The SeveriansPrince Ihor's campaign of 1185
The campaign sung in “The Tale of Ihor's Campaign” is the very era the game lives in. Here's how it unfolded according to the chronicle.
Who set out
Ihor Sviatoslavych, Prince of Novhorod-Siverskyi (1180–1198), his brother Vsevolod “Buy-Tur”, his son Volodymyr (Putyvl), his nephew Sviatoslav Olhovych (Rylsk) and the Kovui of Prince Yaroslav of Chernihiv led by Olstyn Oleksych.
Timeline
- 23 April 1185 — Ihor set out from Novhorod-Siverskyi.
- 1 May — a solar eclipse near the Donets; the boyars took it as an ill omen.
- 10 May — the first clash at the river Siuurlii: the Rus' took Cuman camps and loot.
- 11–12 May — the battle on the Kayala against the united Cuman forces. The Kovui fled, Ihor was wounded and captured, and so was Vsevolod. Exactly where the Kayala flowed is still unknown.
- Later the Cuman Ovlur helped Ihor escape, and the prince returned to Novhorod-Siverskyi, then to Chernihiv and Kyiv.
Sources: Rus' Chronicle, 1185; commentary to “The Tale of Ihor’s Campaign”; “Tale of Ihor’s Campaign” museum reserve
Aftermath: the blow to the Seim land
The Seim land was left without princes and warbands. Konchak besieged Pereiaslav and took Rymiv, while Koza (Gza) Burnovych went for Putyvl: he ravaged the district, burned the villages and the outer fort around the town, but did not take Putyvl itself. “The towns of the Seim were in turmoil, and there was grief and bitter sorrow,” writes the chronicler.
The outer fort burned, the citadel held. That's why the palisade in the game is no decoration, neighbour.
The Cumans were not only enemies
In captivity Ihor's son Volodymyr married Konchak's daughter and later came home with her. In the game the Cumans also come in many forms, from patrols to tribute.
How it works in the game
In The Severians Prince Ihor calls a feast before the campaign, Putyvl can come under siege, and a campaign against the Cuman camp pushes the steppe back. Read raids and defence and hero combat.
