Re: [SS AAR] Primus Inter Pares - The Kievan Rus (Prelude, 11/5)
1. Of neighbors and rebels
It has been a hundred years ago since Vladimir the Great started the Christian conversion of the Rus. His son, Yaroslav the Wise continued his father’s work, leading to the Golden Age of the Rus. Now Kiev is ruled by Vladimir II, the grandson of Yaroslav.
To the south is the Roman Empire and Constantinople, the greatest city on Earth. They showed the light of Christianity to the Rus, and wife of the Grand Prince is Roman. The earlier conflicts are forgiven though maybe not forgotten, and now Kiev and Constantinople has a strong bond linking brothers in faith.
To the east are the Cuman tribes and other nomadic people. They are weak as a state, but strong as warriors. They are sometimes allies, but mostly enemies, and their raids often devastate the traders and farmers of the Rus. That needs to be addressed if Kiev is to become a power on the steppes.
To the north is Novgorod, the Orthodox cousins. The same blood flows in their veins, yet their sole existence is an insult. The prince of Novgorod used to be a vassal of Kiev, but now they are an independent state. But there can be only one master of the Rus people and it shall be Kiev.
To the west across the plains are the Catholic kingdoms, Hungary and Poland. Great powers in Central Europe, but they are looking to the east to expand. They are not to be trusted as they follow the Latin rites and the orders of the pope. Finally, between Poland and Novgorod lies the pagan Lithuania, wild tribes that serve no god but their own false idols.
And who knows what countries and people are beyond the borders of the neighbors? It matters not. The Rus is the light.
The young cleric put down the pen, stretched his legs and looked out of his tent. It was a beautiful sunset in the camp under Zhytomyr. The cleric’s name was Alexios, and he was working for the court. Now he accompanied Prince Mstislav, the commander of the besieging army. The Zhytomyr campaign was the Council’s idea, but the Prince was also eager to impress his Norwegian wife. Yet Alexios knew that taking Zhytomyr would mean a shared border and potential conflicts with Poland, including Catholic monks and priests trying to spread the Latin rites in the Rus.
It was getting dark. Alexios lit a candle and thought about the family of the Grand Prince.
Grand Prince Vladimir was the uncontested ruler of the Rus. There were no internal conflicts, and it seemed that his son, Prince Mstislav would be a widely accepted successor when the time comes. There was only one potential issue: his wife. Norway was Catholic, and some in Kiev were not happy with that influence, although the Varangian connection made many people proud.
Vladimir had two other sons: Yaropolk who was a young commander and governor of Bryansk in the northeast wilderness, and Yurii who was still a small child. He had a daughter too, Eupraxia who was in Novgorod with a diplomatic envoy. All the regional lords, even Georgii Patrikeev the powerful governor of Tmutarakan, accepted Vladimir’s authority without any question.
Alexios was optimistic about the siege. The Prince was a capable commander, and he had more than enough troops to take Zhytomyr. The talk in the court was that if Poland will not be hostile after taking Zhytomyr, the army will march north to subdue the independent principalities of Mensk and Smolensk.
Next day the sun was hiding behind the clouds when the Prince ordered the assault.
The Kievan soldiers took battle formations and the Prince was ready to fight for the Rus.
The commander of the town positioned his troops right behind the main gate.
The Prince ordered the archers to advance.
While one company pushed the ram toward the gate, two other companies targeted the defenders inside the walls.
The town commander did not wait to be a target, but opened the gates, and his infantry attacked the archers at the ram. The archers scattered, and the Prince sent in the infantry.
The Kievan infantry pushed the defenders back to the town. When they entered the gate, the local militia ran back toward the center.
But as the Kievan soldiers marched through the main street, suddenly enemy spearmen appeared from the alleys, stopping the advance. The Prince had to send in all the reserve infantry.
Meanwhile, the Kievan archers ran through the back streets and got around the defenders on the main square.
The town commander and his soldiers fought bravely and held back the attackers. This was the moment when the Prince decided to charge. He and his bodyguards galloped through the main street. The enemy commander looked at his mounted crossbowmen and ordered them to fire, but when he turned back to face the enemy the Rus knights were already there. He died immediately.
By the time the Kievan riders arrived to the main square, all resistance ended.
The casualties were fairly high, mostly because of the ambush on the main street. But the Prince did not allow any looting, hoping to pacify the town quickly. After all, the people of Zhytomyr were of the Rus too.
A few weeks later the army got the marching orders back to Kiev. The local council understood that from now on they have to pay the taxes to the Rus, and the Prince was also ready to leave. It was too late to start another campaign in this season, and Kiev offered more comforts than the newly conquered Zhytomyr.
Alexios did not care much for comfort. He grew up in a monastery and was used to the everyday hardships. He was clever and enthusiastic, but he always had some sadness in his eyes. Yet he was eager to return to Kiev too, because he was expecting a long awaited letter.
The Grand Prince welcomed the news of taking Zhytomyr, and the Council was satisfied too. But winter came early that year and brought bad news. Spies have reported that Mensk was already besieged by a large Polish army.
It did not take long for Mensk to fall. But the troublesome news was that with the Polish army a bishop and other Catholic clergymen arrived who started to convert the population. The Grand Prince knew that Kiev cannot risk a war with Poland yet, despite what some of the Orthodox refugees from Mensk wanted. The priority was now to expand fast and conquer the remaining independent principalities before facing a stronger enemy. Thus, Vladimir and the court planned an ambitious campaign season for next year.
The armies of the Rus were ordered to march in three different theaters. The Grand Prince decided to lead an army to the south to Oleshe, in order to gain access to the Black Sea and its trade routes. Then he ordered Georgii Patrikeev, the governor of Tmutarakan to attack the stronghold of Azaq, the main gateway to the steppe. Finally, Prince Mstislav was given the task to besiege Smolensk in the north. Smolensk was an independent city but with a Novgorod-friendly council which had to be replaced. Vladimir decided that this will be a good challenge for his son and heir.
Alexios was sitting by the small fire in his chamber and felt disappointed. The letter he was waiting for came from the easternmost monastery in Pereyaslav. It was a brief message: “Our missionary brothers found no trace of him.” Alexios stared into the fire and felt exhausted. It was not the first message of this kind, but he hoped for better news this time. Then after some meditation he opened another scroll and learned that he will accompany Mstislav again. He closed his eyes and sighed. Zhytomyr was an easy victory, but at the end of this road it was the northern wilderness waiting.
~
Last edited by Radzeer; February 14, 2011 at 06:17 PM.
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uck yeah, finally a promising Kievan Rus AAR. I loved your Hungarian AAR and really looking forward to see what you can come up with the Rus'. I'm playing a Kievan Rus campaign right now too (but in KGCM), and got them Mongols trotting around Kiev, so good luck to ya!
Originally Posted by S6k6l6v
