Battle of the Alta River
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Alta River was a 1068 clash on the Alta River
between Kipchak army on the one hand and Kievan Rus'
forces of Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev
, Prince Sviatoslav
of Chernigov, and Prince Vsevolod
of Periaslavl
on the other in which the Rus' forces were routed and fled back to Kiev and Chernigov in some disarray. The battle led to an uprising in Kiev that briefly deposed Grand Prince Iziaslav. That incident supposedly shows the power of the Kiev veche
and how common people gathering influenced princely politics in Kievan Rus' (particularly in Kiev as well as Novgorod the Great.)
The Kipchaks were first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle as Polovtsy sometime around 1055, when Prince Vsevolod drew up a peace treaty with them. In spite of the treaty, in 1061, Kipchaks supposedly breached the earthworks and palisades constructed by Princes Vladimir
(d. 1015) and Yaroslav (d. 1054) and defeated an army led by Prince Vsevolod that had marched out to intercept them. Following the unsuccessful Battle on the Alta River near the city of Pereiaslavl, Iziaslav and Vsevolod fled back to Kiev and their unwillingness to arm the general populace to march out and fight the raiders led to an uprising in the city. A veche
(public assembly) was convened on unknown initiative in the marketplace and the people there demanded arms to fight the Kipchaks. When these were not forthcoming, they ransacked the house of voivode Konstantin. The Kievans freed Prince Vseslav of Polotsk
, who had been imprisoned earlier by Iziaslav, Vsevolod, and Sviatoslav, and placed him on the Kievan throne in hopes that he could stop Kipchaks. Iziaslav, for his part, fled to his father-in-law, Boleslaw II of Poland, who provided him a military support with which Iziaslav returned to Kiev the following May (1069) and took back the throne.
In Iziaslav's absence, Prince Sviatoslav managed to defeat a much larger Kipchak army on November 1, 1068 and stem the tide of Kipchak raids. A small skirmish in 1071 was the only disturbance by the Kipchaks for the next two decades. Thus, while the Battle of Alta River was a disgrace for Kievan Rus', Sviatoslav's victory the following year relieved the Kipchak's threat to Kiev and Chernigov for a considerable period.
Alta River
Alta River is a small river in Ukraine and is a right tributary of the Trubizh River. The ancient town of Pereyaslav is situated between the Trubizh and Alta rivers....
between Kipchak army on the one hand and Kievan 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....
forces of Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev
Iziaslav I of Kiev
Iziaslav Yaroslavich , Kniaz' , Veliki Kniaz of Kiev , King of Rus'...
, Prince Sviatoslav
Sviatoslav II of Kiev
Sviatoslav Iaroslavich was the Prince of Chernihiv from 1054 to 1073 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 1073 until his death...
of Chernigov, and Prince Vsevolod
Vsevolod I of Kiev
Vsevolod I Yaroslavich , ruled as Grand Prince of Kiev from 1078 until his death.-Early life:...
of Periaslavl
Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi
Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi is a town located where Alta River flows into Trubizh River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi Raion , the town itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
on the other in which the Rus' forces were routed and fled back to Kiev and Chernigov in some disarray. The battle led to an uprising in Kiev that briefly deposed Grand Prince Iziaslav. That incident supposedly shows the power of the Kiev veche
Veche
Veche was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries.In Novgorod, where the veche acquired the greatest prominence, the veche was broadly similar to the Norse thing or the Swiss Landsgemeinde.-Etymology:...
and how common people gathering influenced princely politics in Kievan Rus' (particularly in Kiev as well as Novgorod the Great.)
The Kipchaks were first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle as Polovtsy sometime around 1055, when Prince Vsevolod drew up a peace treaty with them. In spite of the treaty, in 1061, Kipchaks supposedly breached the earthworks and palisades constructed by Princes Vladimir
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
(d. 1015) and Yaroslav (d. 1054) and defeated an army led by Prince Vsevolod that had marched out to intercept them. Following the unsuccessful Battle on the Alta River near the city of Pereiaslavl, Iziaslav and Vsevolod fled back to Kiev and their unwillingness to arm the general populace to march out and fight the raiders led to an uprising in the city. A veche
Veche
Veche was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries.In Novgorod, where the veche acquired the greatest prominence, the veche was broadly similar to the Norse thing or the Swiss Landsgemeinde.-Etymology:...
(public assembly) was convened on unknown initiative in the marketplace and the people there demanded arms to fight the Kipchaks. When these were not forthcoming, they ransacked the house of voivode Konstantin. The Kievans freed Prince Vseslav of Polotsk
Vseslav of Polotsk
Vseslav of Polotsk , also known as Vseslav the Sorcerer or Vseslav the Seer, was the most famous ruler of Polotsk and was briefly Grand Prince of Kiev in 1068–1069. Together with Rostislav Vladimirovich and voivode Vyshata made up a coalition against the Yaroslaviches triumvirate...
, who had been imprisoned earlier by Iziaslav, Vsevolod, and Sviatoslav, and placed him on the Kievan throne in hopes that he could stop Kipchaks. Iziaslav, for his part, fled to his father-in-law, Boleslaw II of Poland, who provided him a military support with which Iziaslav returned to Kiev the following May (1069) and took back the throne.
In Iziaslav's absence, Prince Sviatoslav managed to defeat a much larger Kipchak army on November 1, 1068 and stem the tide of Kipchak raids. A small skirmish in 1071 was the only disturbance by the Kipchaks for the next two decades. Thus, while the Battle of Alta River was a disgrace for Kievan Rus', Sviatoslav's victory the following year relieved the Kipchak's threat to Kiev and Chernigov for a considerable period.