Stone of Tmutarakan
Encyclopedia
The Stone of Tmutarakan is a marble slab engraved with the words "In the year 6576 [ A.M., 1068 A.D] the sixth of the Indiction
, Prince Gleb measured across the sea on the ice from Tmutarakan
to Kerch
14,000 sazhen" («В лето 6576 индикта 6 Глеб князь мерил море по леду от Тмутороканя до Корчева 14000 сажен»).
A sazhen, an old Rus
unit of length, was equal to seven feet (or roughly corresponding to a fathom
); thus the Kerch Straits, according to the stone, were 88,000 feet or 18.5 miles across (that is, from Kerch to Tmutarakan
— the straits themselves are only 4.5 miles wide at their narrowest, but from site of Tmutarakan to modern-day Kerch is about 15 miles.) The tenth-century Byzantine
Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus wrote that the straits were the equivalent of 18 miles across, and this may explain why that measurement appears on the stone, although it is unclear if an eleventh century prince in Rus would have had access to that information; this uncertainty calls the stone's authenticity into question.
The Prince Gleb referred to in the inscription was Gleb Svyatoslavich, then prince of Tmutarakan. Gleb was later Prince of Novgorod the Great, where he saved Bishop Fedor's life by chopping a sorcerer in half who led a pagan uprising against the bishop. Gleb was eventually killed fighting pagan Finnic tribes in the northern Novgorodian Lands ("the Zavoloch'e" or "Za Volokom", "the Land Beyond the Portages") on May 30, 1079.
The stone was discovered on the Taman Peninsula
just east of Crimea
in 1792 and the inscription was first published in 1794 by Aleksei Musin-Pushkin
. The study of the inscription is said to be the first epigraphic study in Russian history. In spite of its importance in the history of Russian epigraphy, a number of scholars have called the stone's provenance into question and consider the stone an eighteenth-century forgery, perhaps done by Romanticists enamored of ancient culture or even as an effort to find precedent for Russian involvement in the Caucasus
. The stone is currently housed in the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.
Indiction
An indiction is any of the years in a 15-year cycle used to date medieval documents throughout Europe, both East and West. Each year of a cycle was numbered: first indiction, second indiction, etc...
, Prince Gleb measured across the sea on the ice from Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan was a Mediaeval Russian principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Its site was the ancient Greek colony of Hermonassa . It was situated on the Taman peninsula, in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia,...
to Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
14,000 sazhen" («В лето 6576 индикта 6 Глеб князь мерил море по леду от Тмутороканя до Корчева 14000 сажен»).
A sazhen, an old Rus
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
unit of length, was equal to seven feet (or roughly corresponding to a fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
); thus the Kerch Straits, according to the stone, were 88,000 feet or 18.5 miles across (that is, from Kerch to Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan was a Mediaeval Russian principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Its site was the ancient Greek colony of Hermonassa . It was situated on the Taman peninsula, in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia,...
— the straits themselves are only 4.5 miles wide at their narrowest, but from site of Tmutarakan to modern-day Kerch is about 15 miles.) The tenth-century Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus wrote that the straits were the equivalent of 18 miles across, and this may explain why that measurement appears on the stone, although it is unclear if an eleventh century prince in Rus would have had access to that information; this uncertainty calls the stone's authenticity into question.
The Prince Gleb referred to in the inscription was Gleb Svyatoslavich, then prince of Tmutarakan. Gleb was later Prince of Novgorod the Great, where he saved Bishop Fedor's life by chopping a sorcerer in half who led a pagan uprising against the bishop. Gleb was eventually killed fighting pagan Finnic tribes in the northern Novgorodian Lands ("the Zavoloch'e" or "Za Volokom", "the Land Beyond the Portages") on May 30, 1079.
The stone was discovered on the Taman Peninsula
Taman peninsula
The Taman Peninsula is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia. It is bounded on the north by the Sea of Azov, on the west by the Strait of Kerch and on the south by the Black Sea. The peninsula has evolved over the past two millennia from a chain of islands into the peninsula it is...
just east of Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
in 1792 and the inscription was first published in 1794 by Aleksei Musin-Pushkin
Aleksei Musin-Pushkin
Aleksei Ivanovich Musin-Pushkin , count since 1797, statesman, historian and art collector. Musin-Pushkin is credited with discovering in Yaroslavl the manuscript The Tale of Igor's Campaign...
. The study of the inscription is said to be the first epigraphic study in Russian history. In spite of its importance in the history of Russian epigraphy, a number of scholars have called the stone's provenance into question and consider the stone an eighteenth-century forgery, perhaps done by Romanticists enamored of ancient culture or even as an effort to find precedent for Russian involvement in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. The stone is currently housed in the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.