Summary/Abstract |
IT WAS UNDER KIEVAN PRINCE Igor (912-945) that Jewish tradesmen and artisans settled in Kozary, the lower part of his capital. Merchants whose business interests had regularly brought them to Kiev formed the core of the new colony. Russian chronicles contain no information about the newcomers: merchant colonies were common or even everyday facts of life in Rus. Indeed, Russian merchants set up similar colonies along the caravan routes between the East and the West. The agreements signed by Kievan Princes Oleg and Igor with Byzantium in 911 and 944 contained detailed descriptions of the conditions on which Russian merchants who came to Constantinople on business from Kiev and other Russian cities could stay in the Byzantine capital.
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