The Birch Bark Manuscripts - A Kievan Rus AAR [ SS 6.4 | SSHIP 0.9 | RR/RC | VH/VH ]

[Ostlich]

In the summer of 1951, a Soviet archaeological expedition headed by Artemiy Artsikhovsky uncovered a trove of birch bark manuscripts. The manuscripts were wrapped in cloth, and buried in water-logged clay soil, thereby preserving them.

3110 of these manuscripts have been uncovered to-date, 512 of these being written, it is believed, by a single person - evidenced by a common signature, manner of diction, and historical contents thereof.

The earliest of these dates to the beginning of the 12th century - and these are their translated contents in chronological order of the events they purport to describe.

Translator notes are contained in square brackets [example].

Site I : Manuscripts 12, 14, and 17

It is writ in records that the Greche and Finikii [the Greeks and Phoenicians] were a seafaring people who conducted trade and warfare and their very livelihoods upon their ships the 'gauloi' and 'trireme', and that they established a number of colonies along the shorelines of the Sredizi and Euxini [the Mediterranean and Black seas respectively], many of which exist to this day.

In this light, we consider them to be 'thalassocracy' - rule of the sea.

Tangentially, we consider the principalities of my people, the Rus, to be 'potamocracy' - rule of the river, for the whole of them are a riverfaring people who conduct trade and warfare and their very livelihoods upon their boats the 'koch' and 'ladya', establishing a number of 'colonies' along the shorelines of the many rivers which run their courses throughout the whole of Rus.

The Volga is the longest and most expansive of the rivers of Rus, but the greatest of them is the Dnepr [Dnieper], whom the Cimmerian Greche worshiped as Borysthenes their god.

The Dnepr, as a common analogy goes, begins as the prongs of a whip, the largest of which flows out of Valdai [an upland region] in the heart of Rus. These prongs, the tributaries, flow separately southwards many a versta [equivalent of a kilometer] before coalescing at a single point amid a fertile plain which is held by all to yield the freshest water and most luxuriant crops and grain in all the world; and it is here that the Dnepr is at its broadest, a versta, and so remains for many a versta afterwards before emptying its headwaters into the Euxini.

And the greatest of the cities of Rus is Kyiv [Kiev], which occupies the aforementioned point of prominence along the Dnepr.

And the greatest of the principalities of Rus is Kyiv, whose prince is Veliky Knyaz [Grand Prince].

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The southern march.

The Veliky Knyaz holds sway over the whole of Rus.

The principalities of Chernigov, Pereyaslavl, Murom-Ryazan, Smolensk, Turov-Pinsk, Volhynia, and Vladimir-Suzdal; they answer to the Veliky Knyaz, furnishing him with men and weapons and gold whensoever he wishes and at all other times keeping watch the borders of Rus.

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The eastern march.

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The western march.

The principalities of Halych, Pleskov, Polotsk, and the recently self-declared Republic of Novgorod, he suffers them to be autonomous so long as they arrest the incursions of the enemies of Rus the Samii [a Swedo-Finnic tribe], Ugrii [a Karelo-Finnic tribe], Danii [Danes], Polii [Polish], Vengrii [Hungarians], Leutvii [Lithuanians], and the Volga Qipchaks [a prominent tribe in the Cuman-Qipchak federation]

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The northern march.

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Arraignments with the self-declared Republic of Novgorod.

The Dnepr Qipchaks, the Veliky Knyaz has christianized and settled along the south of the principalities of Kyiv and Pereyaslav where they serve him dutifully in their capacity as light cavalrymen. They otherwise retain their customs and laws under the dependency of Karakalpak.

[Zeion]

Hi Ostlich,

very impressive start! I like the wrap up in a historical document and how things are described.
This is going to be interesting!

Cheers,
Z

[Alwyn]

Great start, I like the way that you use the idea of the discovery of historical documents to present your story. The map in the final image is impressive. If this is your first AAR, then you might want to look at the article Writing a First AAR: Ten things you can do.

[Ostlich]

Hi Ostlich,

very impressive start! I like the wrap up in a historical document and how things are described.
This is going to be interesting!

Cheers,
Z

Great start, I like the way that you use the idea of the discovery of historical documents to present your story. The map in the final image is impressive. If this is your first AAR, then you might want to look at the article Writing a First AAR: Ten things you can do.

Thanks for the encouragement and resources!

And yes, this is my first AAR - I plan to update it every week or two.

-

Some plans and things to note:

1. When counting army sizes, I'll be taking unit sizes and multiplying them by 10x - feels more historical that way
2. I'll be playing as if I had no prior knowledge of the Mongols, so I'll be expanding westwards and leave behind the barest of garrisons in the east
3. Kievan Rus units start out strong in the beginning, but weaken in the middle before finally catching up near the end, becoming average. So surviving the Mongols will be a decent challenge.
4. In the last image of my first post, the map, the lighter colors represent areas of direct control, while the darker colors represent areas of vassalage/tributaries/client rulers, etc.

[Ostlich]

Site I : Manuscripts 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, and 27

The hull of the ladya, which is the river-vessel of choice among the Rus, is carved from a single tree of no less than ten sazhens [the equivalent of two meters] in height, and a sazhen in width.

Layers of planking are secured to the hull to increase its height and breadth, and oars are affixed to the planking to make easier the rowing motions, and a single mast with a square sail is propped at the midmost of the hull to make it seaworthy should the occasion arise.

The ladya commonly holds a crew of forty men, and whenever the Rus find themselves in need of such a tree so that they may carve from it the hull, they request to borrow from their prince a public ladya, and their prince is obligated to provision one for them.

They pick an even handful from their closest friends and relations and with them row against the river-current as far north as the Dnepr allows to the foothills of the Valdai, which is regarded by the Greche to herald the periphery of the Hyperborean realm [a mythical place, comparable to the Arctic circle], the centremost of which, as the Greche tell it, is a land populated by a people who live without fear of death or disease or the dark of the night, for the sun ever shines on it and them with it.

But the Rus, according to the reports of those who have come back, have only ever encountered, and that at a distance, the Ugrii.

The Ugrii, as the reports tell it, are a people who live in a perpetual winter of the coldest degree and take the greatest joy in waking with frost upon the bare skin of their cheeks and brow and in their subsistence on the milk and meat and hide of the hreinn [reindeer] and the meat of the fish whom they spear out of the holes they carve unto the surfaces of frozen lakes, of which there are many throughout the whole of the Valdai; and they cherish more than anything their spears with which they conduct trade and warfare and their very livelihoods, but will not hesitate to strike or throw in hostility the tip and shaft of it at the approach of the Rus.

And so the Rus have learnt to leave well alone the Ugrii, and not to venture north further than is needed.

And the greater part of them will hike with their party the distance of a versta westwards of the Valdai, and so come to the banks of the river Msta, where the trees are plentiful and stout and strong, and they spend the greater part of the day judging the quality of the wood inside each tree, and deciding on the best tree, they hew it and the ends of it and roll and sometimes carry, if they are strong enough as a collective, the trunk of it the way back to the foothills of the Valdai, where they hollow it out before attaching it by rope to the ladya with which they came, and row with, not against, the river-current the way home.

But for those who are dissatisfied with the dimensions of the trees which grow along the banks of the river Msta, they will hike with their party the distance of ten versta northwards of the Valdai, and so come to the banks of the lake Volgo, where the Ugrii are plentiful and stout and strong and the trees more so, and carry out the aforementioned practice.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The trees which grow along the banks of the lake Volgo, the tallest in the whole of Rus

It is a dangerous prospect, and for this reason, the man who is seen seated at the front of a sufficiently large ladya is known to be brave, or stupid and lucky, or all three.

And no man who calls himself one of the Rus is seen by the banks of the Dnepr without his ladya, and just as the Danii take everywhere with them and to their graves their swords and roundshields, and the Qipchak their tents and horses, and the Greche their books and plays, so do the Rus take everywhere with them and to their graves their ladya.

Whether the significance of the ladya came about its utility or sturdiness or something more, the Rus know not, but of its utility and sturdiness, it is said that a ladya carved from a good tree can be rowed the whole length of the Dnepr as many times as exists a sazhen in a versta without ever popping a leak, and that the shoddiest of ladyas will take a man wherever along the Dnepr and its tributaries he wishes to row, with the especial exception of the tributary which runs its course throughout the land of the Dregovichi [a Slavonic tribe whose borders roughly coincide with that of the principality of Polotsk].

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The swamps outside Polotsk

The land of the Dregovichi is a lowland of swamp and mire and bog and it is their namesake [the old Ruthenian word for swamp being 'dreyha'], and if ever the prince of Polotsk, a city of repute which is midmost the land of the Dregovichi, turn his eyes outwards and beyond the walls and ramparts of his city, he will see swamp and mire and bog and a tributary of the Dnepr running its course throughout, and if ever he turn his eyes inwards the walls and ramparts of his city, he will see his people haughty and proud whose men are commonly of exceptional breadth and girth and height and strength; and any outsider seeking an explanation for why this might be so need only attempt to row against the river-current of the tributary of the Dnepr which runs its course throughout the land of the Dregovichi, and they will find that there is none so difficult to row against along the whole of the Dnepr, and become ashamed at the realization that the Dregovichi row every day of their lives against this river-current, and every night settle their grievances and satiate their curiosities in contests of strength - strength in the eyes of the Dregovichi being the three-fold strength of the body and the mind and the heart or soul.

And in times of war, it is the Dregovichi who stand at the front, who strike the hardest and the fastest and carry away the greatest spoils in victory, and in defeat, rout the last; and in times of peace, it is the Dregovichi who occupy the ranks of the Palace Guard of Kyiv.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Alwyn]

A creative update, with unusual images (focusing on landscapes, not soldiers or fighting) which work well with your descriptions of the places.

[Ostlich]

A creative update, with unusual images (focusing on landscapes, not soldiers or fighting) which work well with your descriptions of the places.

Hey!

So what I'm doing right now is sort of following the common format of ancient history books, where every one, two, or three descriptions of battle and military campaigns is followed up by a description of society and culture, which will lead seamlessly into the next one, two, or three descriptions of battle and military.

-

Also, I'm taking alot of creative license with the plot here, in reality the whole of the Leutvii (Lithuania) and the regions of Halych, Pleskov, Turov-Pinsk, and Volhynia are either rebel states in-game (Goroden, Kernave, Halych, Polotsk) or states owned by factions that have undergone simultaneous simultaneous rebellions, creating a blob of grey to the northwest of my territories.

[Ostlich]

Site I: Manuscripts 29, 32, 34, 35, and 36-51

[a curious detour from the rebellion of the Dregovichi to the origins of the tribes of Rus and consequent structure and composition of their military]

Of the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Rus, of which there are fourteen, these are their names by the order of their pedigree after the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Israel, of which there are fourteen; the Krivichi after Reuben in Pleskov, the Dregovichi after Simeon in Polotsk, the Radimichi after Levi in Smolensk, the Severichi after Dan in Chernigov, the Muromichi after Naphtali in Murom-Ryazan, the Volhynichi after Gad in Volhynia, the Ilmenichi after Asher in Novgorod, the Drevlyanichi after Issachar in Turov-Pinsk, the Ulichi after Zebulun in Pereyslavl, the Croatichi after Ephraim in Halych, the Vyatichi after Joseph and the Chudichi after Menashe in Vladimir-Suzdal, and the Tiverichi after Benjamin and the Polanichi after Judah in Kyiv.

These are the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Rus, of which there are fourteen, and their names by the order of their pedigree after the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Israel, of which there are fourteen.

And of the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Rus, these are their roles which they serve in their capacity.

Of the peaceable tribes, those who are merchants and traders and shopkeepers and owners of businesses and banks, they are the Ulichi.

Those who are clerics and priests and bishops and men of liturgy and cloth, they are the Radimichi.

Those who are judges and prosecutors and conductors of subversion and espionage, they are the Severichi.

Those who are sailors and shipwrights and masters of seas and waves, they are the Ilmenichi.

Those who are lords and generals and the inhabitants of castles and courts, they are the Croatichi.

[many illustrations follow, which have been preserved to such a degree that the depicted arms and armors may be seen and identified]

Of the belligerent tribes, those who are riders of horses and wielders of lance and shield and blade or axe or mace, they are the Volhynichi.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Boyars]



[Druzhina]



[Senior Mounted Militia]

Those who are riders of horses and wielders of bow and shield and blade or axe or mace, they are the Muromichi.

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[Polotsk Boyar Druzhina]



[Junior Druzhina]



[Luchniki]

Those who are front and center and first in line and wielders of shield and axe or spear or blade, they are the Dregovichi. [assault infantry]

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[Kievan Palace Guard]


[Dismounted Boyars]



[Dismounted Druzhina]



[Berdiche Militia]

Those who are front and center and second in line and wielders of bow or crossbow and shield and axe or spear or mace, they are the Krivichi. [bowmen and crossbowmen]

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[Dismounted Junior Druzhina]



[Dismounted Luchniki]



[Archers]



[Crossbow Militia]



[Archer Militia]



[Levy Archers]

Those who are front and center and third in line and wielders of shield and javelin and sling, they are the Chudichi and the Vyatichi. [skirmishers infantry]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Chude Militia]



[Slavic Javelinmen]

Those who are front and center and last in line and wielders of shield and trident or axe or spear or mace, they are the Tiverichi and the Polanichi. [line infantry]

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[Senior Militia]


[Junior Militia]


[Spear Militia]


[Peasant Levies]

These are the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Rus, and their roles which they serve in their capacity.

And of the enemies of the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Rus whom they have subjugated and brought under their yoke, these are their roles which they serve in their capacity.

Those who are riders of horses and wielders of bow and shield and blade, they are the Vengrii.

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[Magyar Cavalry]

Those who are riders of horses and wielders of bow and blade, they are the Qipchak.

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[Pechenegs]

Those who are front and right and first in line and wielders of axe, they are the Danii.

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[Scandinavian Guard]



[Axemen]

Those who are front and right and second in line and wielders of crossbow and blade, they are the Polii.

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[Mercenary Crossbowmen]

Those who are front and right and last in line and wielders of bow and dagger, they are the Samii.

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[Hunters]

Those who are front and left and first in line and wielders of shield and axe or spear, they are the Leutvii and the Ugrii

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[Eastern Spearmen]



[Lithuanian Axemen]

Those who are front and left and second in line and wielders of bow or crossbow or javelin or sling and shield and axe or blade or mace, they are the Leutvii.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Latvian Crossbowmen]


[Lithuanian Archers]



[Lithuanian Skirmishers]

Those who are front and left and last in line and wielders of bow and dagger, they are the Samii.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Hunters]

These are the enemies of the tribes that inhabit the whole of the land of Rus whom they have subjugated and brought under their yoke, and their roles which they serve in their capacity.

[Ostlich]

Manuscripts 52, 53, 55, 58, 59, 61-64

[an account of the rebellion of the Dregovichi of Polotsk]

The lowliest of the classes which occupy the social strata of the Rus, excepting the kholops [a slave], is the smerd [a peasant].

The smerd are allotted a wergeld [wages] of five grivna [a unit of pay], and after paying their due taxes to their boyar, they spend the remainder of it on bread and fabric of a lesser quality to patch the fraying ends of their clothes, which are handed down to them from their mothers and fathers and their mothers and fathers before them; and whatever else they are seen eating or wearing or holding, they do so at the sufferance of their boyar.

The smerd are altogether a destitute lot, and of particular susceptibility to the soothsayers.

The soothsayers, whose exact origins are not known, are most often seen in the town squares of the principalities of Murom-Ryazan and Vladimir-Suzdal in the further east. They dress in strange clothes not seen among the Rus, nor among the Samii or Ugrii or Qipchak or Leutvii or even the Bolgars.

The soothsayers at all times speak of strange and prophetic things. One of prominence who came to Kyiv by way of Vladimir-Suzdal some years before, for example, whose words we know from the records of the time, said, "the lands are to be moved to different places: the Greek land will stand in the place of Rus, and Rus in the place of the Greek land, and other lands will change places also."

And during times of especial hardship, the soothsayers are seen in the town squares of the principalities of Kyiv, Turov-Pinsk, and Polotsk, where they are known to speak boldly and menacingly of the new religion and the apparent changes in the economic and social status of the smerd, who in the old religions felt they had been free. Without exception, the smerds and kholops have rebelled under these circumstances, and without exception, the massacre and reprisals carried out by the boyars of these places was general and great.

And the boyars have since learned not to tolerate the presence of the soothsayers, and to execute them on sight and afterwards crucify their castrated bodies midmost the town square.

But the prince of Polotsk while inspecting the walls and ramparts of his city one day, it is said, stayed the hands of one of his druzhina [companions] who had spotted a soothsayer coming his way, and invited them to a private dinner with him and all the boyars and druzhinas and eminent citizens of Polotsk, the proceedings of which are not known.

At this time, the Veliky Knyaz requested a sum of men and weapons and gold from the prince of Polotsk, and received three days later this letter, (presumably) with the signatures of the prince and all the boyars and druzhinas and eminent citizens of Polotsk.

[letter of the unnamed prince of Polotsk]

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To the Veliky Knyaz who presides over Kyiv and the whole of Rus-Thrice-Great, our lord and benefactor heretofore: Message of [unknown, the names have been scratched out here], your servant and servants heretofore.

We fall at your feet, our lord and benefactor heretofore, nine times and nine times. We are the dirt under the sandals of your feet, our lord and benefactor heretofore, and the dust of your eye, our lord and benefactor heretofore whose hands [euphemism for inspectors] come forth over the whole of Rus-Thrice-Great day by day, according to the way of the sun, the sun whom bestows upon our lord and benefactor heretofore his divine right.

Our lord and benefactor heretofore, who establishes the entire land in peace by the power of his many hands and arms [euphemism for a retinue] and eyes [euphemism for a network of spies], your servant and servants heretofore thus write to our lord and benefactor heretofore.

Your servant and servants heretofore are plainly dissatisfied with this arraignment and now declare ourselves to be our own lord and benefactor forthwith, that you and your servants be our servant and servants forthwith, and that three days hence, at which time our lord and benefactor heretofore should receive this message, that we are free of the yoke of our lord and benefactor heretofore, that you and your servants fall at our feet, your lord and benefactor forthwith, nine time and nine times. That you be the dirt under the sandals of our feet, your lord and benefactor forthwith, and the dust of our eye, your lord and benefactor forthwith whose hands come forth the whole of Rus-Thrice-Great day by day, according to the way of the sun, the sun whom bestows upon your lord and benefactor forthwith his divine right.

Your lord and benefactor forthwith, who establishes the entire land in peace by the power of his many hands and arms and eyes, thus write to our servant and servants forthwith.

[unknown, the names have been scratched out here]

The Veliky Knyaz who presides over Polotsk and the whole of Rus-Thrice-Great, your lord and benefactor forthwith.

The contents of the letter were dictated as thus to the Veliky Knyaz, who in his rage, it is said, slew a smerd standing nearby, and afterwards ordered missives to be sent to all the principalities and dependents of Rus within the day, demanding a sum of men and weapons and gold.

And the authority of the Veliky Knyaz, though waning about this time in lieu of the self-declaration of Novgorod, was such that all the missives were obeyed.

After three days, the aid, loyal princes and their boyars and men of the dependencies, came by the way of four hundred ladya converging upon Kyiv, where a thousand ladya amply supplied and provisioned for and the Veliky Knyaz and his Palace Guard awaited them.

After five days, the Veliky Knyaz and his retinue and Palace Guard and loyal princes and their boyars and men of the dependencies and camp followers disembarked upon the banks of the tributary of the Dnepr which runs its course throughout the land of the Dregovichi, of which Polotsk is midmost, and laid siege to it.



About two months time, which the men under the Veliky Knyaz passed well-supplied by regular arrivals of ladya from Kyiv laden with grain and oats, a number of smerds deserted the rebel city at morning and reported to the Veliky Knyaz that disease and famine had run their course throughout the city and were at their heights, that all the horses excepting those ridden by the Qipcha had succumbed to famine, and that the prince of Polotsk had succumbed to disease, leaving the command of the city to an unknown Dregovichi captain of the guard.

And the Veliky Knyaz, it is said, had his Palace Guard throw the smerds into the Dnepr, keeping them submerged with the butt of their spears until they sank to the bottom.

The twenty ladders and the ram, fully fire-hardened, were brought up from the rear by the camp followers who afterwards retired; and the Veliky Knyaz and his retinue and Palace Guard and loyal princes and their boyars and men of the dependencies arrayed themselves before the walls of the rebel city.

[the composition of armies]

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Under the Veliky Knyaz, it is said, there were ten and four thousand men [14000].

Under the unknown Dregovichi captain of the guard, it is said, there were ten and ten thousand men [20000].



Of the ten and four thousand men under the Veliky Knyaz, one and two thousand were drawn from the Ugrii whom had taken up their shield and spear [3000].

One thousand and one and one hundred were drawn from the Samii whom had taken up their bow and dagger [1200].

One thousand and one and one hundred were drawn from the Polii whom had taken up their crossbow and shield and blade [1200].

One and one thousand and one and three hundred were drawn from the Danii whom had taken up their axe [2400].

One and two thousand men were drawn from the Palace Guard whom had taken up their shield and spear [3000].

And one and two thousand and one and one hundred were drawn from the Veliky Knyaz himself and his retinue and loyal princes and their boyars whom had taken up their horse and shield and lance and blade [3200].



Of the ten and ten thousand men under the unknown Dregovichi captain of the guard, one and six thousand and one and one hundred were drawn from the Dregovichi whom had taken up the axe and some the roundshield of the Danii [7200].

One and two thousand were drawn from the Dregovichi whom had taken up the javelin and sling and shield and axe of the Chudichi [3000].

One and two thousand were drawn from the Dregovichi whom had taken up the spear and shield of the Tiverichi and the Polanichi [3000].

One and three thousand and one and seven hundred were drawn from the Dregovichi whom had taken up the bow or crossbow and some the shield and all the dagger of the Krivichi and the Samii [4800].

And one and one thousand were drawn from the Qipchak whom had taken up their bow and blade [2000].

[the order of the battle]

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The arraignment of the men under the Veliky Knyaz was conducted in the following manner.

Opposite the gate of the city were the Samii, manning the ram, then the Polii, ten and fifty paces [60] behind the Samii, manning four ladders as a spare, then the Palace Guard, ten and ten [20] paces behind the Polii, and then the Veliky Knyaz and his retinue and loyal princes and their boyars, ten and thirty paces [40] behind the Palace Guard.

Opposite the portion of the walls nearest the gate were the Ugrii in two detachments of equal strength, ten and ten paces [20] behind and ten and twenty paces [30] to the left and right of the Samii, manning four ladders each.

And opposite the portion of the walls furthest the gate were the Danii in two detachments of equal strength, ten and ten paces [20] behind and ten and twenty paces [30] to the left of the Ugrii on the left, and to the right of the Ugrii on the right, manning four ladders each.

And the arraignment of the men under the unknown Dregovichi captain of the guard was conducted in the following manner.

Along the portion of the walls above the gate and nearest the gate were the Dregovichi whom had taken up the bow or crossbow and some the shield and all the dagger of the Krivichi and the Samii.

Along the portion of the walls furthest the gate were the Dregovichi whom had taken up the javelin and sling and shield and axe of the Chudichi.

At the gates were the Dregovichi whom had taken up the spear and shield of the Tiverichi and the Polanichi, whom faced the gates, and the Dregovichi whom had taken up the axe and some the roundshield of the Danii, whom faced the walls nearest the gates.

And in the streets of the city were the Qipchak.




The order of battle began as thus.


The Samii, in a dispersed formation, drove the ram to the gates of the city, losing the greater part of their company to arrows and bolts and javelins.


Those that remained broke open the gates with the ram, and thereafter fought where they stood, expending the arrows and bolts and javelins of the Dregovichi, and were slain to the last, unable to retreat for fear of their mothers and fathers and wives and sons and daughters whom the Veliky Knyaz held hostage to secure their loyalty.

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The Ugrii, at the cessation of the arrows and bolts and javelins, dispersed their formations and ran with their ladders towards the portions of the wall furthest the gates.


Their shields and dispersed formations protected them from the javelins, and the geometry of the walls protected them from the arrows and bolts.


They arrived with the greater part of their companies intact, and set the ladders, which being fire-hardened could not be cut down by their latches.


And this is the manner in which both companies of the Ugrii slew the Dregovichi to their front and rear on the walls before retreating in spite of their mothers and fathers and wives and sons and daughters whom the Veliky Knyaz held hostage to secure their loyalty.


Against the Dregovichi whom had taken up the javelin and sling and axe and shield of the Chudichi, the Ugrii locked their shields at an angle and struck with the spear from intended gaps.


As for the Dregovichi, their javelins glanced off the angled shields ofthe Ugrii, their axes could not reach past the tip of the spear or break the fire-hardened shafts, their shields could not cover the greater part of their bodies, the greater part of their company was slain, and the rest fled.


Against the Dregovichi whom had taken up the spear and shield of the Tiverichi and the Polanichi, the Ugrii and the Dregovichi alike locked their shields at an angle and struck with the spear from intended gaps, but the Dregovichi struck harder and faster and on account of their greater height and flexibility, unpredictably, and the Ugrii were only able to slay a small part of their company because of their comparative lack of armor; and even then, the Ugrii could not best the Dregovichi whom had taken up the spear and shield of the Tiverichi and the Polanichi, and the greater part of the Ugrii in both companies were slain and the rest fled.

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About this time, the Danii dispersed their formations and ran with their ladders towards the portions of the wall nearest the gates.


Their dispersed formations protected them from the arrows and bolts, and the geometry of the walls protected them from the javelins.


They arrived with the greater part of their companies intact, and set the ladders, which being fire-hardened could not be cut down by their latches.


And this is the manner in which both companies of the Danii slew the Dregovichi to their front on the walls before retreating in spite of their mothers and fathers and wives and sons and daughters whom the Veliky Knyaz held hostage to secure their loyalty.


Against the Dregovichi whom had taken up the spear and shield of the Tiverichi and the Polanichi, the Danii hacked away at their spear-shafts and locked shields, which even being fire-hardened could not withstand the strength of the Danii, and shattered, exposing the man behind, but the Dregovichi at this realization loosened up their formations - and arraigned themselves in the manner of the Romans a thousand years before.


This is the toe-like manner in which both companies of the Dregovichi arraigned themselves.


The ten men which held the first line was reduced to five men, and the ten men which held the second and third and all the lines thereafter, remained ten men.


In this manner, each of the five Dregovichi in the first line had ample room to dodge and parry the Danii opposite them, and at once, two or three of the ten Dregovichi in the second line would strike at the Danii that sought to approach from either side any of the Dregovichi of the first line; and whensoever one of the Danii was slain, the Dregovichi rotated the man who had slain the Danii with a fresh man, and thus maintained the quality throughout, and whensoever one of the Dregovichi was slain, his column advanced to take up his position, and thus maintained the quality throughout.

The greater part of the Danii in both companies were slain and the rest fled.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Of the retreating Danii and Ugrii, the Veliky Knyaz slew the first of them, and as an example, dictated missives to camp followers to be taken back to Kyiv, that the families of the retreated, who had been slain, be executed and their bodies crucified in the public square of the nearest cities for the space of nine days before being fed to the dogs.

The Veliky Knyaz ordered the remainder of them to set the spare ladders on the right side of the walls between the portion nearest and the portion furthest the gates.

In obeisance, the remainder of them dispersed their formations and ran with their ladders towards the right side of the walls between the portion nearest and the portion furthest the gates, with the Palace Guard not far behind.

They arrived with the whole of their companies intact, the Dregovichi stock of arrows and bolts and javelins depleted, and set the ladders, which the Dregovichi bothered not to cut down, for being fire-hardened, they could not be cut down.

The Dregovichi slew the first of them, the retreated Danii and Ugrii who had come back, too tired to resist.


And this is the manner in which both companies of the Palace Guard slew the Dregovichi on the walls in spite of being their kin for fear of their mothers and fathers and wives and sons and daughters whom the Veliky Knyaz held hostage to ensure their loyalty.


Against the Dregovichi whom had taken up the javelin and sling and shield and axe of the Chudichi, the Palace Guard bothered not to lock their shields or put on their guards, and bent the whole of their body and mind and heart or soul on striking with the spear.

As for the Dregovichi, they had no more javelins, their axes were chipped and rent and could not reach past the tip of the spear, their shields were also chipped and rent and could not cover the greater part of their bodies, and the greater part of their company was slain, and the rest fled, and in their places stood the Dregovichi whom had taken up the axe, but not the roundshield of the Danii.


Against the Dregovichi whom had taken up the axe, but not the roundshield of the Danii, the Palace Guard fought to arraign themselves in the manner of the Greche when the Romans were not yet an empire.


This is the hedge-like manner in which the Palace Guard fought to arraign themselves.


The ten men which held the first and second and third and all the lines thereafter were increased to eleven men, and each line was to lock their shields and maintain a distance of no more than two paces between the lines in front and behind. The first and second and third line of men put forth the tips of their spears, the third as far as possible, the second not as far, and the first quite close; and pressing onward, both companies of the Dregovichi fell as grass before a scythe, some falling off the walls, and the greater part of them were slain and the rest fled at the sight of loyal princes and their boyars rushing for the gates.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The two princes and their boyars, it is said, were men of age who belonged to the cult of Odin who had not yet known defeat in battle, and certainly not death.

And this is the repeated manner in which the two princes and their boyars slew the Dregovichi and the Qipchak throughout the streets of the city, in spite of their age.

They trotted about the streets of the city at an even pace, and coming across a company of Dregovichi or Qipchak, broke into charging pace and held up the lance, each of them at once spearing and trampling underfoot their horse the Dregovichi or Qipchak in twos and threes and sometimes fours, thereafter throwing themselves headlong into the melee with their shields and axes or blades or maces in which they parried and countered and suffered a hundred blows from a dozen directions each before succumbing to their exhaustion and wounds, and for some, their age.

They slew a third of the remaining Dregovichi and the greater part of the Qipchaks, and the whole of them were slain.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The confusion and disorder that followed the rampage of the two princes and their boyars disarrayed the arraignment of the Dregovichi and Qipchak, and the Palace Guard pressed the advantage, and slew those that stood between them and the public square of the city.

They slew the remainder of the Dregovichi and the Qipchak, and of themselves, of the one and two thousand [3000] that set forth from Kyiv, one hundred remained, and of these, ten and thirty [40] succumbed to their wounds at a later date.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[an account of the aftermath]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The whole of the civilian population was massacred and the prisoners executed, the bodies of the two princes and their boyars and their horses buried with honours, encased in their weapons and armor; the rest, the camp followers tossed into pit-fires against the laws of the new religion.

The rebel prince was made to fall before the Veliky Knyaz nine times and nine times, and was subsequently removed of his arms and eyes and chained to the throne of the Veliky Knyaz, and for the remainder of his short days, was fed feces of man and animal alike in place of bread, and drank urine in place of water.

As for the city, the records have it that the whole of it was repopulated by Muromichi settlers, as it was the wish of the Veliky Knyaz to have a nearby source of men who could serve in the capacity of skirmisher cavalry.

[Ostlich]

Next week or month - hunting down the Dregovichi in Halych

[Boogie Knight]

What a great read! I love the historical style, you've got it down brilliantly. Looking forward to more!

[Ostlich]

What a great read! I love the historical style, you've got it down brilliantly. Looking forward to more!

Thanks v/much for the encouragement, I can only hope that I maintain the style throughout.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

I confess I have a weakness for a good Rus AAR - and this is a very good Rus AAR, so I'm happy.

I like the style you've used for this very much; it works excellently. I'll look forward to the account of the hunting of the Dregovichi.

[Ostlich]

I confess I have a weakness for a good Rus AAR - and this is a very good Rus AAR, so I'm happy.

I like the style you've used for this very much; it works excellently. I'll look forward to the account of the hunting of the Dregovichi.

Coming right up~

[Alwyn]

An impressive introduction to the tribes and military units of this time-period - it sounds like you know the history well.

Your battle is well done, I like the details such as the reference to the cult of Odin and the replacement of tired troops by fresh ones. (Perhaps, in future, a battle such as this could be in a separate chapter, to give it the prominence it deserves? I'm wondering if some readers will see a spoiler headed 'The order of the battle' and think that is is simply a description of units, equipment and formations - which is what I think of, when I see the phrase 'order of battle' - rather than the story of the battle. It would be a shame if readers missed the story of the battle).

The methods of the the Veliky Knyaz are horrifyingly brutal - perhaps these are based on historical events? I wonder if these brutal methods will terrify the opponents of the Veliky Knyaz into submission or lead to fierce opposition?

[Ostlich]

An impressive introduction to the tribes and military units of this time-period - it sounds like you know the history well.

Your battle is well done, I like the details such as the reference to the cult of Odin and the replacement of tired troops by fresh ones. (Perhaps, in future, a battle such as this could be in a separate chapter, to give it the prominence it deserves? I'm wondering if some readers will see a spoiler headed 'The order of the battle' and think that is is simply a description of units, equipment and formations - which is what I think of, when I see the phrase 'order of battle' - rather than the story of the battle. It would be a shame if readers missed the story of the battle).

The methods of the the Veliky Knyaz are horrifyingly brutal - perhaps these are based on historical events? I wonder if these brutal methods will terrify the opponents of the Veliky Knyaz into submission or lead to fierce opposition?

I knew nothing of Rus history prior to starting the AAR, I just thought the syncretic position of the Rus cities/provinces would make for an interesting AAR. There's Lithuanians to the immediate west, Hungary and Poland to the southwest, Byzantines to the south, and Cumans to the south, and Mongols later on to the east and south-east and alot of empty land that's hard to maintain control of. I was reading up on medieval Rus history for the first time while writing. So most of what I've wrote is just conjecture with some basis in geography and historical records, and I also took liberty with the Rus names for their tribes and enemies - they're based on modern Russian names.

Polii = Polish
Vengrii = Hungary
Ugrii = Ugrians
Samii = Sami
Lieutvii = Lithuanians
Danii = Danes

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

My battles right now are just conjecture, once I do more research, I'll go back to edit the descriptions.

I'll also have to highlight the action of the battles more clearly from now on, you're right about [the order of the battle] obscuring the contents. A regular reader would just look at the wall of text and skip it all.

I'll do that once I get my 25 posts (editing privilege).

-

And, the Veliky Knyaz's tactics are brutal, but they're mostly a response to loss of control in recent years - which will change big time starting from now.

[Alwyn]

That makes sense, your descriptions of peoples and places - and the map - are helpful for me.

[Ostlich]

Site I : Manuscripts 65, 66, 69

The hut of Baba Yaga [a pagan mythological figure] is an izba [a loghut] of a sazhen in height and five sazhens in both length and width which has no doors and no windows, and rests upon two giant chicken legs.

The yard of it contains geese and horse, and Baba Yaga herds them with her eyes, and at all other times, they are kept enclosed by a fence of human bones wrapped around twelve poles, eleven of which are adorned with skulls that spit flames and glare at the rare passerby, and at all other times, they shout and shriek.

Of Baba Yaga herself, who is rarely seen, it is known that she is emaciated like a skeleton and of great stature, and that when she hunches her back and knees, her head touches the roof of her hut; and that her nose and teeth are long and sharp, and that her fingernails and teeth are made of iron.

Of the many forms of Baba Yaga, the most common are these, the serpent, the frog, the pig, and the dismembered goat which hangs on the rack of her hut, whose appendages it is said, she uses in her divinations.

Of the relations of Baba Yaga, it is known that they are beautiful women who are forever longing for the company of men whom they seduce with food and wine and their own bodies until the midnight hour in the hut of their mother, and that after this time, the man is not seen again among the Rus.

And it is known that on the day of his return from Polotsk, the Veliky Knyaz [Radoslav] spotted a versta outside the walls of Kyiv, two women and a hut, which two months before had not been there, and taking five boyars with him, rode out and entered the hut with the two women, and along with the five boyars was not seen again among the Rus.

And the chaos, which was general and great, was ended with the succession of the previous Veliky Knyaz [Semislav], who in the governance of men was wholly unlike his successor.



Of Semislav, the stories tell it that when he was twelve years of age and brought before his grandfather, who was Constantine Monomachos and emperor of the Romans before Michael, the old man on his throne, who was sixty years of age, uttered not the name of his grandchild by way of his daughter, but the name of Cyrus who gave the Persians their empire - and thereafter it was acknowledged by the Rus and Greche that Semislav was none other than Cyrus.

And in his governance of men, Semislav was the very embodiment of magnanimity and benevolence and at all other times, the very pillar of the state; and resting upon his shoulders, the whole of Rus became united, and unburdening himself temporarily until now, the whole of Rus became divided.

Of Semislavs' decision to unburden himself, the stories tell it that when one of the orphan boys of Kyiv was twelve years of age and brought before him, who was Veliky Knyaz of the whole of the Rus before Radoslav, the old man on his throne, who was sixty years of age, uttered not the name of the orphan which had been given, but the name of Alexander who took from the Persians their empire - and thereafter it was acknowledged by the Rus and Greche that the orphan boy was none other than Alexander.

And the boy took up the name of the father of Semislav who adopted him, and for the remainder of his life, Semislav raised him in the manner of Philip after Alexander; and in his leadership of men, Sudivoi was the very embodiment of strength and bravery, and at all other times, the very pillar of the state; and resting upon his shoulders, the whole of Rus became mighty.



And of the many hundreds of battles which he fought, we know the earliest to have occurred not long after the disappearance and presumed death of Radoslav, where Sudivoi, accompanied by his adoptive father, laid siege to Halych, which had been occupied at the time by a large contingency of the Dregovichi.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

I like the mysterious disappearance of Radoslav!

The story of Sudivoi is also intriguing, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about him.

I agree with Alwyn that the map is very helpful. Thank you!

(I notice you're planning to do some editing once you reach 25 posts. When I started out, I found a helpful way of getting closer to that 25-post target was to post comments on other people's AARs. It's amazing how quickly the posts can mount up if you do that - and you get to read some great stories while you're doing it!)

[Ostlich]

Save game got wrecked TT

SSHIP wasn't as stable as I thought, I guess that's the end of this AAR.

I'll probably start another one if I have the time.