Igor, Grand Prince of Kiev
Igor was a
Varangian ruler of
Kievan Rus from 912 to 945. Very little is known about him from the Primary Chronicle. It has been speculated that the chroniclers chose not to enlarge on his reign, as the region was dominated by
Khazaria at that time. That he was
Rurik's son is also questioned on chronological grounds.
He twice besieged
Constantinople, in 941 and 944, and in spite of his fleet being destroyed by
Greek fire, concluded with the Emperor a favourable treaty whose text is preserved in the chronicle. In 913 and 944, the Rus plundered the Arabs in the
Caspian Sea and laid siege to the capital of Albania .
Encyclopedia
Igor was a
Varangian ruler of
Kievan Rus from 912 to 945. Very little is known about him from the Primary Chronicle. It has been speculated that the chroniclers chose not to enlarge on his reign, as the region was dominated by
Khazaria at that time. That he was
Rurik's son is also questioned on chronological grounds.
He twice besieged
Constantinople, in 941 and 944, and in spite of his fleet being destroyed by
Greek fire, concluded with the Emperor a favourable treaty whose text is preserved in the chronicle. In 913 and 944, the Rus plundered the Arabs in the
Caspian Sea and laid siege to the capital of Albania . It is not clear whether Igor had anything to do with this campaign, or it may have been an independent group of
Varangians. Igor was killed while collecting tribute from the Drevlians in 945 and revenged by his wife,
Olga of Kiev. The Primary Chronicle blames his death on his own excessive greed, indicating that he was attempting to collect tribute a second time in a month.
