Black Hoods

Who holds it

Name

No chieftain is named for 1199-1200. The last named is Kuntuvdey, a Tork leader whom Sviatoslav arrested in 1190; Rurik had him freed, he fled to the Cumans and raided the Ros, and Rurik won him back with a town on the Ros, Dveren (Kievan Chronicle, 1190-1192; not re-checked here). Whether he lives or leads in 1200 is not pinned.

Title

Their own chieftains (the chronicle's 'princes' or elders of the Black Hoods), under the prince of Kiev and his son at Torchesk

Since

not applicable

Born

not applicable

Family

A confederation of Turkic peoples: Torks (Oghuz), Berendei, Pechenegs, Kovui and smaller groups (the chronicle also names Turpei, Kaepichi and Bastiei), settled by the Kievan princes on the Ros from the late 11th century.

Confidence

medium

ru.wikipedia (from the Hypatian Chronicle): the name first appears in 1146 and last in 1196; Kanev and Torchesk served in turn as the union's centre; with the Kiev boyars they helped decide which prince to invite to Kiev; they repeatedly called on Rostislav Rurikovich for help against the Cumans.

Overlord

The prince of Kiev, Rurik Rostislavich; in the field his son Rostislav at Torchesk.

What it holds

• The pastures and winter camps of the Ros basin
• Settlements and forts in Porosye: Torchesk, Yuriev, Korsun, Boguslavl, Kanev, Dveren and others, shared with the prince's garrisons

How it was acquired

Settled by the Kievan princes from the late 11th century, after the Cumans drove the Torks and Pechenegs off the open steppe.

Allies and rivals

The prince of Kiev and his son at Torchesk; enemies of the Cumans, who raid their camps, though individual chieftains have fled to the Cumans in quarrels.

How things stand that morning

In Rurik's service through Rostislav Rurikovich; no campaign recorded that winter.

Wealth

Horses, cattle and sheep; pay and gifts from the prince; booty from the steppe.

Military

Light horse archers, the striking force of Kiev against the Cumans. No numbers.

Threats

• Cuman raids on their camps
• A change of prince in Kiev

Customs and assemblies

Clan chieftains; collective decisions in crises (the chronicle speaks of 'all the Black Hoods'); the prince gives towns and gifts to their leaders and they swear to him. Partly Christianised, many still pagan.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200-1201Their choice between Rurik and Roman will weigh in any fight for Kiev.Depends on: Roman's move on Kiev. Stopped by: Peace between Rurik and Roman.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The Black Hoods are well attested as a body to 1196; their leaders for 1199-1200 are not named.

On the map: Their camps and the Rus' forts are interleaved; the outline is the zone, not a border.

Primary sources for Kiev (Rurik Rostislavich)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
• The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
• The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online