, the boyars allied with the poles drove out Andrew, ending the short rule of the hungarian prince.
Vladimir became the prince once again, and died in 1199. Many princes disputed over who should rule Halych. Rurik, the Grand Prince of Kiev and father of Roman claimed that it should become among the holdings of the prince of Kiev, while other princes claimed right to rule it over marriage. The galicians asked Rurik to send his son, Rostislav, to became the ruler. Roman went there, as he also was the son of Rurik. The townsfolk refused to welcome him.
Roman entered the city and became the prince through a siege. The other princes were angered by his not so legitimate way of becoming the ruler. To assure his domain, he helped the Byzantine emperor Alexios III to fend off the invading cumans; as a reward, he married one of the emperor’s relatives. His alliance with the Byzantine Empire was enough to make the other princes back out their claim.
Roman thus became the first prince of Galicia Volhynia.
Economy
The economy of the region gradually changed from hunting and forestry to agriculture. Grains, hides and wax was exported to Byzantium at the time. The mild climate compared to other regions of Ukraine made Volhynia more favorable to agriculture, with most of its lands being held by boyars instead of the princes.
The trade routes were very important to the economy of Galicia Volhynia, though there were a number of towns, with only a handful of real importance as a trade centre, the trade routes of the region nonetheless were important, for they connected the Black Sea to Kiev, to Krakow, to Bohemia and onwards to central Europe.
Aside from these trade routes, Galician territory was important itself, due to the salt mines near Halych. Salt was a valuable medieval commodity and its export and trade transformed Halych into one of the most important cities of the region. It’s believed by some that the name Halych is derived from the Indo-European word for salt, hal, and the Latinized version, Galicia, could be considered as “land of salt”.
Current Situation
The grand princes of Kiev grew more fearful over Roman’s influence and power. A coalition of armies was formed and sent to Galicia-Volhynia, his brand new state. Roman not only defeated his enemies, he also attacked and captured Kiev in 1200. Kiev had lost its appeal as a power center as of the beginning of the 13th century, and so Roman appointed subordinates to rule the city, while he would return to his more prosperous capital, Halych.
In 1203, the former ruler of Kiev, Rurik, allied himself with the polovtsians, cumans and other Rus’ allies from Chernihiv, and sacked Kiev. Roman’s alliance with the poles broke, and he was killed in Zawichost in 1205. His death caused a power vacuum, seeing that Roman only left his wife and two very young sons, Daniel and Vasilko. The boyars forced a young Daniel, his brother and mother into exile. The poles and Hungarians invaded the principality, apparently in favor of the legitimate prince. It didn’t take long before they disputed the lands between themselves.
King Andrew II styled himself “King of Galicia and Vladimir”, but the conflicts between the two would end when Andrew’s son, Coloman, married to the daughter of the High Duke of Poland and the Duke of Sandormierz, Leszek the White. Daniel renounced his claims over Galicia in favor of his father in law, Mstislav the Bold, who liberated the regions from the Hungarians and poles in 1219. 2 years later, he re-established his rule and became the prince once again, marrying Mstislav’s daughter.
In 1227, Mstislav departed Halych, and the ruler effectively became Daniel. He has plenty of room to expand to the south and north, with the east being populated by the Mongols and the west with the Poles and Hungarians, willing and able to retake their lost territories. The Mongols are a unstoppable force, so the Novgorodians would be good allies, until the Mongols are dealt with, at least.
Volodymyrko united Halych, while Roman unified Halych and Volhynia. Could Daniel go beyond his forebears and unite the Rus’ principalities into one kingdom? Only time will tell…
Goverment and Society
Galicia and Volhynia were very similar to the other lands of Kievan Rus'; Both Galicia and Volhynia experienced periods of political and economic stability, made possible by powerful and charismatic princes as well as periods of decline and instability marked by conflict over the transfer of power, civil war, and foreign invasion.
But despite the many similarities between Galicia-Volhynia and the rest of Kievan Rus', there were some differences with regard to foreign relations, demography, and social developments. Located along the western borders of the Kievan Rus’, Galicia and Volhynia were less often subjected to the attacks of the nomadic peoples from the east, which had easier access to other settlements, like Kiev, Chernihiv and Pereiaslav.
While being safe from eastern nomads, Galicia and Volhynia were both vulnerable to Hungary and Poland. Also, both principalities, but especially Galicia, were more densely populated than any of the other Rus’ lands. The freedom from nomadic raids and its dense populations gave birth to a prosperous agricultural economy. And this contributed to the existence of a rich class of landowning boyars.
The political power of the boyars was great, and their strength would have disruptive consequences for Galician political life. Finally, although Galicia and Volhynia had become part of Christian, Orthodox world, they were bordered by Roman Catholic countries in the west (Poland) and south (Hungary). This meant that the influence of Catholicism would be felt more strongly in these principalities than anywhere else in Kievan Rus'.
Army
The armies of the Rus’ were divided in druzhina, armed and mounted household guards, loyal beyond question, well trained and equipped, though small in numbers; varjazi, or more known as varangians, Scandinavian mercenary retinues hired by the richest princes; urban militias, levied from the Slav and Scandinavian merchant class and led by a tysiatsky; their loyalty lied with their town rather than their prince, and as such, they were unused against other Rus’ princes.
Most of the northern infantry was equipped with small axes, javelins, spears, short swords, bows for younger men and helmets for wealthy ones; Lamellar had become a common sort of armor in the 13thcentury.
Their cavalry was still a problem, with druzhina and boyars being the quickest force to assemble, aside from sellswords. Steppe nomads served as auxiliaries. Exiled steppe nobles entered the Kievan realm and served as strong cavalrymen known as Chernye Klobuki, the Black Hoods. Not only the men of the eastern steppe served as cavalry, it is also said that Magyars and poles fought under the banners of the golden lion and azure shield of Galicia-Volhynia.
Galicia-Volhynia was the only part of Rus’ to be feudalized in a western European manner, and Galician boyars were described as looking like Polish knights. Despite their armies being based in Rus’ armies, urban militia, druzhina, varjazi and black hoods, they were more similar to Hungarian and polish armies.
Overall, their equipments and tactics were of a hybrid style, akin to the other Rus’ armies, who themselves were a mix of east and west, and due to Galicia-Volhynia’s position bordering European powers, their tactics and equipment were more inclined to European tactics.
In 1227, the great Genghis Khan died, and his great empire split into 4 appanages between his 4 sons, though all of these were ruled by a supreme khan. The westernmost territories of the Mongol Empire, including southern Russia
and eastern Kazakhstan, were split among the oldest sons of Jochi, the oldest son of Genghis. Batu Khan became the ruler of the Blue Horde, and Orda of the White Horde.
But before all that, the Mongols began raiding and invading the territories of the Cumans, once hostile towards the Rus’, now preferring peaceful relations and trade, and some Cumans even served in the armies of the
knyaz’ya(princes). In 1223, the Grand Prince of Kiev allied with other princes, such as Danylo of Halych, Mstislav the Bold and Khan Töten of the Terteroba faced the Mongols near the Kalka River.
The Mongols, led by Jebe and Subotai, with an army 4 times smaller than that of the princes, inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Rus’, who retreated with huge losses. The Mongols, however, instead of pressing on and conquering
the country, retreated.
Current Situation
Now, after 9 years after Battle of Kalka, the Mongols bide their time against the Rus’, while the knyaz’ya unwisely dispute power between themselves, blind to the dangers that the east can inflict on them yet again.
The rich region of Volga Bulgaria was the site of various skirmishes, and the Mongols managed to occupy the Ural Valley in 1229, and subdue the Bashkirs, occupying the Southern part of Volga Bulgaria.
Now with a good foothold on Europe, and controlling rich provinces, the Mongols have great potential to descend upon the divided kingdoms, with even more numbers, and after that, there will be nowhere to hide…
Starting Provinces
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]
Goverment and Society
The Golden Horde did not deviate much from Mongol customs. It was an appanage, a state that would pass to one of the Khan’s relatives and loyal servants. The Mongol empire was very vast, and in that way it would be able to
grant many appanages to many people.
The empire was governed by a set of laws developed by Genghis Khan called Yassa, a code whose laws were secret to the people; it changed as new areas with different customs were conquered. They were thought to be comprehensive,
but the penalties for foreign cities that disobeyed an order or decree
could be devastating.
To prepare military strategies and plans, to elect a new Khan, to assign positions and titles, the Kurultai was held. It consisted of a gathering of senior members of families. Mostly, those seniors were troop commanders,
and if a Kurultai were to happen during a siege, the senior members had to withdraw.
Economy
Before his death in 1227, Genghis Khan authorized the use of paper money in China, but in the areas of the golden horde, a type of silver coin derived from China circulated. The regions conquered by the Golden Horde,
Volga Bulgaria, the Black Sea, and a part of the Kievan Rus’, had a well developed agriculture. Their hunting focused mainly on fur, and the livestock was exported to India, Persia and European countries. The conquests
in the Volga allowed for the fishing of sturgeons, an important type of food.
The Golden Horde Volga region had very wide trade relations: Rus, Western and Central Europe, the Black Sea region, the Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East, Central Asia, India, China, and Korea.
Army
The Mongol armies were extremely mobile and strong and flexible; this happened because the delegates were free to execute the orders of the commanders the way they considered best. The delegates were as follow.
An arban, commanded ten men; Zuun, commanded ten Arbans; Mingghan, commanded ten Zuuns; And a Tumen, who commanded ten Mingghans.
Facing armies as big as theirs, the Mongols would stay in distance and break the formations with their arrows. When the enemy foot soldiers spread out to seek refuge from the arrows, the lancers would execute a deadly charge
that would often send the enemy to flee. In a similar fashion, tight formations, like a shield wall, were more vulnerable to arrows. Facing heavy cavalry, the archers would shoot the horses.
The soldiers owned more than three horses, which allowed for the mobility and better scouting, making the Mongol generals aware of terrain or intelligence about an enemy. Aside from being mobile and aware, the Mongol army was
disciplined and well trained. Also, their horses, while not as fast as others, are very hardy and resistant, enabling them to endure long distances better than others. But, considering that most of their enemy cavalry used heavy
armor, the Mongols could still outrun most of their enemies.
The basic armor of a soldier included an undershirt of silk, a heavy coat of fur and lamellar armor, with or without metallic scales. The most common of their weaponry was the bow, composite, and made of sinew,
wood and laminated horn, with a lighter version being used while mounted and a heavier while dismounted. Battle axes, scimitars, spears and others were included among the weaponry.
Siege warfare was an important part of taking a city, and the siege engines were built by skilled engineers on the field; these engineers were recruited among captives and swiftly assimilated with Mongol armies. They used the
developing technologies as well, traction trebuchets from China and counterweight trebuchets from the Middle Eastern areas of the Il-Khanate.
Its common tactic in a battlefield was to circle the enemy to cut his retreat and bleed them from afar with arrows. If a battle seemed to go bad, with this tactic, the soldiers had a chance to escape and to fight another day,
but the battle served 2 purposes, it would inflate the enemy’s morale and arrogance and it would allow the Mongols to better study the enemy, their tactics, defense in the field, and when another battle happened, they would be
prepared. And the last common tactic was the feigned retreat, a risky tactic, but if successful, crushing to enemy armies. It was practiced in hours, or even days and weeks; during the battle, the soldiers would suddenly panic
and flee. When the enemy was lured, the horsemen turned and attacked, often destroying and routing the enemy in exchange.
Being able to adapt to enemy tactics, to move extremely well under foreign territory and discipline its soldiers, Mongol armies were one of the most deadly in their times.
Russia and steppe factions Preview
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG] 
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
Reply With Quote
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG] 
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG] 
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
[/IMG]
Maybe you can help me a bit more with rus units?
