Military of Kievan Rus'

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This article is about the armed forces of
Rus' principalities after 1240, see Armies of the Rus' principalities
.

Druzhyna: princely cavalry.

The military of Kievan Rus' served as the armed forces of Kievan Rus' between the 9th to 13th century. It was mainly characterised by infantry armies of town militia that were supported by druzhyna cavalry.

Composition

Warriors of Vsevolod I of Kiev (11th century)

Tribal militia known as

Svyatoslav I of Kiev and Volodimer I of Kiev, druzhyna played a dominant role.[3] It consisted of senior members – the boyars – along with the rank-and-file ‘youths’ ("otroki").[citation needed
]

The regiments of city militia, raised by the decision of the veche,[4] were formed in the 11th century. These regiments received weapons and horses for a campaign from the prince.[citation needed]

Tactics and equipment

Rider armour and horse equipment. Iron, 12th–13th centuries, Lypovets, Vinnytsia Oblast, mound 264, military burial. Hermitage Museum.

Before

heavy armour was used, mostly Scandinavian-style.[6] However, these squads, as a rule, did not exceed the number of several hundred men, and were unsuitable for united actions under a single command.[7]

At the same time, the main part of the Kievan Rus' army was the militia infantry. It was inferior to druzhyna in armament and the ability to own it. The militia used axes and hunting spears ("rogatina"). Swords were rarely used, and they had no armour other than plain clothes and fur hats.[5]

For the

tradesmen, numbers are uncertain. The only specific numbers mentioned for the Rus are 1,700 men of Evpaty Kolovrat[8] (The Tale of the Destruction of Ryazan) and 3,000, men under Voivode Dorozh [9] (Battle of the Sit River). However, these were exceptionally large numbers for Rus standards at the time. In 1242, Prince Alexander Nevski in Novgorod could muster no more than 1,000 druzhyna and 2,000 militia for the Battle on the Ice.[10] So, it is safe to estimate that, on average, a Rus' prince had hundreds of warriors in his retinue, rather than thousands.[citation needed
]

Legacy

Main article: Armies of the Rus' principalities

During the

Mongol military tactics and organization. While militia infantry still existed, they were, from the 14th century onward, mostly armed with ranged weapons, and delegated auxiliary duties, such as defending cities.[12]

See also

References

  1. OCLC 216653180
    .
  2. ^ Perrie 2006, p. 58.
  3. ^ Perrie 2006, p. 81.
  4. ^ Perrie 2006, p. 83.
  5. ^
    OCLC 56858783.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  6. ^ Perrie 2006, p. 54.
  7. OCLC 1003145949.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  8. ^ "Никифоровская летопись. Никифорівський літопис. Том 35. Литовсько-білоруські літописи". litopys.org.ua. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Новгородская летопись". krotov.info. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  10. OCLC 38550301
    .
  11. ^ Perrie 2006.
  12. ^ Perrie 2006, p. 218.

Bibliography

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