912: Oleg's Treaty with the Greeks and His Death

In the year 6420. Oleg sent his men to conclude a peace and to lay down terms between the Greeks and Rus', and sent them with this word:

“A copy of another agreement, made under those same emperors, Leo and Alexander. We of the Rus' kin—Karl, Inegeld, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Gudy, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Fost, Stemir—sent by Oleg, grand prince of Rus', and by all who are under his hand, the bright boyars, to you, Leo, and Alexander, and Constantine, great autocrats in God, emperors of the Greeks, for the holding fast and the declaring of the love that for many years has been between the Christians and Rus', by the desire of our princes and by the command of all the Rus' who are under his hand. Our brightness, above others who wish to keep and make known in God such love as has many times been between the Christians and Rus', has judged it right to declare and confirm this love, not by bare words alone but in writing and with a firm oath, having sworn upon our weapons, according to our faith and according to our law.

“This then, because we have bound ourselves in God's faith and love, are the chapters: by the first word, let us be at peace with you, Greeks, and love one another with all our soul and all our will, and not allow—so far as lies in our will—any of those who are under the hand of our bright princes to fall into any offense or guilt. But we will strive, so far as we are able, to keep for all the years to come, with you, Greeks, the love we declare by confession and in writing and with an oath—a love unturning and without shame. And do you also, Greeks, keep such love toward our bright princes of Rus' and toward all who are under the hand of our bright prince, without offense and without change, always and in all years.

“And concerning the chapters on which any trouble may arise, let us settle it thus: whatever is openly shown with clear proofs, of such a showing let there be firm belief; and him who will not give belief, let the party which demands the belief put to its oath; and when they have sworn according to their faith, let the penalty be as the offense is made plain.

“On this: if a Rus' kills a Christian, or a Christian a Rus', let him die on the spot where he commits the murder. And if the murderer flees, and still has property, let the nearest kinsman of the slain man take his portion—that is, whatever of his falls due by law—and the wife of the murderer shall keep her due, and the rest shall abide according to the law. And if the one who did the killing has no property and has fled, let him stand under pursuit until he is found, and then let him die.

“And if one strikes with a sword, or beats with any vessel whatever, for that striking or beating let him pay 5 pounds of silver, according to the law of Rus'; and if the one who did it has no means, let him pay as much as he is able, and let even the very clothes he goes in be taken from him, and for the rest let him swear upon his own faith that no other can help him pay, and from that time the claim shall be pursued no further.

“On this: if a Rus' steals anything from a Christian, or a Christian from a Rus', and the thief is caught at the very moment of the theft by the one from whom he would take it, and he makes ready to carry out the theft, he shall be slain, and his death shall not be avenged, neither by Christians nor by Rus'; but let the owner rather take back his own, what was lost of his. And if the thief gives himself into his hands, let him be seized by him from whom the theft was made, and bound, and let him give back what he had the face to do, and repay it threefold.

“On this: if a Rus' inflicts upon a Christian, or a Christian upon a Rus', torment in the manner of torture and open violence, or takes anything of another's by force, let him repay it threefold.

“And if a boat is cast by a great wind upon a foreign land, and any of us, Rus', are found there, then, if one comes to refit the boat with his goods and to send it back to the Christian land, let us escort it through every perilous place, until it comes to a place of safety. If such a boat, by storm or by being grounded, cannot return to its own places, then we, Rus', will take to the oars of that boat with her crew and bring her safe with her goods. If it happens near the Greek land, then, if the like misfortune befalls a boat of the Rus', let us escort her into the land of Rus', and let the goods of that boat be sold, and whatever can be sold from the boat, we, Rus', will carry through for them. And when we go to […] the Greeks, whether to trade or on an embassy to your emperor, let us let pass in honor the goods of their boats that have been sold. And if it happens that anyone of that boat is slain or struck by us, Rus', or anything is taken, let those who did it be liable to the penalty spoken of before.

“If a captive is held on either side—of the Rus' or of the Greeks—and is sold into another land: should a Rus' or a Greek find him there, let them ransom him and return the ransomed person to his own land, and let the buyers take back their price, or let the price that was paid for the servant be reckoned into the purchase. So too, if one taken in war is held by the Greeks, let him likewise return to his own land, and his price be given back, as has been said, according to the purchase.

“And when there is need to go to war, when you make your levy, and these wish to do honor to your emperor, then at whatever time they come, as many as come, and wish to remain with your emperor of their own will, let them remain.

“Of the Rus', of captivity. Many times those who come to Rus' from any land whatever and are sold into slavery among Christians, and likewise Christians taken captive many times, coming from any land whatever to Rus', are sold—these for 20 pieces of gold—and so may come on into Greece.

“On this: if a servant of the Rus' is stolen, or runs away, or is sold by force, and the Rus' begin to complain, then, when this is made plain concerning the servant, let them take him back into Rus'. So too, if merchants lose a servant and complain, let them search, and what is found, let them have. And if anyone in the place will not allow this inquiry to be made, let him lose his right.

“Of the Rus' who serve in Greece under the Christian emperor: if one of them dies without having settled his property, and has none of his own kin there, let his property be sent back to his nearest kinsmen in Rus'. But if he has made such a settlement, let him whom he has written to inherit his property take what has been settled, and let him inherit it.

“Of the Rus' who engage in trade.

“Of the various men who go to Greece and linger there: if an evildoer does not return to Rus', let the Rus' complain to the Christian empire, and let such a man be seized and returned to Rus', willing or unwilling. And let the Rus' do all these things toward the Greeks, wherever such a thing should occur.

“And for the confirming and the unshaken standing of the peace between you, Christians, and Rus', we have wrought it by the writing of John, upon two charters—of your emperor and by our own hand—set forth before the precious cross and the holy consubstantial Trinity, the one true God of your faith, to declare and to give to our envoys. And we swore to your emperor, whom God has established, as creatures of God, according to the law and the custom of our tongue, that neither we nor any from our land would transgress the fixed chapters of peace and love. And such a writing have we given to your empire, that both sides may hold this agreement firm, for the confirming and the declaring of the peace that is between us. In the month of September, on the 2nd, indiction the 15th, in the year of the creation of the world 6420.”

And Emperor Leo honored the envoys of Rus' with gifts—gold, and silks, and robes of honor—and set men of his own to show them the beauty of the churches, and the golden palaces, and the riches within them: much gold, and silks, and precious stones, and the Passion of the Lord—the crown, and the nails, and the crimson robe—and the relics of the saints, instructing them in his faith and showing them the true faith. And so he sent them away to their own land with great honor. And the envoys sent by Oleg came to Oleg and told him all the words of the two emperors: how they had made peace, and laid down terms between the Greek land and the land of Rus', and sworn oaths that neither the Greeks nor the Rus' would transgress them.

And Oleg lived, holding peace with all lands, and ruled as prince in Kyiv. And autumn came, and Oleg remembered his horse, which he had set apart to be fed and never to be ridden. For he had once asked the sorcerers and magicians: “Of what shall I die?” And one magician said to him: “Prince! The horse you love and ride—from it you are destined to die.” And Oleg took this to heart and said: “I will never mount that horse, nor look upon it again.” And he commanded that it be fed and never brought to him, and several years passed without his seeing it, until he went against the Greeks. And when he had come back to Kyiv and 4 years had passed, in the 5th year he remembered his horse, of which the sorcerers had said he was to die. And he summoned the chief of his grooms and said: “Where is my horse, which I set apart to be fed and kept?” He answered: “He is dead.” And Oleg laughed and reviled the magician, saying: “The sorcerers speak falsely; it is all a lie—the horse is dead, and I am alive.” And he ordered his horse saddled: “Let me see his bones.” And he rode to the place where the bare bones lay and the bare skull, and dismounting he laughed and said: “From this skull am I to take my death?” And he set his foot upon the skull, and a serpent came gliding out and stung him in the foot. And he sickened from it and died. And all the people wept for him with a great weeping, and they bore him and buried him on the hill that is called Shchekovitsa; his barrow stands to this day, and it is called Oleg's Barrow. And all the years of his reign were 33.

And this is no marvel, that such things come to pass through sorcery. As in the reign of Domitian there was a certain sorcerer named Apollonius of Tyana, who was known, going about everywhere, in cities and in villages, working wonders of the demons. Coming from Rome into Byzantium, he was entreated by those who lived there to do these things: he drove a multitude of serpents and scorpions out of the city, so that men were no longer harmed by them, and he bridled the fury of the horses that broke out whenever the notables gathered. And coming likewise into Antioch, and being entreated by them—for the Antiochenes were tormented by scorpions and mosquitoes—he made scorpions of bronze and buried them in the earth, and set a small marble pillar over them. And he ordered men to hold a reed and walk about the city, crying out, shaking the reeds: “No mosquitoes in the city.” And so the mosquitoes and the scorpions vanished from the city.

And when they asked him again about the earthquake hanging over the city, he sighed and wrote on a tablet these words: “Woe to you, wretched city: you shall be shaken much, and seized by fire, and even the banks of your Orontes shall weep for you.” Of him also the great Anastasius of the city of God said: “The things Apollonius made still hold true to this day in certain places: some stand to turn away four-footed beasts and birds that can harm men, others to hold back the streams of rivers that flow beyond restraining, and others yet stand set for the ruin and hurt of men, for their destruction. And not only in his lifetime did the demons, for his sake, work such things, but after his death they kept working signs by his tomb in his name, to the seduction of wretched men, the more easily stolen into such things by the devil.” What then shall anyone say of those who work sorcerous deeds?

For so skilled was such a man in sorcerous delusion that Apollonius even mocked a soldier, because he was not versed in the philosophers' craft; it should have been enough for him to say, as they do, “By the word alone I create whatever they wish,” rather than accomplishing by deeds what he commanded. But all this comes of God's forbearing and of the working of demons: by such things our most glorious faith is tried—and if it is firm, abiding with the Lord from the heart, it is not dragged away by the enemy because of counterfeit wonders and the works of Satan, done by the servants and slaves of wickedness. Secondly, some even prophesied in the name of the Lord, as Balaam, and Saul, and Caiaphas; and others cast out demons, as Judas and the sons of Sceva. So the grace works many times even in the unworthy, to bear witness through them; for Balaam was a stranger to both—to a righteous life and to the faith—yet the witness in him served God's providence for others. And Pharaoh was such a one, and to him too things to come were shown.

And Nebuchadnezzar, transgressor of the law—yet to him too things to come were disclosed, many of them, in the midst of the city; by this it is shown that many, gifted with a most subtle mind, work signs against the image of Christ by another craft, to the seduction of men who do not know the good—as was Simon the sorcerer, and Menander, and others of that kind. Truly it is said: “Not by wonders is one to be seduced…”.

In the year 6420. Oleg sent his men to arrange peace and set down terms between the Greeks and Rus', and sent them with this message:

“Copy of the second agreement, made under the same emperors Leo and Alexander. We, of the Rus' people — Karl, Inegeld, Farlaf, Veremud, Rulav, Gudy, Ruald, Karn, Frelav, Ruar, Aktevu, Truan, Lidul, Fost, Stemir — sent by Oleg, grand prince of Rus', and by all the bright boyars who are under his hand, to you, Leo and Alexander and Constantine, great self-rulers in God, emperors of the Greeks, to keep and declare the love that has existed for many years between the Christians and Rus', at the wish of our princes and by the command of all the Rus' who are under his hand. We of honored rank have judged it right — more than others who might wish in God to hold and declare such love, which has been between Christians and Rus' many times — not only to say it in plain words, but to declare and establish this love in writing and with a firm oath, swearing on our weapons, according to our faith and our law.

“These are the articles, because we have joined together in God's faith and love. First, let us be at peace with you, Greeks, and love one another with all our soul and all our will; and, so far as our will goes, we will not let any offense or wrong come from those who are under the hand of our bright princes. But we shall strive, as far as we can, to keep it for the future and for all years with you, Greeks — a love declared by word and by writing, with an oath, unchanging and without reproach. And you Greeks, keep the same love toward our bright Rus' princes and toward all who are under the hand of our bright prince — without offense and without change, always and in all years.

“About the matters where a wrong happens, let us settle it this way: whatever is clearly shown by open evidence, let them believe the evidence about such matters. But the party that begins to refuse belief must swear — the party that seeks proof by refusing belief; and when it swears according to its own faith, then let the punishment be as the offense proves to be.

“On this: if a Rus' kills a Christian, or a Christian kills a Rus', let him die on the spot where he commits the murder. If the murderer runs away and has property, let the nearest kinsman of the killed man take that part of the murderer's property which by law is his, and let the murderer's wife keep what remains hers by law. If the killer is poor and runs away, let him remain under the charge until he is found, and then let him die.

“If anyone strikes with a sword, or beats with any vessel whatever, for that striking or beating let him pay 5 pounds of silver, according to the Rus' law. If the one who did it is poor, let him pay as much as he can, and let him take off and give the very clothes he wears; and for the rest let him swear on his own faith that no one else can help him pay, and from then on the claim is not pursued.

“On this: if a Rus' steals anything from a Christian, or a Christian from a Rus', and the owner catches the thief at the very moment he commits the theft, as he is preparing to steal, and kills him, his death shall not be demanded either by the Christians or by the Rus'; rather, let the owner take back what he lost. And if the thief gives himself up, let him be seized by the one from whom he stole, and be bound, and give back what he dared to take, and restore it threefold.

“On this: if anyone, Rus' or Christian, torments the other in any way, or openly does violence, or takes anything of his by force, let him pay it back threefold.

“If a boat is thrown by a great wind onto a foreign land, and some of our Rus' are found there, then if anyone comes to help fit out the boat with its cargo and send it back to the Christian land, let us escort it through every dangerous place until it comes to a place safe from danger. But if such a boat cannot return to its own home because of a storm, or because the land itself blocks it, we Rus' will help row the boat and bring it, with their goods, safe and sound. And if this happens near the Greek land — and if the same misfortune happens to a Rus' boat — let us escort it to the Rus' land, and let them sell the cargo of that boat, and whatever part of the boat itself can be sold; we Rus' will haul it out for them. And when we go into […] the Greeks, either on trade or on an errand to your emperor, let us pass with honor, with the sold cargo of their boats. And if anyone from that boat is killed or beaten by us Rus', or anything is taken from it, those who did it shall be liable to the penalty named above.

“If a captive is held on either side, Rus' or Greek, and is sold into another country: if a Rus' or a Greek finds him, let them ransom him and return the ransomed person to his own country, and let those who bought him take his price, or the slave price reckoned for him in the purchase. The same applies if he is taken in war: let him likewise be returned by those Greeks to his own country, and let his price be paid, as said above, as in the purchase.

“And when there is a call to go to war, when you raise your levy, and these men want to honor your emperor: if at any time as many of them as come wish to stay with your emperor of their own will, let them stay.

“About Rus', about captivity. Many times captives come to Rus' from whatever country and are sold to the Christians; and likewise Christian captives, taken many times from whatever country, come to Rus', and are sold at 20 gold pieces each, and then go on to the Greeks.

“On this: if a Rus' slave is stolen, or runs away, or is sold under compulsion, and the Rus' begin to complain, let proof be made about the slave, and let them take him back to Rus'. So too, if merchants lose a slave and complain, let them search for him, and if he is found, let them take him. But if the local official will not allow this search to be made, he shall forfeit his case.

“About Rus' serving in Greece with the Christian emperor. If one of them dies without having arranged his property, and has no kin of his own, let his property be sent back to his nearest relatives in Rus'. But if he has made such an arrangement, let whoever he has named in writing to inherit his property take what he arranged and inherit it.

“About the Rus' who carry on trade.

“About the various men who go to Greece and stay on there. If a criminal does not return to Rus', let the Rus' complain to the Christian empire; let such a man be seized and returned to Rus', willing or not. And the Rus' shall do all these same things for the Greeks, wherever such a case happens.

“To confirm and make firm the peace between you Christians and Rus', we have drawn up this agreement in writing, in two copies — by the hand of your emperor and by our own hand — laid before the honored cross and the holy consubstantial Trinity, the one true God of you Christians, to certify to our envoys. And we swore to your emperor, who is from God, as God's creation, according to the law and the custom of our people, that neither we nor anyone from our country will break the settled articles of peace and love. And we have given such a writing to your empire, so that this agreement may stand firm for both sides, confirming and declaring the peace made between us. In the month of September, on the 2nd, in indiction 15, in the year from the creation of the world 6420.”

Emperor Leo honored the Rus' envoys with gifts — gold, and silks, and rich robes — and set his men over them to show them the beauty of the churches, and the golden palaces, and the riches kept in them: much gold, and silks, and precious stones, and the Passion of the Lord — the crown, and the nails, and the purple robe — and the relics of the saints. Thus he taught them toward his own faith, showing them the true faith. And so he sent them back to their own land with great honor. The envoys sent by Oleg came to Oleg and told him everything the two emperors had said: how they had made peace and set terms between the Greek land and the Rus' land, and had sworn oaths that neither the Greeks nor the Rus' would break them.

Oleg lived in peace with all countries, ruling in Kyiv. When autumn came, Oleg remembered his horse, the one he had set aside to be fed and never ridden. For he had once asked the sorcerers and fortune-tellers: “Of what am I to die?” And one fortune-teller said to him: “Prince! The horse you love and ride — from that horse you will die.” Oleg took this to heart and said: “I will never mount that horse again, and I will never see it more.” He ordered it fed and never brought to him, and for several years he did not see it, until he went against the Greeks. When he came back to Kyiv and had stayed 4 years, in the 5th year he remembered his horse, from which the sorcerers had said Oleg would die. He called the chief of his grooms and said: “Where is my horse, which I ordered fed and cared for?” He answered: “He is dead.” Oleg laughed and mocked the fortune-teller, saying: “What the sorcerers say is wrong; it is all a lie: the horse is dead, and I am alive.” He ordered a horse saddled: “I want to see its bones.” He rode to the place where the bare bones lay and the bare skull, got down from his horse, laughed, and said: “Is it from this skull that death is to take me?” He set his foot on the skull, and a snake crawled out and bit him in the foot. From that he fell ill and died. All the people wept for him with a great weeping, and they carried him and buried him on the hill that is called Shchekovitsa; his grave is there to this day, and it is called Oleg's Grave. And all the years of his reign were 33.

This is not strange, that what sorcery says comes true through magic. Just as in the reign of Domitian there was a certain sorcerer named Apollonius of Tyana, widely known, who traveled everywhere, working in towns and in villages wonders of demons. For coming from Rome into Byzantium, he was asked by the people living there to do this: he drove a multitude of snakes and scorpions out of the city, so that people would not be hurt by them, and he bridled the mad fury of the horses when the boyars gathered. So too he came to Antioch and was asked by its people, for the Antiochenes were tormented by scorpions and mosquitoes; he made scorpions of bronze and buried them in the earth, and set a small marble pillar over them. He ordered people to hold reeds, walk about the city, and cry out, shaking the reeds: “A city free of mosquitoes.” So the mosquitoes and scorpions vanished from the city.

Then they asked him again about the earthquake hanging over the city. He sighed and wrote on a tablet these words: “Woe to you, wretched city! You will be shaken greatly; you will be seized by fire; and by the bank of your Orontes there will be weeping for you.” Of this the great Anastasius of the city of God also spoke: “With Apollonius, even to this day the things he made still work in certain places: some of them stand to turn away four-footed beasts and birds that can harm people, and others to hold back the streams of rivers that flow without check; but other things of his stand to people's ruin and harm, driving them to flight. And the demons did such things for his sake not only while he lived; even after his death they stayed at his tomb, working signs in his name, to deceive wretched people, whom the devil especially steals toward such things.” What then can anyone say of those who work magic deeds?

For such a man was so skilled in magical deception that — as Apollonius knew, mocking the soldier as one who did not carry that philosophical art in himself — it became him to say, as it were, “I do by word alone whatever they wish,” instead of accomplishing in deed what he was commanded. All this happens by God's permitting and by the working of demons, to test our most glorious faith with such things; if it is firm, staying sincere toward the Lord, it is not dragged away by the enemy for the sake of counterfeit wonders and satanic deeds done by the slaves and servants of evil. And second, some even prophesied in the name of the Lord, such as Balaam, and Saul, and Caiaphas; and cast out demons, as Judas and the sons of Sceva did. So grace works often even on the unworthy, to give witness through them: for Balaam was a stranger to both — a noble life and the faith — yet the witness was in him, grace for the sake of God's ordering of others. And Pharaoh was like that, yet the things to come were shown even to him.

And lawless Nebuchadnezzar — yet to him too the things to come were revealed again, among many things, in the midst of the city. By this it is shown that many, though they have the keenest mind, work signs in the image of Christ by another trick, to deceive people who do not know the good, as Simon the sorcerer was, and Menander, and others of that kind. Truly it is said: “Do not deceive by wonders…”