2025, vol. 13, no. 3. Aksanov A.V., Kozlov S.A.

2025, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 552-562

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2025-13-3.552-562

EDN: https://elibrary.ru/IHIAXG

   THE REFLECTION OF THE TURKIC EPIC TRADITION
IN THE CHRONICLE IMAGE OF PRINCE SVYATOSLAV IGOREVICH

A.V. Aksanov 1,2 * , S.A. Kozlov 2
1 Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences
Kazan, Russian Federation
2 Tyumen State University
Tyumen, Russian Federation
* aksanov571@gmail.com

Abstract. Research objectives: To examine elements of the Turkic epic tradition in the chronicle image of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich.
Research materials: Historiographic sources, Russian chronicles, historical works, Turkic epics.
Results and research novelty: The image of Prince Svyatoslav, represented in the Old and Late Russian chronicles, was influenced by various ethnocultural impulses, the most studied of which are Scandinavian and Slavic elements. Steppe (Turkic) elements have traditionally received less attention which is due both to the lower prevalence of the Turkic-language sources proper, including epics, in the general body of medieval historical evidence about early Rus’, and the general marginalization of the Steppe in the context of Old Russian history. As the analysis showed, the chronicle portrait of Svyatoslav as a warrior-hero incorporated a number of features characteristic of steppe nomads, which find analogies in the epic tales of the Turkic peoples. A special analogy is provided by a silver dish with scenes from “the Epic of Svyatoslav”, discovered in the Lower Ob region in 2009. According to its technological, iconographic, and decorative features, the dish dates back to the time of Svyatoslav himself or the first decades after his death, i.e. the last third of the 10th to the early 11th century. It presumably originates from the Turkic milieu: Volga-Bulgar or Pecheneg. These analogies once again testify to the existence of stable ties between the Rus’ and the Steppe and the important military, political and socio-cultural role of the Turkic nomads in the development of the Old Russian state of Svyatoslav. It is difficult to say how well the Russian scribes of the 12th–16th centuries were acquainted. They were aware of the connection of the considered chronicle descriptions of Svyatoslav with the Turkic epic tradition. But, apparently, during all this period, such a description of Svyatoslav and his lifestyle did not make the prince alien to East Slavic culture.

Keywords: Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich, Old Rus’, Turkic epics (dastans), chronicles, The Great Steppe, Turkic-Slavic ties, the image of a warrior ruler

For citation: Aksanov A.V., Kozlov S.A. Reflection of the Turkic epic tradition in the chronicle image of Prince Svyatoslav Igorevich. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2025, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 552–562. https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2025-13-3.552-562 (In Russian)

Financial Support: The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant № 23-28-01793, https://rscf.ru/project/23-28-01793/.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Anvar V. Aksanov – Cand. Sci. (History), Senior Research Fellow, Usmanov Center for Research on the Golden Horde and Tatar Khanates, Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (7, Baturin Str., Kazan 420111, Russian Federation); Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Urban Studies, Tyumen State University (6, Volodarsky Str., Tyumen 625003, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0001-8970-5880, ResearcherID: K-2763-2017; Scopus Author ID: 57200985036; SPIN code: 5012-4497.
E-mail: aksanov571@gmail.com

Sergei A. Kozlov – Cand. Sci. (History), Head of the Urban Studies Center, Tyumen State University (6, Volodarsky St., Tyumen 625003, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0003-2756-3623, ResearcherID: L-4459-2016; Scopus Author ID: 56239636900; SPIN code: 3174-7891. E-mail: s.a.kozlov@utmn.ru

 Received  12.05.2025
Revised  01.08.2025
Accepted  25.08.2025