Early Russian history

Ive always been under the impression that the word Russia comes from the word Rus, that was what the Slavic and Baltic people called (still do in some languages) Swedish vikings (Svear) from the region of 'Roslagen' that lies in Svealand (Sweden).

Styrbiorn, in the links provided by Philhellene there are analyse of word "Rus" and "Ros".  (For example, if we translate into russian: russian - russkij, Russia - Rossija) There is shown that the word "Rus",with greater possibility, come from the name of Swedish vikings, but the word "Ros"  come from Bizantium. The theory is next: Assosiation of Rus to Ros in Bizantium was based on mythical peoples -  Ros, which could come to sirian-bizantium historical tradition , because of noncorrect traslation of phrase from Old Testament Ezekiel book (word duke-leader. old. hebrew "rosh"). This "knowledge" about barbaric northern peoples Ros(widely distributed in context of legend about Gog and Magog), for example was used by patriarch Fotiy when Constantinople was sieged by Rus' in 860: " People come from northern country, going like to another Ierusalim ..". So , from IX century in in Bizantium documentation and later in greek language we could find name "Ros" instead of "Rus'". 

Originally posted by John Lenon Styrbiorn, in the links provided by Philhellene there are analyse of word "Rus" and "Ros".  (For example, if we translate into russian: russian - russkij, Russia - Rossija) There is shown that the word "Rus",with greater possibility, come from the name of Swedish vikings, but the word "Ros"  come from Bizantium. The theory is next: Assosiation of Rus to Ros in Bizantium was based on mythical peoples -  Ros, which could come to sirian-bizantium historical tradition , because of noncorrect traslation of phrase from Old Testament Ezekiel book (word duke-leader. old. hebrew "rosh"). This "knowledge" about barbaric northern peoples Ros(widely distributed in context of legend about Gog and Magog), for example was used by patriarch Fotiy when Constantinople was sieged by Rus' in 860: " People come from northern country, going like to another Ierusalim ..". So , from IX century in in Bizantium documentation and later in greek language we could find name "Ros" instead of "Rus'".

Scytho-Sarmatian,  I did't hear about it . Give pls some info.

Styrbiorn, it just a theory. But Estonian and Finnish

Edited by John Lenon - 19-Oct-2006 at 04:11

Originally posted by BigL   The word Slaves comes from Slav people because they were constanty stolen by the Khazars who sold them to the Middle East as slaves.

Originally posted by pebbles Slav is the " root word " for slave in English,its meaning appropriately correlates to socially-entrenched serfdom in Russia for many centuries.

The word itself derives from the Latin word sclavus, which in turn derives from Greek sklavos, both of them meaning "Slav" in the sense of the Slavic people. In old German the word gained its connotation with slavery through German expansion into eastern Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries, which put so many Slavs in circulation in the slave trade that the name of the people became synomous with slavery. This connotation spread to other Germanic-speaking areas with time, in England for example the word "slave" is first registered in 1280, written "sclave" in Middle English.

Its as simple as that and the kievan rus was founded by the ruriks....

Also Ukrainans come from Ruriks and Russians come from Romanovs....

I took a liberty to modify Masterminds map a little bit. It's much more inline with chronology and origins of the Rus'. Rus' did not start in Kiev but in southern shores of Lake Ladoga.



Modern Rurikids have been DNA tested for their direct paternal origins. They belong to haplogroup N1c1. Their paternal homeland was somewhere in modern day Finland (not very surprising considering the location of Rus' Khaganate).

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/rurikid/default.aspx?section=results

Originally posted by Sarmat Yes, Mastermind's map is incorrect. Ancient Rus history starts in Novgorod not in Kiev. It's only later that Riurikids come down to Kiev from their homeland of Novgorod and establish their rule there.

Not in Novgorod!! In Aldeigjuborg (Staraya Ladoga).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rus%27_Khaganate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staraya_Ladoga

Rus' of Ladoga (lake Ladoga was called Neva-lake back then, as is the Neva-river streaming from Ladoga to Gulf of Finland even today) were allready mentioned in Frankish annals (Annals of St. Bernin) allready in 838 AD. Spanish Moor Al-Yakubi wrote down about Rus' attack in Sevilla 842 AD.

The Rus' were very much reality long before Novgorod existed. Roots of the Rus' are in the shores of Ladoga. Novgorod was established around ~ 860 AD, as a proper town only from ~900 onwards.

Aldeigjuborg (oldest strata is around early-mid-8th century) was allready over hundred years old market town at that point. As was Alaborg, another domain of the Rus', located at the mouth of river Syas (Syväjoki, deep river is the original finnic form).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaborg