Military traditions of the ancient Slavs and Russia.

The Slavs are the largest ethno-linguistic community in Europe, but also about the origin of the Slavs, and about their early history scientists are still debating. What can we say about mere mortals. Unfortunately, misconceptions about the Slavs are not uncommon.

One of the most common misconceptions is the opinion that the Slavs are a peaceful ethno-linguistic community. It's easy to refute it. It is enough to look at the area of ​​\u200b\u200bsettlement of the Slavs. The Slavs are the largest ethno-linguistic community in Europe. The conquest of territories in history rarely took place by peaceful diplomatic means. They had to fight for new lands, and the Slavs throughout their history showed fighting prowess.

Already in the 1st millennium AD, the Slavs almost completely captured the former European provinces of the Eastern Roman Empire and formed their own independent states. Some of them exist to this day.

An important indicator of the combat effectiveness of the Slavs is the fact that the military elite of the Ottoman Empire, the Janissaries, were recruited from Christians who lived mainly in Greece, Albania and Hungary. As a special privilege, the Janissaries could also take children from Muslim families in Bosnia, but, importantly, only Slavs.

All Slavs are fair-haired and light-skinned

Also a misconception is the idea that the Slavs are completely fair-haired, blue-eyed and fair-skinned. Such an opinion is found among radical supporters of the purity of Slavic blood.

In fact, among the southern Slavs dark color hair and eyes, skin pigmentation is a widespread phenomenon.

Some ethnic groups, such as, for example, the Pomaks, are not at all similar in phenotype to the textbook "Slavs", although they are Caucasians, they speak the Slavic language, which preserves in the lexicon, including Old Slavonic lexemes.

Slavs and slave - cognate words

Until now, among Western historians there is an opinion that the word "Slavs" and the word "slave" (slave) have the same root. I must say that this hypothesis is not new, it was popular in the West in the XVIII-XIX centuries.

This opinion is based on the idea that the Slavs, as one of the most numerous European peoples, were often the object of the slave trade.

Today this hypothesis is recognized as erroneous, the English "slave", the German "Sklave", the Italian "schiavo" on the one hand, and the Russian "Slavs", the Polish "słowianie", the Croatian "slaveni", the Kashubian "słowiónie" on the other hand, do not are interconnected. Linguistic analysis shows that the word "slave" in the Middle Greek language comes from the ancient Greek verb σκυλεύειν (skyleuein) - meaning "to get spoils of war, rob", the 1st person singular of which looks like σκυλεύω (in Latin transliteration skyleúō), another variant σκυλάω (skyláō).

The Slavs did not have a written language before the Glagolitic and Cyrillic

The opinion that the Slavs did not have a written language before the advent of the Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets is disputed today. The historian Lev Prozorov, as proof of the existence of writing, writes that in the contract with the Byzantium of the Prophetic Oleg there is a fragment that deals with the consequences of the death of a Russian merchant in Constantinople: if the merchant dies, then one should “treat with his property as he wrote in will."
Indirectly, the presence of writing is also confirmed by archaeological excavations in Novgorod. Written rods were found there, with which an inscription was applied to clay, plaster or wood. These writing instruments date from the middle of the 10th century. The same findings were found in Smolensk, Genzdovo and other places.

It is difficult to say for sure what kind of writing this was. Some historians write about syllabic writing, about writing with "features and robes", there are also supporters of Slavic runic writing. The German historian Konrad Schurzfleisch, in his dissertation of 1670, wrote about the schools of the Germanic Slavs, where children were taught runes. As proof, he cites a sample of the Slavic runic alphabet, similar to the Danish runes of the 13th-16th centuries.

Slavs - descendants of the Scythians

Alexander Blok wrote: "Yes, we are Scythians!" Until now, one can find the opinion that the Scythians were the ancestors of the Slavs, however, in historical sources there is a lot of confusion with the very definition of the Scythians. In the same Byzantine chronicles, Slavs, and Alans, and Khazars, and Pechenegs could already be called Scythians.

In the "Tale of Bygone Years" there are references to the fact that the Greeks called the peoples of Russia "Scythians": "Oleg went to the Greeks, leaving Igor in Kiev; he took with him many Varangians, and Slavs, and Chuds, and Krivichi, and Meryu, and Drevlyans, and Radimichi, and Polyans, and Severians, and Vyatichi, and Croats, and Dulebs, and Tivertsy, known as interpreters: these were all called Greeks "Great Scythia".

But that doesn't say much. There are too many "ifs" in the hypothesis of the origin of the Slavs from the Scythians. To date, the Vistula-Dnieper hypothesis about the ancestral home of the Slavs is recognized as the most reliable. It is confirmed by both lexical parallels and archaeological excavations. According to the lexical material, it is established that the ancestral home of the Slavs was away from the sea, in a forested flat zone with swamps and lakes, within the rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea. Archeology also confirms this hypothesis. The lower link in the archaeological chain of the Slavs is considered to be the so-called "culture of under-closing burials", which got its name from the custom of covering cremated remains with a large vessel. In Polish, "flare" means "upside down". It dates back to the 5th-2nd centuries BC.

The Scythians already existed at that time and took an active part in the historical process. After the invasion of the Goths in the III century, they most likely went to the mountainous regions of the Caucasus. Of the modern languages, the language of Ossetians is closest to the Scythian.

Miniature: frame from the film "Kashchei the Immortal" (1944)

Friends! We present an article for you from Evgeny Tarasov!

“Slavs are the grandchildren of the Gods, and not the servants of God!”

Vedic Orthodoxy.

Nowadays, it is widely believed that the ROC is Orthodoxy, sometimes even the term of Christianity itself is omitted, implying that this is identical, of course, without taking into account the Slavs themselves. According to the clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church, Slavism has nothing to do with it at all.

In September 2010, answering the questions of a correspondent of the Rossiya TV channel, Patriarch Kirill was clearly carried away and revealed his true face - the face of a cosmopolitan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYvPHTYGwVs

“... And who were the Slavs? These are barbarians, people speaking in an incomprehensible language, these are second-class people, they are almost animals. And so enlightened men went to them (Cyril and Methodius, who came from the enlightened Greco-Roman world), brought them the light of Christ's truth and did something very important - they began to speak with these barbarians in their language, they created Slavic alphabet, Slavic grammar and translated the Word of God into this language ... ".

But is it really so?

Of course not - this is actually a gross lie! And to think so is either extreme ignorance, or a definitely malicious misrepresentation of the truth.

The Slavs have a great and glorious history! The version of the appearance of Slavic state about a thousand years ago. Here is the opinion of the most famous scientist, the largest Russian archaeologist and historian of the twentieth century, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Russian Academy of Sciences B.A. Rybakova: “Speaking of the true Slavic gods, we clearly imagine the dates of the birth of the cult of one or another god. God Ra - about 50 thousand years ago. God Veles - about 40 thousand years ago. The Slavic Goddess Makosh occupies the same ancient place in this series - about 40 thousand years ago.

Slavism is the oldest world Faith on our planet. The main core of the Slavs is the Old Russian Vedic Culture. The Slavs are Aryans - Russ - Russians who adhere to the Old Russian Vedic Faith, who glorify Rule - the laws of Space and Nature - the universal law of Svarog that governs the world. To glorify Rule is to glorify God. Praise Rule - this is Orthodoxy. As you can see, the Faith of our Ancestors was already called that at that distant time. Slavism provided the basis for all the world religions that exist today.

The ROC is just one of the many sectarian varieties of Christianity, along with others that have the right to exist, as well as other confessions and faiths.

But since at present our past has begun to be densely filled with vicious myths, like the above, it is important to learn in more detail about the concept of "Orthodoxy", which is indeed an integral part of the national attribute of the Slavic peoples.

Let us find out the true content of the ancient words "Rule" and "Glory", which form the basis of the above concept, consisting of two roots.

The original Slavic word "Rule" formed the basis of such sacred concepts as: Pravda, RULE, fair, RIGHTEOUS, RULER and others. All these words are associated with Light - Good. The reason for this is that in ancient times the World where the Highest Gods lived was called RIGHT.

Therefore, the words that have the root “Rights” are associated with God, the divine, and therefore have positive value. In the Rule there are Native Gods and Souls of Light Ancestors. Thus, the Rule is not only the world of the Gods, it is Pokony, according to which people and Gods live.

The faith of the Ancestors in the Rule has never disappeared, it is impossible to overcome it, because it is the living Soul of the People. Neither coercion, nor torture by the authorities, nor burning at the stake forced our people to accept someone else's faith.

Therefore, foreigners, having replaced the concepts, and having appropriated traditional names and rites, thereby began to adjust them to their own slave-owning creed, which is still valid today.

So, our God Svarog became Sabaoth, the Great Mother Lada was called exclusively the Mother of God, only Vlasy and Vasily remained from many of the names of Veles, Perun was renamed Ilya, but left the Thunderer, only the epithet Son of God remained from Dazhdbog, Svetovit was turned into Saint Vitai and the like …

This, ultimately, led to the gradual loss of the meaning of Native rites and names, the distortion and simplification of the Vedic Faith of our Ancestors. But no matter how hard it was, the Clans of the Magi saved the Faith unchanged, knowing that the time of the Great Revival would come.

Today, many Slavs have realized the beginning of a new Ecumenical upsurge and the flowering of Vedic spirituality. Tradition says that the sacred concept of “Rule” is a set of Divine Pokons that Rule the Universe.

The second component of the phrase "Orthodoxy" - "Glory" - is the name of the Goddess of Glory-Slavun - Bogumir's wife.

Bogumir continued the work of his grandfather and father Perun and Tarkh Perunovich Dazhdbog. He united the Ruses into a Great Power, which spread over almost the whole of Eurasia and stood for a millennium.

Bogumir married Slava, the daughter of the god Man, the granddaughter of the god of prayers Barma, the great-granddaughter of God Rod himself. He was destined for a great role. After all, in ancient times, many thousands of years before the onset of the Dark Times (Night of Svarog), there was a great slaughter and civil strife in the earthly race. The souls rose up, fell into falsehood and wished to throw the White Light under their feet. That internecine strife brought great misfortune to the Earth, traces of terrible shocks remained everywhere.

There was then no upper hand either for the families of the Glorious, or for Krivda, but a great misfortune ensued: the legacies died in the slaughter (the first ancestors, the sorcerers - who gave rise to new Aryan Clans, such were, for example, Arius, etc.), the chain of Zeal was interrupted, he lost his clan earthly Pokon of the Sovereign of the Most High. Then the elders began to speak to SVA, so that the gods descended into Reality to reveal their wisdom.

And the gods descended to Earth, and the Great Relatives on the lands of present-day Russia saw good and honest people that they brought their Family from the Falcon-Rod. And this Rod was bold and courageous, striving for work.

The people were bright in mind, they lived in peace and harmony, obeying the elders, equaling their deeds to the gods of their own.

That's because the elders listened to their native gods and praised them faithfully, fulfilling their covenants, and the gods gave the people the eldest in the family - Father Bogumir. He became the Savior - being a man in Reveal, always conjugated with the gods and keeping in himself the consciousness and powers of God.

They gave Svarog and Lada Bogumir and his wife Slava the true covenants, the Wisdom of Faith and the Orthodox Veda, which had been cut short since the time of the Elder of the World.

It turns out that the revivalists of the Sort of the Slavs were Bogumir and Slava. According to legend, this is Svarog and Lada descended to earth to restore knowledge, recreate the Slavic family. Then there were other Spas who brought knowledge and passed it on to the people.

aim spiritual development in the Russian Native Orthodox Faith there is a clear awareness of the laws of the Universe (the laws of Rule, Pokon), which allows the soul to create its own world, and this helps it to reach the highest manifestation.

Bogumir devoted his life to teaching the Clans of the Glorious family harmony. Together with mother Slava, they laid the foundation for a science called Rodolad. Yes, it could not be otherwise, because they were souls who carried the great power of Svarog and Lada, the Luminous Heavenly Spouses.

Rod - the beginning, the progenitor and creator of all things, Explicit and Implicit, living and inanimate, the Supreme Almighty, the All-One God. His name lives in such words as Parent, Native, Give birth, Homeland, people, nature, breed, harvest, Spring and many others. But first of all, Rod is a creative, calling to life, producing force in general, it is the basis of everything!

It turns out that Rodolad is a system of views on the creation of a family, the purpose of a man and a woman, a husband and a wife. She talks about the duties of parents and children, about arranging the space of love and how to maintain the Fire in the family hearth, about the duty to the clan and society.

Rodolad is the understanding and holding of tribal holidays, rituals, the preservation of traditions that support the culture of the family, the ability to communicate and live in harmony with the energies and elements of the World - the gods. The science of Rodolad wisely and methodically helped a girl to become a girl, a woman, a mother, and a boy - a young man, a man, a father ...

According to the sacred Slavic-Aryan writings, each person has his own destiny. So Father Svarog - the Supreme god of the bodily world - created the Universe, and his wife - the Mother of the gods Lada - filled her with love and harmony. Each man creates the world of his family, creates and obtains benefits, and the woman - Bereginya, puts things in order - gives harmony to everything that her husband has created. Such families are the bearers of the spiritual strength of the people. A happy family is the basis of the Family, and a prosperous Family ensures the prosperity of the Motherland!

Restoring the Pokon of the Family of the Most High and passing it on to their descendants, Spas Bogumir, together with Slava, recreated the sacred community of the Aryan peoples. All Rus-Slavs are united not only by blood, but also by a highly spiritual origin. Together, the descendants of the Slavic-Aryans make up the Family of Souls, the Spiritual Family of the Glorious, which honors the one and many-manifested God of Gods - the Family of the Most High!

And since then, every descendant of Bohumir and Glory, all the Slavs carry in themselves that Primordial Divine Spark!

Thus, the very content of the concept of “Orthodoxy” is literally understood as “Rule of Glory”, and the deep ideological content is as “Rule of the World of the Highest Gods”. It is in this understanding that the word "Orthodoxy" is used in the Native Vedic Faith of the Rus.

The use of the name of the Slavic Goddess of Glory and the name of the World of the Slavic Gods of Rule in the name of a foreign religion is the height of cunning and substitution of the concept.

Orthodoxy is spiritual path Slavic peoples, even now this word exists only in the languages ​​of our fraternal peoples.

And the Anglo-Saxons, with their artificial, clumsy language, introduced during the reformatting of Europe with the help of the Latin alphabet, like Esperanto, generally perverted this concept, lowering it to the concept of slaves.

So, for example, the word Slav, Slavs - is translated from English into Russian, like a Slav, Slavs, at the same time already Slave, Slaves - a slave, slaves, and are pronounced almost the same. It seems that this was not done by chance by our sworn "friends", or, as the current power "elite" calls them, their partners ...

When we call ourselves confessors of the Slavic Faith, we determine our path in the Explicit World, aimed at the Unity of the Heavenly Clan and the Earthly Clan. Calling ourselves confessors of Vedic Orthodoxy, we determine the direction of our spiritual development - towards Unity with the Supreme Gods of Rule.

However, if we turn to history Christian church and calmly, thoroughly, without any prejudice, get acquainted with it, then we will easily get an answer to the question: where did the so-called " Orthodox Christianity»?

Chronicles of the X-XIV centuries convincingly testify that Christianity came to Russia from Greece under the name "faith of Christ", "new faith", "true faith", " Greek faith”, and most often - “the orthodox Christian faith”.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that for the first time the word "Orthodoxy" is found in the "Message of Metropolitan Photius of Pskov" in 1410-1417, that is, 422 years after the introduction of Christianity in Russia. And the phrase "Orthodox Christianity" and even later - in the Pskov First Chronicle of 1450, 462 years after the baptism of Russia. This, of course, says a lot and causes serious surprise.

If the word "Orthodoxy" really has to do with Christianity, as the current clerics of the Russian Orthodox Church claim, then why haven't Christians themselves used it for half a millennium?

Therefore, we can note, based on the facts confirmed by documents written in the annals by monks: “Orthodox” Christians became only 597 years ago. And for 422 years they called themselves only "true believers." And this is also confirmed by the fact that the Greek word "orthodoxy" in translation into Russian means "orthodoxy". Among the Greeks, “orthos” is correct, “direct”, and “doxos” is “thought”, “belief”, “faith”. That is why in the Western world Christians of the Eastern rite are called only "orthodox".

The church translation of the word "orthodoxy" - "Orthodoxy" looks strange, because the word "glory" in Greek is pronounced as "kyudos", hence the name ancient city Kydonia in Crete, which translates as "Glorious". Therefore, if Eastern Christians are truly "Orthodox", the denomination itself should be called at least "Orthokyudos".

The resolution of this contradiction is known to us. Greek orthodoxy (orthodox Christianity) in the 16th century, after the seizure of the Ruthenian lands by Poland, found itself in a tough struggle with Roman Catholicism. Therefore, seeking support for itself, the church came to the only saving way out - to partially adopt the Vedic spiritual customs of the Rus.

First of all, they turned the "orthodox Christian faith" into " holy orthodoxy". And then they stopped fighting Vedic customs and accepted as their scripture: the cult of the Ancestors, Green Christmas time, Kupala Christmas time, Pokrov, Kalita, Kolyada, Strecha (Meeting) and others.

We, the current Russ, in order to renew the Harmony and Unity with the Native Gods, we must begin with the comprehension of the spiritual wealth that our Ancestors have preserved for us - essences True Orthodoxy- Native Vedic Orthodox Faith - Slavdom.

From time immemorial, our faith has been and will remain forever Orthodox, because it always shows us the way to the Native Gods of Rule. Our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers have always been Orthodox, and we should be the same!

We do not fight with anyone and do not oppose ourselves to anyone. Different cults use both the terms and even the symbols of our Ancestors, well, let them use it. Only the educated and cultured people there are always primary sources with you - this is the Legacy of our Great Ancestors.

The understanding and perception of all this wealth will make us stronger, for True Faith- this is the Veda of Rule - knowledge about the World, the Universe and the Pocons of the Russian Gods. This is exactly what is needed now - for the Unity and Strength of the Slavic Family!

Now, unfortunately, not everything is in order with us yet ...

I look around and it hurts me, what have we turned the Russian State into ?! We live in our Holy Land, which our Ancestors gave us, they loved it like life and, protecting it with their blood, sprinkled it. Its rivers were shed during the time of that old, and even new sich, when both the townspeople and the peasant stood as one. Well, now what have we turned our Rod into ?! A flock of jackals was admitted to power. They only fill their pockets with us, they sell what was created by great work, they sell our lives, spitting on everyone, on their people, which Rus put up, which was always undefeated. I am Russian, Slavic and proud of it! I am proud of the Earth, the one on which I was born! It has a free Russian Spirit and that Spirit will never be oppressed! And I know that through the years of her sons, Russia will raise the Mother from her knees and the Russian Spirit, gathering everyone into a glorious holy army, the jackal will throw off this burden and our Russian Family will live, as he lived in those millennia of creation and will glorify his Slavic Heritage with life! ..

Evgeny Tarasov.

P.S. from the Administration: we hope that we did not hurt anyone's feelings, remember, friends, everyone has their own opinion!

Slavic warriors fought bravely, following the decisions made at the tribal meeting. Preparing to repel the impending aggression, they took an oath: to fight to the death for their father and brother, for the life of their relatives.

Captivity among the Slavs was considered the greatest shame. The word of honor was highly valued, it obliged the soldiers in any conditions to be faithful to the brotherhood of arms - the most ancient custom mutual assistance and mutual assistance in combat.

Prince Svyatoslav, before the battle with the Greeks in 971, turned to the soldiers with the words: “We have nowhere to go, whether we want to or not, we must fight ... If we run, we will be disgraced. So we won’t run, but we’ll stand strong, and I will go ahead of you: if my head lies down, then take care of your own.” The soldiers answered: "Where your head lies, there we will lay down our heads." In that cruel battle, ten thousand soldiers of Svyatoslav defeated the hundred thousandth army of the Greeks.

The military oaths of the Slavs were sealed with the name of the god Perun, since he was the patron of princes and retinues. Being in a foreign land, the warriors in honor of Perun stuck their fighting swords into the ground, and in this place, as it were, his camp sanctuary became.

The military culture of the Slavic peoples was and remains one of the unsolved mysteries national and world history. The paradox is that even within the framework of a single concept, the skill of the Slavic warriors is often praised to the skies, and the combat capability of the Slavic army, and the very fact of the existence of any kind of harmonious military organization, is called into question. Information and opinions about weapons, tactics, military and social structure of the Slavic army are ambiguous and contradictory.

The basis of the Slavic military system there were local actions, and not the extermination of the enemy, the correct tactics, the planned seizure of territory and actions characteristic of standing armies and justifying their existence, so the task of military training was to survive in battle: a duel, a group fight, a skirmish with a superior enemy of a single fighter, and then and coordinated group action. Yielding to other peoples in armament and professionalism, the Slavs surpassed them in skill, using terrain conditions, organizing reconnaissance, ambushes and surprise attacks, or avoiding unwanted battles of all that was designated by the term Scythian war. Superiority not in quantity, but in fortitude, endurance, the ability to endure hardships, to do little to achieve a big goal is the main core of the guarantee of the victory of the military culture of the Slavic peoples.

Byzantine historians noted that the Slavs were “very tall and of great strength. Their hair color is very white and golden. Entering the battle, most of them go to the enemy with shields and darts in their hands, but they never wear shells. Further: “They are excellent warriors, because military affairs become with them a harsh science in every detail. The highest happiness in their eyes is to die in battle. To die of old age, or of any accident, is a disgrace, more humiliating than which nothing can be. Their gaze is more warlike than ferocious."

“Their greatest art is that they know how to hide in rivers under water. Often, caught by the enemy, they lie at the bottom for a very long time and breathe with the help of long reed tubes, the end of which is taken into the mouth, and the other sticks out to the surface of the water and thus hides in the depths. Anyone who even notices these pipes, not knowing such a trick, will consider them real. Experienced people recognize them by cut or by position, and then they are pressed to the mouth or pulled out and thereby force the sly one to float to the top.

The Slavs usually went to war on foot, in chain mail, a helmet covered their heads, a heavy shield was at the left hip, a bow and a quiver with arrows soaked in poison were behind their backs; in addition, they were armed with a double-edged sword, an ax, a spear and a reed. Over time, the Slavs introduced cavalry into military practice. The personal squad of the prince among all the Slavs was equestrian.

The Slavs did not have a permanent army. In case of military necessity, all men capable of carrying weapons went on a campaign, and they sheltered children and wives with belongings in the forests.

The Slavic tribes in the 6th century led a settled way of life, which is confirmed by the nature of their occupations and the arrangement of settlements, which were usually located in forests and swamps. These were settlements, consisting of dugouts with many exits, so that in case of an attack it was possible to hide through one of the emergency passages. The Slavs also settled on rivers and lakes, where special houses were built - pile buildings. Thus, the settlements of the Slavic tribes were securely hidden and difficult to access, and therefore there was no need to build such fortress-type defensive structures, which, for example, were built in Ancient Egypt, in the Middle East, in Greece and Rome.

The ancient Slavs knew how to make monoxyls - one-deck boats, on which they descended along the rivers to Pontus. On boats, Slavic warriors appeared near Korsun in the Crimea, near Constantinople and even on Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the Byzantine historian Procopius, the Sklavins and Antes were very tall and of great strength, but here is how he described appearance ancient Slavs: "The color of their skin and hair is not very white or golden and not quite black, but still they are dark red." Since ancient times, chroniclers noted among the Slavs and Antes dexterity, endurance, hospitality and love of freedom.

From the stories of Mauritius, as well as from other sources, we can conclude that the Slavs had a blood feud, which resulted in armed conflicts between the tribes.

A feature of the development of the Slavic tribes was the absence of debt slavery; only prisoners of war were slaves, and even those had the opportunity to redeem themselves or become equal members of the community. It was patriarchal slavery, which among the Slavs did not turn into a slave-owning system.

The Slavs had a tribal community, which had land ownership. There was no private ownership of land even when the family began to receive a certain arable field, since arable land was periodically subject to redistribution. Pastures, forests, meadows, hunting and fishing grounds continued to be communal property.

According to Procopius, "these tribes, sklavins and antes, are not ruled by one person, but since ancient times they live in the rule of the people, and therefore they have happiness and unhappiness in life considered a common thing." Veche (a meeting of a clan or tribe) was supreme body authorities. The affairs were in charge of the eldest in the family (headman, ruler).

Already at the end of the 5th century, more or less significant associations of Slavic tribes began to arise to repel the attacks of enemies or organize campaigns within the Eastern Roman Empire. The wars contributed to the strengthening of the power of the military leader, who began to be called a prince and have his own squad.

The social structure of the Slavs in the 6th century was a military democracy, whose organs were a veche or a meeting of tribes, a council of elders and a prince - a military leader. Some military leaders entered the service in the army of the Eastern Roman Empire. But Slavic tribes settled on the Balkan Peninsula not as mercenaries, but as conquerors.

Mauritius noted that the Slavs had tribal strife. “Having no head over them,” he wrote, “they are at enmity with each other; since there is no unanimity between them, they do not gather together, and if they do, they do not come to a single decision, since no one wants to yield to another. To fight the Slavs, Mauritius recommended using their tribal strife, setting one tribe against another and thereby weakening them.

Byzantine politicians were very afraid of large political associations of the Slavs.

When external danger threatened the Slavs, the tribes forgot all their feuds and united for common struggle for independence. Speaking about the struggle between the Avars and the "Slavinian people" at the end of the 6th century, Menander, a Byzantine, reported the answer of the Slavic elders to the leader of the Avars, who demanded that the Slavic tribes submit to him and pay tribute. “Has the man who would have subjugated our strength been born into the world?”

Eastern sources speak of the Slavs as a warlike people. Thus, the Arab writer Abu-Obeid-Al-Bekri noted in his writings that if the Slavs, this powerful and terrible people, were not divided into many tribes and clans, no one in the world could resist them. Other Eastern authors wrote about the same. The militancy of the Slavic tribes was emphasized by almost all Byzantine writers.

According to Mauritius, the Slavic tribes had squads that were recruited according to the age principle - mostly young, physically strong and dexterous warriors.

The number of those who fought was usually in the hundreds and thousands, much less often in the tens of thousands. The organization of the army was based on the division into clans and tribes. The warriors of the clan were headed by an elder (headman), at the head of the tribe was a leader or prince.

Ancient sources noted the strength, endurance, cunning and courage of the Slavic warriors, who also mastered the art of disguise. Procopius wrote that Slavic warriors “got used to hiding even behind small stones or behind the first bush they came across and catching enemies. This they did more than once by the river Istra. During the siege of one of the cities, the Byzantine commander Belisarius summoned a Slav warrior and ordered him to get the language. “And this Slav, having made his way very close to the walls in the early morning, covered himself with brushwood, hid in the grass.” When a Goth approached this place, the Slav suddenly grabbed him and delivered him alive to the camp.

Mauritius reported on the art of the Slavs hiding in the water: “They bravely endure being in the water, so that often some of those who stay at home, being caught by a sudden attack, plunge into the abyss of water. At the same time, they hold in their mouths specially made, large reeds hollowed out inside, reaching the surface of the water, and themselves, lying supine at the bottom (of the river), breathe with their help; and this they can do for many hours, so that it is absolutely impossible to guess their (presence)."

Regarding the weapons of the Slavic warriors, Mauritius wrote: “Each is armed with two small spears, some also have shields, strong, but difficult to carry. They also use wooden bows and small arrows soaked in a special poison, which is very effective if the wounded person does not first take an antidote or (does not use) other aids known to experienced doctors, or does not immediately cut off the wound around the wound so that the poison does not spread to the rest. body parts". In addition to the bow and darts for throwing, which Mauritius spoke of, the Slavic warrior had a spear for striking, an axe, a reed and a double-edged sword.

In addition to a large shield, the Slavs had chain mail, which reliably covered and at the same time did not hamper the movements of a warrior in battle. Chain mail was made by Slavic craftsmen. During this period, the Normans had armor made of leather with metal straps attached to it; Byzantine warriors had forged armor, which greatly hampered movement. Thus, the armor of the Slavs favorably differed from the armor of their neighbors - the Normans and Byzantines.

The ancient Slavs had two types of troops - infantry and cavalry. In the Eastern Roman Empire, under the ruler Justinian (c. 670-711), cavalry Slavic detachments were in the service, in particular, the Slavs served in the cavalry of Belisarius. The commander of the cavalry was Ant Dobrogost. Describing the campaign of 589, the ancient historian Theophylact Simokatt reported: “Having jumped off their horses, the Slavs decided to rest a little, and also give rest to their horses.” Thus, these data confirm the presence of cavalry among the Slavs.

During the battles, the Slavs widely used surprise attacks on the enemy. “To fight with their enemies,” wrote Mauritius, “they love in places overgrown with dense forest, in gorges, on cliffs; they profitably use (ambushes), surprise attacks, tricks, day and night, inventing many (various) ways. Having great help in the forests, they go to them, because among the gorges they know how to fight well. Often they abandon the prey they carry (as if) under the influence of confusion and run into the forests, and then, when the attackers rush to the prey, they easily rise and cause harm to the enemy. All this they are masters of doing in a variety of ways they come up with in order to lure the enemy.

Mauritius said that in the art of forcing rivers, the Slavs were superior to "all people." Being in the service in the army of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Slavic detachments skillfully ensured the crossing of rivers. They quickly made boats and transferred large detachments of troops to the other side of them.

The Slavs usually set up a camp at a height to which there were no hidden approaches. Fight if necessary open field they made fortifications from wagons. Theophylact Simokatt told about the campaign of one Slavic detachment that fought with the Romans: “Since this clash was inevitable for the barbarians (Slavs) (and did not bode well), they, having made carts, made a fortification of the camp from them and in the middle of this camp placed women and children. The Slavs tied the wagons, and a closed fortification was obtained, from which they threw spears at the enemy. The wagon fortification was very reliable protection from the cavalry.

For a defensive battle, the Slavs chose a position that was difficult for the enemy to reach, or they poured a rampart and arranged notches. When storming the enemy's fortifications, they used assault ladders, "turtles" and siege engines. In deep formation, putting their shields on their backs, the Slavs went on the assault.

Although Mauritius said that the Slavs did not recognize the military system and, during the offensive, moved forward all together, this, however, does not mean that they did not have a battle order. The same Mauritius recommended building a not very deep formation against the Slavs and attacking not only from the front, but on the flanks and from the rear. From this we can conclude that for the battle the Slavs were located in a certain order. “Sometimes,” Mauritius wrote, “they take a very strong position and, guarding their rear, do not allow them to engage in hand-to-hand combat, or to surround themselves or strike from the flank, or go to their rear.”

If the Slavs repulsed all attacks, then, in the opinion of Mauritius, there was only one remedy left - a deliberate retreat in order to provoke a disorganized pursuit that would upset the Slavs' battle order and allow them to win a surprise strike from an ambush.

Starting from the 1st century, Slavic tribes fought against the troops of the Roman Empire. Ancient sources mention East Slavic tribes that fought against the Roman conquerors. There is a message from the Gothic historian Jordanes about the struggle of the Goths with the Antes in the 4th century. A detachment of Goths attacked the Antes, but was initially defeated. As a result of further clashes, the Goths managed to capture the leader of the Antes Bozh with his sons and 70 elders and execute them.

More detailed information about the wars of the Slavic tribes dates back to the 6th-8th centuries, when the Slavs fought against the Eastern Roman Empire.

By the beginning of the 6th century, the onslaught of the Slavic tribes from across the Danube intensified so much that the ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire Anastasius in 512 was forced to build a line of fortifications stretching 85 kilometers from Selymvria on the Sea of ​​​​Marmara to Derkos on Pontus. This line of fortifications was called " long wall” and was located 60 kilometers from the capital. One of his contemporaries called it "a banner of impotence, a monument to cowardice."

In the second quarter of the 6th century, Emperor Justinian, preparing to fight the Slavs, strengthened his army and built defensive structures. He appointed, according to Procopius, head of the guard on the Istr River, Khilbudia, who successfully defended the Danube line from attacks by Slavic tribes for three years in a row. To do this, Khilbudiy annually crossed to the left bank of the Danube, penetrated into the territory of the Slavs and devastated there. In 534, Khilbudius crossed the river with a small detachment. The Slavs came out “against him all without exception. The battle was fierce, many Romans fell, including their leader Khilbudiy. After this victory, the Slavs freely crossed the Danube to invade deep into the Balkan Peninsula.

In 551, a detachment of Slavs numbering more than 3 thousand people, without meeting any opposition, crossed the Istra River. Then, after crossing the river Gevre (Maritsa), the detachment was divided into two detachments. The Byzantine commander, who had great strength, decided to take advantage of this advantage and destroy the scattered detachments in an open battle. But the Slavs got ahead of the Romans and defeated them with a surprise attack from two directions. This fact shows the ability of the Slavic military leaders to organize the interaction of their units and carry out a sudden simultaneous attack on the enemy, who has superior forces and acts offensively.

Following this, regular cavalry was thrown against the Slavs under the command of Asbad, who served in the bodyguard detachment of Emperor Justinian. The cavalry detachment was stationed in the Thracian fortress of Tzurule and consisted of excellent horsemen. One of the Slavic detachments attacked the Byzantine cavalry and put it to flight. Many Byzantine horsemen were killed, and Asbad himself was taken prisoner. From this example, we can conclude that the Slavs had cavalry that successfully fought the Roman regular cavalry.

Having defeated the regular field troops, the detachments of the Slavs began the siege of fortresses in Thrace and Illyria. Procopius reported very detailed information about the capture by the Slavs of the strong seaside fortress of Toper, located on the Thracian coast 12 days from Byzantium. This fortress had a strong garrison and up to 15 thousand combat-ready men - residents of the city.

The Slavs decided first of all to lure the garrison out of the fortress and destroy it. To do this, most of their forces settled in ambush and took refuge in difficult places, and an insignificant detachment approached the eastern gate and began to fire on the Roman soldiers: “The Roman soldiers who were in the garrison, imagining that there were no more enemies than they see, holding weapons, immediately went out against them all. The barbarians began to retreat, pretending to the attackers that, frightened by them, they took to flight; the Romans, carried away by the pursuit, were far ahead of the fortifications. Then those who were in ambush rose up and, finding themselves in the rear of the pursuers, cut off their opportunity to return back to the city. And those who pretended to retreat, turning their faces towards the Romans, placed them between two fires. The barbarians destroyed them all and then rushed to the walls. Thus the Toper garrison was defeated. After that, the Slavs moved to storm the fortress, which was defended by the population of the city. The first attack, insufficiently prepared, was repelled. The defenders threw stones at the attackers, poured boiling oil and tar on them. But the townspeople's success was temporary. Slavic archers began to fire at the wall and forced the defenders to leave it. Following this, the attackers put ladders against the walls, entered the city and took possession of it. At the same time, archers and assault squads interacted well. The Slavs were well-aimed archers and therefore were able to force the defenders to leave the wall.

Of interest is the campaign in 589 by Peter, the commander of the Byzantine emperor Mauritius, against a strong Slavic tribe led by Piragast.

The emperor demanded swift and decisive action from Peter. Peter's army withdrew from the fortified camp and in four marches reached the area in which the Slavs were; he had to cross the river. For reconnaissance of the enemy, a group of 20 soldiers was sent, which moved at night and rested during the day. Having made a difficult night march and crossed the river, the group settled in the thicket to rest, but did not set up guards. The warriors fell asleep and were discovered by a cavalry detachment of the Slavs. The Romans were taken prisoner. The captured scouts told about the plan of the Byzantine command.

Piraghast, having learned about the enemy’s plan, moved with large forces to the place where the Romans crossed the river and secretly settled down in the forest. The Byzantine army approached the crossing. Peter, not assuming that there could be an enemy in this place, ordered to cross the river in separate detachments. When the first thousand people crossed to the other side, the Slavs surrounded them and destroyed them. Having learned about this, Peter ordered the whole army to cross, not being divided into detachments. On the opposite bank, the Byzantines were waiting for the ranks of the Slavs, who, however, dispersed under a hail of arrows and spears thrown from the ships. Taking advantage of this, the Romans landed their large forces. Piraghast was mortally wounded, and the Slavic army retreated in disarray. Peter, due to the lack of cavalry, could not organize the pursuit.

The next day, the guides who led the army got lost. The Romans had no water for three days and quenched their thirst with wine. The army could have died if it were not for the prisoner, who indicated that the Helicabia River was nearby. The next morning, the Romans came to the river and rushed to the water. The Slavs, who were in ambush on the opposite high bank, began to hit the Romans with arrows. “And so the Romans,” reports the Byzantine chronicler, “having built ships, crossed the river in order to grapple with the enemies in open battle. When the army was on the opposite bank, the barbarians in their entirety immediately attacked the Romans and defeated them. The defeated Romans fled. Since Peter was utterly defeated by the barbarians, Priscus was appointed commander-in-chief, and Peter, relieved of command, returned to Byzantium.

In our time, when the whole world is trying to imitate the Americans, from uniforms to tactics and daily dry rations, our soldiers need to more often look into the rich treasury of Russian military traditions and use the centuries-old experience of Russian soldiers. No, I do not urge you to put on bast shoes, grow beards and pick up swords and bows. The main thing is to skillfully identify and generalize those principles with the help of which they defeated a stronger and numerically superior enemy.

The foundations and philosophy of the Russian military school are set out in "The Science of Victory" by A. V. Suvorov. Unfortunately, not many modern commanders, as they say, get their hands on this book. But in order to see and understand the essence of the principles set forth by Suvorov in his immortal work, it is worth taking an excursion into the depths of centuries and seeing how the ancient Rusichi fought.

The land on which our distant Ancestors lived was rich and fertile and constantly attracted nomads from the east, from the west - Germanic tribes besides, our ancestors tried to develop new lands. Sometimes this colonization took place peacefully, but. often accompanied by hostilities.

Soviet military historian E.A. Razin in his book “The History of Military Art” tells about the organization of the Slavic army during the period of the 5th-6th centuries:
Among the Slavs, all adult men were warriors. The Slavic tribes had squads, which were recruited according to the age principle by young, physically strong and dexterous warriors. The organization of the army was based on the division into clans and tribes, the warriors of the clan were headed by an elder (headman), at the head of the tribe was a leader or prince

Procopius from Kessaria in his book "War with the Goths" writes that the warriors of the Slavic tribe "used to hide even behind small stones or behind the first bush they come across and catch enemies. This they did more than once by the river Istra. Thus, the ancient author in the above-mentioned book describes one interesting case, as a Slavic warrior, skillfully using improvised means of disguise, took the "language".

And this Slav, having crept very close to the walls in the early morning, covered himself with brushwood and curled up in a ball, hid in the grass. When a Goth approached this place, the Slav suddenly grabbed him and brought him alive to the camp.

They courageously endure being in the water, so that often some of those who remain at home, being caught by a sudden attack, plunge into the abyss of water. At the same time, they hold in their mouths specially made large reeds hollowed out inside, reaching the surface of the water, while they themselves, lying supine at the bottom of the river, breathe with the help of them; and this they can do for many hours. So it is absolutely impossible to guess their presence.

The area where the Slavs usually took the fight was always their ally. From dark forests, river backwaters, deep ravines, the Slavs suddenly attacked their opponents. Here is what the previously mentioned Mauritius writes about this:
The Slavs love to fight their enemies in places overgrown with dense forests, in gorges. on the cliffs, they profitably use ambushes, surprise attacks, tricks, and inventing many different methods day and night ... Having great help in the forests, they head towards them, because among the gorges they know how to fight perfectly. Often they abandon the prey they are carrying, as if under the influence of confusion, and run into the forests, and then, when the attackers rush to the prey, they easily rise and cause harm to the enemy. All this they are masters of doing in a variety of ways they come up with in order to lure the enemy.

Thus, we see that the ancient warriors prevailed over the enemy primarily by the lack of a template, cunning, skillful use of the surrounding area.

In engineering training, our Ancestors were also recognized specialists. Ancient authors write that the Slavs excelled "all people" in the art of forcing rivers. Being in the service in the army of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Slavic detachments skillfully ensured the crossing of rivers. They quickly made boats and transferred large military detachments to the other side of them. The Slavs usually set up a camp at a height to which there were no hidden approaches. If necessary, to fight in the open field, they arranged fortifications from wagons.

Theophinatus Siompatt reports on the campaign of one Slavic detachment that fought with the Romans:
Since this clash was inevitable for the barbarians (Slavs) (and did not portend success), they, having made wagons, made a kind of fortification of the camp out of them, and placed women and children in the middle of this camp. The Slavs tied the wagons, and a closed fortification was obtained, from which they threw spears at the enemy. The fortification of wagons was a reliable defense against cavalry.

For a defensive battle, the Slavs chose a position that was difficult for the enemy to reach, or they poured a rampart and arranged an embankment.

When storming the enemy's fortifications, they used assault ladders and siege engines. In deep formation, putting their shields on their backs, the Slavs went on the assault. From the above examples, we can see that the use of terrain in combination with available items deprived the opponents of our ancestors of the advantages that they originally had.

Many Western sources claim that the Slavs did not have a system, but this does not mean that they did not have a battle formation. The same Mauritius recommended building a not very deep formation against them and attacking not only from the front, but on the flanks and from the rear. From here we can conclude that for the battle the Slavs were located in a certain order. Mauritius writes:
... sometimes they take a very strong position and, guarding their rear, do not allow them to engage in hand-to-hand combat, or to surround themselves or strike from the flank, or go to their rear.
The above example makes it clear that the ancient Slavs had a certain battle order, that they fought not in a crowd, but in an organized manner, lining up according to clans and tribes. Tribal and tribal leaders were chiefs and maintained the necessary discipline in the army. The organization of the Slavic army was based on a social structure - division into tribal and tribal detachments. Tribal and tribal ties ensured the necessary cohesion of warriors in battle.

Thus, the use of battle order by Slavic warriors, which gives undeniable advantages in battle with a strong enemy, suggests that the Slavs but only carried out combat training with their squads. After all, in order to act quickly in battle formation, it was necessary to work it out to automatism. Also, it was necessary to know the enemy with whom to fight.

The Slavs could not only skillfully fight in the forest and field. To take the fortresses, they used a simple and effective tactic.

In 551, a detachment of Slavs numbering more than 3,000 people, without encountering any opposition, crossed the Istra River. An army with large forces was sent to meet the Slavs. After crossing the Maritsa River, the Slavs split into two groups. The Roman commander decided to break their forces one by one in an open field. Having a well-placed tactical intelligence and being aware of the movements of the enemy. The Slavs preempted the Romans and, suddenly attacking them from two directions, destroyed their enemy.
Following this, Emperor Justinian threw a detachment of regular cavalry against the Slavs. The detachment was stationed in the Thracian fortress Tzurule. However, this detachment was defeated by the Slavs, who had cavalry in their ranks that was not inferior to the Roman. Having defeated the regular field troops, our ancestors began the siege of fortresses in Thrace and Illyria.

Of great interest is the capture by the Slavs of the coastal fortress of Toyer, which was located 12 days from Byzantium. The garrison of the fortress of 15 thousand people was formidable force. The Slavs decided first of all to lure the garrison out of the fortress and destroy it. To do this, most of the soldiers settled in ambush near the city, and a small detachment approached the eastern gate and began to fire on the Roman soldiers.

The Romans, seeing that there were not so many enemies, decided to go beyond the fortress and defeat the Slavs in the field. The besiegers began to retreat, pretending to the attackers that, frightened by them, they took to flight. The Romans, carried away by the pursuit, were far ahead of the fortifications. Then those who were in ambush rose up and, finding themselves in the rear of the pursuers, cut off their possible ways retreats. And those who pretended to retreat, turning to face the Romans, attacked them. Having exterminated the pursuers, the Slavs again rushed to the walls of the city. Toyer's garrison was destroyed. From the foregoing, we can conclude that the interaction of several detachments, reconnaissance, and camouflage on the ground were well established in the Slavic army.

From all the examples given, it can be seen that in the 6th century our ancestors had perfect tactics for those times, they could fight and inflict serious damage on the enemy, who was much stronger than them, and often had numerical superiority. Perfect was not only tactics, but also military equipment. So, during the siege of fortresses, the Slavs used iron rams, setting up siege machines. The Slavs, under the cover of throwing machines and archers, moved rams close to the fortress wall, began to loosen it and make holes.

In addition to the land army, the Slavs had a fleet. There is a lot of written evidence of their use of the fleet in the fighting against Byzantium. The ships were mainly used for transporting troops and landing troops.

For many years, the Slavic tribes, in the fight against numerous aggressors from Asia, with the powerful Roman Empire, with the Khazar Khaganate and the Franks, defended their independence and united in tribal alliances.

In this centuries-old struggle, a military organization Slavs, the military art of neighboring peoples and states arose. Not the weakness of the opponents, but the strength and military art of the Slavs ensured their victory.

The offensive actions of the Slavs forced the Roman Empire to switch to strategic defense and create several defensive lines, the presence of which did not ensure the security of the empire's borders. The campaigns of the Byzantine army across the Danube, into the depths of the Slavic territories, did not achieve their goals.

These campaigns usually ended with the defeat of the Byzantines. When the Slavs, even during their offensive actions, met superior enemy forces, they usually evaded the battle, sought to change the situation in their favor, and only then went on the offensive again.

For long-distance campaigns, crossing rivers and capturing coastal fortresses, the Slavs used the rook fleet, which they built very quickly. Large campaigns and deep invasions were usually preceded by reconnaissance in force by forces of significant detachments, which tested the enemy's ability to resist.

The tactics of the Russians consisted not in the invention of forms of building battle formations, to which the Romans attached exceptional importance, but in the variety of methods of attacking the enemy, both in the offensive and in defense. To use this tactic, a good organization of military intelligence was necessary, to which the Slavs paid serious attention. Knowledge of the enemy made it possible to carry out surprise attacks. The tactical interaction of the detachments was skillfully carried out both in the field battle and during the assault on fortresses. For the siege of fortresses, the ancient Slavs were able to short term create all modern siege equipment. Among other things, Slavic warriors skillfully used psychological impact on the enemy.

So, in the early morning of June 18, 860, the capital Byzantine Empire Constantinople was subjected to an unexpected attack by the Russian troops. Russ came by sea, landed at the very walls of the city and laid siege to it. The warriors raised their comrades on their outstretched arms, and they, shaking their swords sparkling in the sun, plunged into confusion the Constantinopolitans standing on the high walls. This "attack" was filled with great meaning for Russia - for the first time the young state entered into a confrontation with great empire, for the first time, as events will show, presented him with their military, economic and territorial claims. And most importantly, thanks to this demonstrative, psychologically precisely calculated attack and the subsequent peace treaty of "friendship and love", Russia was recognized as an equal partner of Byzantium. The Russian chronicler wrote later that from that moment "the land began to be called Ruska."

All the principles of warfare listed here have not lost their significance even today. Have camouflage and military cunning lost their relevance in the age of nuclear technology and the information boom? As recent military conflicts have shown, even with reconnaissance satellites, spy planes, advanced equipment, computer networks and weapons of enormous destructive power, it is possible to bomb rubber and wooden mock-ups for a long time and at the same time loudly broadcast to the whole world about enormous military successes.

Have secrecy and surprise lost their meaning?

Let us recall how surprised European and NATO strategists were when, quite unexpectedly, Russian paratroopers suddenly appeared at the Pristina airfield in Kosovo, and our “allies” were powerless to do anything.