Boz (king)
Boz | |
---|---|
King of the Antes | |
Reign | late 4th century |
Predecessor | Unknown |
Successor | Unknown |
Died | c. 380 |
Issue | eight sons |
Religion | Slavic paganism |
Boz (died c. 380) was the king of the
History
Background
Byzantine historian
Jordanes mentioned three tribes of the same origin, that constituted the Slavs: Wends (
Story of Boz
The Huns, accompanied by the Alani whom they had just conquered, invaded Ermanaric's territories.[9] Ermanaric, who feared devastation, took his own life.[9] In the years following Ermanaric's death, there was a war between the section of the Ostrogoths who remained under Hun rule, and the Antes.[10]
Ermanaric's great-nephew, Vinitharius, who disliked being under Hun rule, withdrew his forces and marched against the Antes in order to defeat them and to show his courage.[11] This took place in the last quarter of the 4th century,[12] possibly around 380.[7] Boz, the king of the Antes (rex Antorum), had organized an alliance to defend the Antes,[7] and managed to defeat Vinitharius in their first encounters, however, Vinitharius fought valiantly and managed to capture and crucify Boz, together with his sons and 70 of his chiefs (primates).[12][13] Vinitharius left their bodies hanging to induce fear in those who had surrendered.[13] These conflicts constitute the only pre-6th century contacts between Germanics and Slavs documented in written sources.[14]
Aftermath
Afterwards, the Alans (according to contemporary
Assessment
Historian Florin Curta believes that Jordanes' account regarding Boz and Vinitharius possibly originated in the Gothic oral tradition, given the narrative pattern of the story.[16] He views of Boz as "quasi-legendary", as he is the only Slavic leader mentioned by Jordanes, while no leader is mentioned by Procopius.[17]
Some historians have tried to identify Boz with Bus mentioned in the
Jordanes wrote his name in Late Latin as Boz ("Boz nomine"), though several manuscripts of the Getica use Box or Booz.[22] There are various theories in etymological studies regarding the name.
The name has been rendered in the
His title, rex Antorum, translates to "King of the Antes".[27] Ukrainian historian Mykola Andrusiak (1902–1985) assumed, as Jordanes used rex for both Germanic rulers and the ruler of the Antes, that the Eastern Slavs had adopted "*kuning-" from the Goths and Slavicized it into "kǔnędzǐ" (knyaz), translated by Jordanes as "rex".[28]
References
- ^ Curta 2001, p. 39.
- ^ a b Maenchen-Helfen 1973, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Curta 2001, p. 39; AUGB 1962, p. 35
- ^ Chirovsky 1976, p. 85.
- ^ Curta 2001, p. 115.
- ^ a b c Smal-Stocki 1950, p. 67.
- ^ a b c AUGB 1962, p. 35.
- ^ Kobylinski 2005, p. 530.
- ^ a b Ammianus Marcellinus. "3". In Thayer, Bill (ed.). The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus - Book 31. Vol. 3. Translated by J. C. Rolfe.
- ^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, pp. 24–25; Hrushevsky 1997, p. 124
- ^ Hrushevsky 1997, p. 124.
- ^ a b Hrushevsky 1997, pp. 134, 281
- ^ a b Geary 2010, pp. 101–102
- ^ Instytut Zachodni (1988). Polish Western affairs. Vol. 29. Instytut Zachodni. p. 174.
- ^ a b George Vernadsky (1959). The Origins of Russia. Clarendon Press. p. 72.
- ^ Curta 2001, p. 41.
- ^ Curta 2001, pp. 117–118.
- ^ a b Hrushevsky 1997, p. 134.
- ISBN 9780765612465.
- ^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, pp. 24–25; Hrushevsky 1997, p. 134; Zupanič 1961, pp. 121–122
- ^ a b Struminskyj 1980, p. 789.
- ISBN 978-2-503-53125-0.
All efforts to etymologize King Boz's name assume that that (Boz) was truly his name. However, several manuscripts of Jordanes's Getica give slightly different spellings (box or even booz), which leaves room for many other possible interpretations. ...
- ^ JIES 1985, p. 204.
- ^ a b c Lukaszewicz 1998, p. 130.
- ^ a b Struminskyj 1980, p. 788–789.
- ^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 25.
- ^ Maenchen-Helfen 1973, p. 25; Hrushevsky 1997, pp. 134, 281; JIES 1985, p. 204
- JSTOR 4204660,
Jordanes used the title "rex" for both Germanic "kuning" and the ruler of the Antes. It is fair to assume that already at that time the Eastern Slavs had taken from the Goths the title "*kuning-" for a ruler and had slavicised it to "kǔnędzǐ" (Ukr. knyaz); consequently, the Old Church Slavonic "kǔnędzǐ" was translated by Jordanes as "rex".
Sources
- "Journal of Indo-European Studies". 13. 1985: 204.
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (1962). "The Ukrainian review". The Ukrainian Review. 10. Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain. OCLC 1779352.
- Chirovsky, Nicholas L. (1976). On the Historical Beginnings of Eastern Slavic Europe: Readings. Shevchenko Scientific Society. p. 85.
- ISBN 0-521-80202-4.
- Kobylinski, Zbigniew (2005). "The Slavs". In Fouracre, Paul (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 1: c.500–c.700. Cambridge University Press. pp. 524–546. ISBN 978-0-521-36291-7.
- Lukaszewicz, Adam (1998). "De Sclavinis et sclavis…". Dialogues d'histoire ancienne (in French). 24 (2): 129–135. .
- ISBN 978-1-4426-0116-1.
- ISBN 978-1-895571-19-6.
- ISBN 978-0-520-01596-8.
- Smal-Stocki, Roman (1950). Slavs and Teutons: the oldest Germanic-Slavic relations. Bruce. p. 67.
- Struminskyj, Bohdan (1980). "Were the Antes Eastern Slavs?" (PDF). Harvard Ukrainian Studies. 3–4 (2): 788–789. JSTOR 41035872. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2015-12-20. Retrieved 2015-11-05.
Further reading
- Jordanes (551). Getica (in Latin).
- Rozov, V. (1929). "Boz, rex Antorum". Byzantinoslavica (in Russian). 1.
- Zupanič, Niko (1961). "Boz rex Antorum. A Historical and Ethnographical Contribution to the First Political Act of the Slavs in History". Situla. IV. Ljubljana: 91–122.
External links
- Mierow, Charles C. (1915). "Jordanes Describes the Goths' Entry and Wanderings in the Roman Empire". Jordanes, the Origins and Deeds of the Goths, ed. 2. Princeton University Press: 65–93. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- Pritsak, Omeljan (1982). "Gli Slavi occidentali e meridionali nell'alto medioevo". Settimane di Studio del Centro Italiano di Studi Sull'alto Medioevo, XXX, 1983. PRESSO LA SEDE DEL CENTRO: 353–435.