Historically, it so happened that for many centuries the Arab states obeyed the dogmas and norms of the religion of Islam, did not know the rule of kings and emperors. So who rules in them and what is the name supreme ruler Let's try to figure it out.
Most often, the form of government of the country is determined by. If the ruler is called a sultan, then the sultanate, the caliph (the old name is caliph) is the caliphate, and so on. Let's figure out what they have in common and what are the main differences.
Caliphs (Caliphs)
The representative of both secular and religious rule without any division, the supreme ruler in the Arab countries is the caliph. It was believed that the Caliphs were formerly the governors of the Prophet Muhammad on earth. Under such a government, it is religion that is the founder and has a huge impact on the political direction of life in the country.
In addition, the Egyptian and then the Turkish sultans were also called Caliphs, emphasizing their spiritual supremacy over the Muslim inhabitants.
Sultans
Sultan is another official title that answers the question of what is the name of the supreme ruler in Arab countries. If the sultan is at the head, then the state itself or its part (region, region, state) is called the sultanate. The name came to the world of Islam from the Koran, as a designation of power, later "sultan" began to denote a representative of secular power, opposite to the "imam", as a representative of religious power.
The main distinguishing feature of the sultanate in the Islamic world is the rule of the dynasty for a long period. Being part of the caliphate, such a state was nevertheless independent and obeyed only its ruler from the local dynasty. But it happened that an elected person also came to power.
Nowadays, there is not a single country left where the sultan would rule. The last known sultanates - Zanzibar, Katari, Quayti and Lahej - disappeared from the world map in 1964 and 1967. Although the most famous sultanates are rightfully considered the Ottoman, with the capital in Constantinople, and the Mamluk, the capital of Cairo.
Sheikhs and emirs
Some dynasties of modern representatives of the power of Arab countries, such as Kuwait, Bahrain and others, appeared during the time of the settlement of tribes. Then they themselves chose the sheikhs - another title that the supreme Arab ruler can bear.
It was the sheikhs who influenced the life of the clan, their power grew, they were strengthened at the expense of weaker clans. And this process continued until one of the most powerful sheikhs founded his dynasty, transferring power and the right to rule to his children and grandchildren.
In the UAE, as the name implies, there is another option at the head, as the supreme ruler is called in the Arab countries. The title is inherited. Although the country consists of seven independent administrative units - emirates, they are all subordinate to the supreme ruler. Sometimes he is also called the president, although this is not entirely correct, since the position is inherited.
Kings and Presidents
In some countries, for example, in Jordan or Morocco, the monarchy is still preserved, when power is united and concentrated in the hands of one ruler. At the same time, the ruling person bears the title of king. Naturally, the very word of non-Arab origin was introduced into the language by the colonialists who exhibited these territories at one time, although it answers the question of what the supreme ruler is called in the Arab countries.
There are cases when the form of government changed in the country, and hence the name of the head of state. For example, in Qatar in the 70th year of the 20th century, a constitution was adopted. It said that representatives of the emirates can choose from their circle a ruler for a period of five years. In this case, the title of the ruler is the president.
Where did the Muslim script on the helmet of Alexander Nevsky come from, why did the eagle appear on the seal of Ivan III, did Ivan the Terrible kill his son? The history of Russian monarchs is full of mysteries.
Who was Rurik?
Historians have never come to a consensus about who Rurik was. According to some sources, it could be the Danish Viking Rörik of Jutland, according to others, the Swede Eirik Emundarson, who raided the lands of the Balts.
There is also a Slavic version of the origin of Rurik.
The 19th century historian Stepan Gedeonov linked the name of the prince with the word "Rerek" (or "Rarog"), which in the Slavic tribe of the cheerleaders meant a falcon. During the excavations of the early settlements of the Rurik dynasty, many images of this bird were found.
Did Svyatopolk kill Boris and Gleb?
One of the main "antiheroes" of history Ancient Rus became Svyatopolk the Damned. He is considered to be the killer of the noble princes Boris and Gleb in 1015. Folk etymology connects the nickname of Svyatopolk with the name of Cain, although this word goes back to the ancient Russian "kayati" - to repent.
Despite the accusation of murdering princes, the name of Svyatopolk was not removed from the family list of princely names until the middle of the 12th century.
Some historians, for example, Nikolai Ilyin, believe that Svyatopolk could not have killed Boris and Gleb, since they recognized his right to the throne. In his opinion, the young princes fell victim to the hands of the soldiers of Yaroslav the Wise, who claimed the Kiev throne. For this reason, the name of Svyatopolk was not removed from the generic list of names.
Where did the remains of Yaroslav the Wise disappear?
Yaroslav the Wise, the son of Vladimir the Baptist, was buried on February 20, 1054 in Kiev in the marble tomb of St. Clement. In 1936, the sarcophagus was opened and were surprised to find several mixed remains: a male, female and several bones of a child.
In 1939, they were sent to Leningrad, where scientists from the Institute of Anthropology found that one of the three skeletons belonged to Yaroslav the Wise.
However, it remained a mystery to whom the other remains belonged and how they got there. According to one version, the only wife of Yaroslav, the Scandinavian princess Ingegerde, rested in the tomb. But who was Yaroslav's child buried with him? With the advent of DNA technology, the question of opening the tomb came up again.
The relics of Yaroslav - the most ancient of the surviving remains of the Rurik family, had to "answer" several questions. Chief among which: the clan of Rurik - Scandinavians or are they still Slavs?
On September 10, 2009, looking at the pale anthropologist Sergei Szegeda, the staff of the Sophia Cathedral Museum realized that things were bad. The remains of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise disappeared, and in their place lay a completely different skeleton and the newspaper Pravda from 1964.
The riddle of the appearance of the newspaper was solved quickly. It was forgotten by the last Soviet specialists who worked with bones.
But with the "self-appointed" relics, the situation was more complicated. It turned out that these are female remains, moreover, from two skeletons dating from completely different times! Who these women were, how their remains ended up in the sarcophagus, and where Yaroslav himself disappeared, remains a mystery.
Where does the Muslim script on Alexander Nevsky's helmet come from?
On the helmet of Alexander Nevsky, in addition to diamonds and rubies, there is Arabic script, the 3rd verse of the 61st sura of the Koran: "Please the faithful with the promise of help from Allah and a quick victory."
In the course of countless checks and examinations, it was found that the "Erichon cap" was forged in the East (from where the Arabic inscriptions come from) in the 17th century.
Then, with an opportunity, the helmet ended up with Mikhail Fedorovich, where it underwent "Christian tuning". The helmet was attributed to Nevsky by mistake, but because of this mistake it was on the coat of arms Russian Empire together with other royal "hats".
It is interesting that the Arabic script also adorned the helmet of Ivan the Terrible, as well as other noble persons of medieval Russia. Of course, we can say that these were trophies. But it is difficult to imagine that a regulated Ivan IV would put a used helmet on his crowned head. And in use by the "Basurman". The question of why the noble prince wore a helmet with Islamic letters still remains open.
Why did the eagle appear on the seal of Ivan III?
The two-headed eagle in Russia first appeared on the state seal of the Grand Duke Ivan III in 1497. Historians almost categorically claim that the eagle in Russia appeared with the light hand of Sophia Palaeologus, niece of the last Byzantine emperor and wife of Ivan III.
But why Grand Duke decided to use the eagle only two decades later, no one explains.
I wonder what exactly at the same time in Western Europe the two-headed eagle became fashionable among alchemists. The authors of alchemical works put the eagle on their books as a quality mark. The double-headed eagle meant that the author received the Philosopher's Stone, capable of turning metals into gold. The fact that Ivan III gathered around him foreign architects, engineers, healers, who probably practiced then fashionable alchemy, indirectly proves that the tsar had an idea of \u200b\u200bthe essence of the "feathered" symbol.
Did Ivan the Terrible kill his son?
The murder of his heir by Ivan Vasilyevich is a very controversial fact. So, in 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Research has led to the assertion that Tsarevich John was poisoned. The content of poison in his remains is many times higher than the permissible rate. It is interesting that the same poison was found in the bones of Ivan Vasilievich.
Scientists concluded that the royal family had been a victim of poisoners for several decades.
Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. This version was adhered to, for example, by the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev. Seeing the famous painting by Repin at the exhibition, he was outraged and wrote to the emperor Alexander III: "The picture cannot be called historical, since this moment is ... purely fantastic."
The version of the murder was based on the stories of the papal legate Antonio Possevino, who can hardly be called an uninterested person.
Why did Ivan the Terrible move to the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda?
The move of Grozny to the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda became an unprecedented event in Russian history. In fact, for almost 20 years, Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda became the capital of Russia. Here Ivan the Terrible began to establish the first after centuries of isolation international relationships, conclude important trade and political treaties, receive the embassies of European powers.
Grozny moved there the first printing house in Russia, where the students of the first printer Ivan Fedorov, Andronik Timofeev and Nikifor Tarasiev, worked, who printed many books and even the first leaflets there.
The best architects, icon painters, and musicians followed the sovereign to the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. A book-writing workshop worked at the court, a prototype of the first conservatory was created.
Tsarist diplomats were ordered to explain to foreigners that the Russian tsar left for the "village" of his own free will "for his coolness", that his residence in the "village" is located near Moscow, therefore the tsar "rules his state both in Moscow and in Sloboda."
Why did Grozny decide to move? Most likely, the monastic brotherhood in Sloboda was formed in the wake of the conflict between Ivan IV and Metropolitan Philip. The head of the church denounced the unrighteous life of the king. The presence of monastic brotherhood in Sloboda personally showed everyone that the sovereign leads the life of a saint. Ivan the Terrible with his brotherhood did not particularly flirt. In the years 1570-1571, some brothers were stabbed to death or hanged at the gate of their own house, others were drowned, or thrown into prison.
Where did the library of Ivan the Terrible disappear?
According to legend, Ivan the Terrible, after moving to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, brought the library with him. Another hypothesis says that John hid it in some kind of secure Kremlin cache. But be that as it may, after the reign of Grozny the library disappeared.
There are many versions of the loss. First: the priceless manuscripts were burnt in one of the Moscow fires. The second: during the occupation of Moscow, the "Liberea" was taken to the West by the Poles and sold there in parts.
According to the third version, the Poles did find the library, but in conditions of hunger, they ate it there in the Kremlin.
They searched for the library for a long time, but in vain. Searches for "libereya" were also carried out in the 20th century. However, Academician Dmitry Likhachev said that the legendary library is hardly of great value.
Why did Ivan the Terrible abdicate?
In 1575 Ivan the Terrible abdicated the throne and put on the throne the serving Tatar Khan Simeon Bekbulatovich. Contemporaries did not understand the meaning of the monarch's venture. A rumor spread that the sovereign was frightened by the prediction of the magicians. The news of this was preserved by one of the later chroniclers: "And they say that for this he imprisoned (Simeon), that the sorcerers told him that in that year there will be a change: the Moscow Tsar will die."
The autocrat received warnings of this kind from sorcerers and astrologers more than once.
Ivan began to call himself "slave Ivashka". But it is indicative that the power of the "slave" for some reason continued to spread to the lands of the former Kazan Khanate, where Ivan retained the title of tsar.
Most likely, Ivan was afraid that, being under the rule of a real Chingizid, the citizens of Kazan would perhaps take their spirits up, befitting Simeon for an uprising. Of course, Simeon was not a real king, the uncertainty of his position was aggravated by the fact that he took the royal throne, but received only the grand ducal title instead of the royal one.
In the third month of Simeon the Terrible's reign, he told the English ambassador that he would be able to re-ordain whenever he pleased, and would do as God instructed him, because Simeon had not yet been approved by the wedding ceremony and was appointed not by popular election, but only by his consent.
Simeon's reign lasted 11 months, after which Ivan deposed him, generously rewarded Tver and Torzhok, where Simeon died in 1616, having taken monasticism before his death. For almost a year Grozny conducted his strange experiment.
Was False Dmitry "false"
We have already accepted that False Dmitry I is the fugitive monk Grishka Otrepiev. The idea that “it was easier to save than to forge Dimitri” was expressed by the famous Russian historian Nikolai Kostomarov.
Indeed, it looks very surreal that at first Dmitry (with the prefix "false") was recognized by his own mother, princes, boyars in front of all honest people, and after a while everyone suddenly saw the light.
The pathological situation is added by the fact that the prince himself was completely convinced of his naturalness, as his contemporaries wrote about.
Either it is schizophrenia, or he had reasons. Checking the "originality" of Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich, at least today, is not possible.
Who killed Tsarevich Dmitry?
If Dmitry did die, what was the cause of his death? At noon on May 25, 1591, the prince threw knives with the other children who were part of his retinue. In the materials of the investigation into the death of Ivan the Terrible's son, there is evidence of one youth who played with the tsarevich: "... the tsarevich played jab with a knife with them in the backyard, and an illness came to him - a falling ailment - and threw himself on the knife."
In fact, these testimonies became the main argument for the investigators to qualify the death of Dmitry Ioannovich as an accident.
However, the official version still does not suit historians. The death of the last sovereign from the Rurik dynasty opened the way to the kingdom of Boris Godunov, who in fact was the ruler of the country while Fedor Ioannovich was still alive. By that time, Godunov had a reputation among the people of the "murderer of the tsarevich", but this did not bother him much. By cunning manipulations, he was nevertheless elected king
Peter I was replaced?
Many Russian boyars were in this conviction after the return of Peter I from a 15-month tour of Europe. And the point here was not only in the new tsarist "outfit".
Particularly attentive persons found inconsistencies of physiological properties: firstly, the king grew significantly, and, secondly, his facial features changed, and thirdly, his legs became much smaller.
Rumors spread throughout Muscovy about the substitution of the sovereign.
According to one version, Peter was "thrown into the wall", and instead of him they sent to Russia a similar-faced impostor. According to the other - "the tsar in the Germans was laid in a barrel and launched into the sea." Fuel to the fire was added by the fact that Peter, who returned from Europe, began a large-scale destruction of the "old Russian antiquity."
There were also rumors that the tsar was replaced in infancy: “The sovereign is not of a Russian breed, and not the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich; taken in infancy from a German settlement, from a foreigner by exchange. The queen gave birth to a princess, and instead of the princess they took ev, the sovereign, and gave the princess instead of ev.
To whom did Peter I bequeathed power?
Peter I died before he could appoint an heir. After him, Catherine I took the throne, and then a long political leapfrog followed, called the Epoch of Palace Revolutions. In 1812, after the collapse of the Napoleonic invasion, it became known about a certain "Testament of Peter I".
In 1836 it was published, however, in French. In his testament, Peter allegedly called on his successors to wage constant wars with Europe, divide Poland, conquer India and neutralize Turkey. In general, to achieve complete and final hegemony in Eurasia.
Some of the already fulfilled “covenants”, for example, the partition of Poland, made the document more credible. But, at the end of the 19th century, the document was carefully studied and found to be fake.
Who was Paul I?
Emperor Paul I unwittingly continued the tradition of generating rumors around the Romanovs' house. Immediately after the birth of the heir in the court, and then already throughout Russia, rumors spread that the real father of Paul I was not Peter III, but the first favorite grand duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, Count Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov.
Indirectly, this was confirmed by Catherine II, who in her memoirs recalled how Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, so that the dynasty did not die out, ordered the wife of her heir to give birth to a child, regardless of who would be his genetic father. There is also a folk legend of the birth of Paul I: according to it, Catherine gave birth to a dead child from Peter, and he was replaced by a certain "Chukhonsky" boy.
When did Alexander I die?
There is a legend that Alexander the First left the royal throne, falsifying his own death, and went to wander around Russia under the name of Fyodor Kuzmich. There are several indirect confirmations of this legend.
So, the witnesses concluded that on his deathbed Alexander was totally different from himself.
In addition, for unclear reasons, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, the king's wife, did not participate in the funeral ceremony.
The famous Russian lawyer Anatoly Koni conducted a thorough comparative study of the handwritings of the emperor and Fyodor Kuzmich and came to the conclusion that "the emperor's letters and the wanderer's notes were written by the hand of one and the same person."
arabian Sultanate
Alternative descriptionsState in Asia Minor, capital - Muscat
State in the east of the Arabian Peninsula
Tribe-chiefdom among the Akan peoples (ethnographic)
Sultanate in Asia
Medicinal plant
Yemen's neighbor
Country with Muscat
State in Asia
Which country has the “om” domain?
Which Asian state has the capital Muscat?
Sultanate country
Asian sultanate
Saudi Arabia's neighbor
Sultanate
Ru - Russia, а.om?
Whose capital is Muscat?
Country in Asia
Austrian sultanate
Moscow - Russia, Muscat - ...
Arab state
Country on the Arabian Peninsula
The area surrounding Muscat
Delhi is India, and Muscat?
The land of the sultans
Country led by Muscat
Southern neighbor of the Emirates
Arabian country
Borders with Saudi Arabia
Sultanate of the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian state
State of the sultans
Its capital is Muscat
Country with the main city of Muscat
Yemen's eastern neighbor
A country with the same name
Bern is Switzerland, and Muscat?
Borders with the Emirates
The area around Muscat
Which country has an exclave Madha?
The country where the sultan rules
A country ruled by sultans
Asian state
The sultan rules the ball there
Borders with the UAE
Where does Sinbad the Sailor come from?
Country around Muscat
State on the Arabian Peninsula
State in Asia
Ru - Russia, а.om
Bern is Switzerland and Muscat
Borders with the Emirates and Yemen
Delhi is India and Muscat
I. plant Indula heleenium, elecampane, astonished
Country with capital Muscat
Which Asian state has the capital Muscat
Which country has exclave Madha
Whose capital is Muscat
Which state has the "om" domain
Where does Sinbad the Sailor come from?
Anagram for the word "Amon"
Anagram for the word "Mona"
Former "Pirate Coast"
Anagram for the word "Amon"
Anagram for the word "Mona"
At the end of the 7th - beginning of the 8th century. The Arab Caliphate has reached its maximum power. From Persia, his hordes invaded Central Asia and reached India. The Caliph's warriors advanced confidently across North Africa. The Byzantine generals were defeated, fled, or surrendered. From Morocco, the Arabs crossed over to Spain and took possession of it. Having crossed the Pyrenees, they occupied the southern part of France. New orders were established in the occupied countries. Those who did not give up and were defeated in battle were turned into slavery. Those who submitted had to accept the laws of the caliphate.
All of its inhabitants were subject to a single, rather high haraj tax - it went to the army. Gentiles, Christians and Jews, paid an additional tax, jizya. Zoroastrians and pagans were subject to compulsory conversion to Islam. Benefits and indulgences provided to certain peoples were gradually eliminated, all were brought to a common pattern. Having learned that the Armenian nobility was getting along with Byzantium, the Arabs punished her so that no one would want to be headstrong anymore. They summoned the princes-nakharars to Nakhichevan for negotiations, locked them in churches and burned them. Georgia and Armenia were forced to pay a large tribute and were deprived of their autonomy, an Arab governor was appointed to govern the Transcaucasus.
But many Christians in Syria, Africa ^ Asia Minor, Spain voluntarily changed their faith. This opened the way for a career, for service in the administration and the army. Using such specialists, the Caliphate acquired a large fleet, he raided the Aegean Sea, ravaged the Greek islands and cities, and even smashed the outskirts of Constantinople. And only in one place of the offensive of the Arabs were repeatedly reflected - the Rus and the Khazars did not allow them to break through the Caucasus Mountains. The parties exchanged blows, the border Derbent now and then passed from hand to hand.
Byzantium also held on somehow. She has noticeably decreased, she only has Balkan Peninsula, western regions of Asia Minor, Chersonesos, Mediterranean islands and part of Italy. But the Khazars and northerners pulled off the Arab forces from the Asia Minor front. And the emperor still had enough soldiers, there were talented engineers. They invented a new design of siphons for "Greek fire", now they could be installed on ships. The Byzantine fleet burned several enemy squadrons, disaccustoming them to roam along their shores. However, the spoiled elite of Constantinople was again struck by old diseases - selfishness, self-interest, a passion for political intrigue. As soon as Heraclius died, it all broke through.
His heir Constantine III was poisoned by his stepmother Martin, who elevated his own son Herakleon to the kingdom. At this point the military was outraged and threw them off. Martine had her tongue cut out, her son emasculated and given the crown to Heraclius' grandson Constant. But he was 11 years old, and the court entourage seized power. They began to fill up for their pleasure on behalf of the emperor. When he grew up, he tried to escape from custody, but temporary workers firmly stuck around the throne. To free himself from them, the king had to flee from Constantinople. He moved to Sicily, wanted to move the capital there.
But Constant was killed by the conspirators. His son Constantine IV Pogonat needed to pacify both the Sicilian rebellion and the rebellion of his brothers. Naturally, squabbles did not contribute to military success in any way. Nevertheless, Pogonat managed to restore relative order in the empire, and this affected the defense. He stopped the Arabs, made peace with the Caliphate. But the Bulgarians were advancing from the north. The Slavs who settled in Macedonia and Greece did not want to obey either the emperor or his officials. They did not pay taxes, lived in their own communities. The Italians grew bolder, too, and were eager for independence. And the nobles of Constantinople were ready to strangle each other and the king himself for their own benefit.
In 685, 16-year-old Justinian II ascended the throne - a brave, talented man, but extremely cruel and unbalanced. He resumed the war with the Arabs, won a number of victories. Undertook a campaign against the Bulgarians, although it ended in a shameful failure. Much better succeeded Justinian punitive expeditions within the empire. He walked through the areas inhabited by the Slavs, destroyed the rebellious tribes and forced them to obey. After that, the emperor decided to kill two birds with one stone. Deprive the Bulgarians of potential allies and strengthen the troops in the east. He ordered to deport 200 thousand Slavs to Asia Minor, let them fight against the Arabs. But then he miscalculated. The expulsion from their homes and the forced resettlement angered the Slavs. Those of them who remained in the Balkans began to be handed over to the Bulgarians en masse. And on the Arab front, Prince Neboulos with a 20,000-strong army in the first battle went over to the side of the enemy, and the Byzantine army suffered a crushing defeat.
Justinian was furious. He ordered the complete execution of all the tribe to which the Slavic warriors who had betrayed belonged, not to spare either women or babies. The emperor undertook to solve other problems in the same cool way. He began the pursuit of the Italian separatists. Having received news that discontent was brewing in Ravenna, he put to death all the noble citizens of this city. He intended to press to the nail and the loose aristocracy of Constantinople, but he was outstripped. In 695, Justinian was overthrown, his nose cut off and exiled to Chersonesos. The coup turned into a fight for power. First, the military leader Leonty reigned, he was defeated by Tiberius III, he also deprived of his nose and went to the monastery.
And Justinian did not lose hope of returning to the palace. In Chersonesos, he began to prepare a conspiracy, incite the inhabitants to revolt. They did not support him, they reported to the capital. But he fled to the Gothic city of Doras and contacted the Khazar Kagan Ibuzir. He promised him all kinds of benefits if he would help to return the throne. The kagan agreed, allowed to settle on Taman. Despite the mutilated nose, he passed off his sister as a fugitive; in baptism she was named Theodora. But the embassy of Tiberius III arrived to Ibuzir with rich gifts. Justinian was afraid that he would be extradited, killed the commander of the Khazar guard attached to him and fled to the Bulgarians on a ship.
Khan Tervel ruled at that time. Justinian also gave him the most tempting promises, and the khan did not mind helping his injured neighbor. In 705 the Bulgarian army suddenly approached Constantinople. Tiberius organized a defense, but Justinian with a detachment of soldiers made his way into the city through the drain pipes, a commotion began, and the capital fell. The winner thanked Tervel extremely generously. Gave him his own daughter from his first marriage to wife. He ordered that he be given the same honors as the emperor himself, crowned "Caesar" - and from that moment the Bulgarian khans began to bear the title of "kings". Justinian tried to restore friendship with Khazaria. He summoned the kagan's sister Theodora, and declared her son the heir to the throne. Kagan Ibuzir also visited Constantinople, he was greeted with unprecedented honor. The emperor showered him with gifts, officially recognized the Khazar conquests in the Crimea and Taman.
But terror fell upon the enemies of Justinian. Tiberius was executed. III, recovered from the monastery of Leontius. Mass reprisals against their supporters unfolded. According to the lists and denunciations, they grabbed everyone who rose to their rule, who participated in the overthrow of Justinian, or at least approved him. Their wives, children, distant relatives and friends were also condemned to death.
But Justinian could not live without enemies. With one hand he destroyed them, and with the other he himself multiplied their number. When he considered that he had established himself in power, he realized that he had granted too much rights to the Bulgarians. I decided it was time to put the "barbarians" in their place, and went to war against them. He got burned very badly. Dealing with yesterday's friend Tervel proved to be more difficult than signing sentences. The Bulgarians once again beat the emperor, he was forced to humbly ask for forgiveness, to confirm all the awards and concessions.
Then Justinian remembered one more enemies - how Chersonesus refused to help him. Sent a punitive expedition to the Crimea. Here, too, the blood of the executed was poured. The inhabitants of Chersonesos were horrified. There was a rumor that every last one wanted to destroy them. Knowing the character of the monarch, they fully believed in it, and the city revolted. He proclaimed a certain Filippikos as emperor and announced that he was given over to the protection of Khazaria. Because of this, a war almost broke out between Byzantium and the Khaganate. But the troops sent to suppress the revolt went over to the side of the rebels and moved to Constantinople. Justinian fled, he was caught and killed. The Khazark empress was also killed. The little heir sought salvation in the altar in the Blachernae Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, he was pulled out and publicly stabbed to death on the city wall.
And then went the complete disgrace. If power was seized by one impostor, then why not another? Philippica was killed by Anastasius, he was deposed by Theodosius, and he was deposed by Leo III the Isaurian. It was not necessary to talk about victories over external enemies in such a dance. Byzantine soldiers fought with each other, and the Arabs again pressed them, taking the cities.
The Khazars and Rusichs had to fight back alone, without allies. In 708, the Arabs once again captured Derbent and invaded Khazaria. In fierce battles they were driven out, in 711 the Khazars again occupied Derbent. In 713, one of the best Arab commanders Muslim, the conqueror of Central Asia... He recaptured Derbent and marched north with the army. But he was also stopped. For two years Muslim repeated attacks and did not achieve success, he was forced to retreat.
Then the Caliphate shifted efforts to another direction, decided to finish off Byzantium. It looked easier. An innumerable army was led by the same Muslim, a fleet of 1800 ships transported it to the European coast of the Dardanelles, in 717 Constantinople was besieged both from land and sea. But Leo III the Isaurian turned out to be an intelligent and active ruler. He threw away the traditional "Romeian" pride and turned to Bulgaria. He gave her a number of territories, pledged to pay an annual tribute of 30 pounds of gold, and King Tervel sided with the Greeks. The Byzantine fleet, having waited for the right moment, attacked the Arab and burned it with "Greek fire". The Muslim hordes were cut off from Asia and hibernated under the walls of the city. The Bulgarian cavalry did not allow them to collect food and fodder. More than 100 thousand soldiers died from hunger, cold weather and disease, only the miserable remnants of the army were saved.
And the Khazars were not allowed to send help to Muslim. While the commander was at Constantinople, the troops of the Kaganate and his allies went on the offensive, took Derbent, and broke into the Transcaucasus. In 721, they struck another blow, invaded Armenia, scattered the troops that had come out against them. But the caliphate still had enough strength. The governor of Transcaucasia Abu Ubaid Jarrah received significant reinforcements and defeated the advancing enemies. Pursuing the thinning out squads of the Khazars, he entered their country, captured and burned Belendzher, the capital of the Semender Kaganate. The governor did not dare to gain a foothold in foreign lands. He loaded the carts with rich booty, drove off a lot of slaves and returned to his territory.
But Khazaria had new complications. Her defeat inspired the Alans. They got out of the power of the kagan and started a war against him. Although the impulse to freedom cost them dearly. The Arabs did not care in what order to conquer the northern peoples. In 724 they passed through the Darial Gorge, attacked Alania and imposed tribute on it. The principalities of mountainous Dagestan were also defeated.
The Khazars retreated to the north and moved the capital away from the enemies. The city of Itil was founded in the lower reaches of the Volga. The headquarters of the kagan was located here, the surviving families moved here. But the army quickly recovered its combat capability. Already in 726 the Khazars with the northerners and Magyars drove the Arabs out of Derbent, and again raided across the Transcaucasia. And year after year, everything was repeated. In 728 the Arabs attacked. After repelling them, the son of the Khagan Bardjil ironed Azerbaijan. He, in turn, was kicked out, in 732 the governor of the Caliph managed to return Derbent. After all the battles, the city turned into a heap of ruins, and the Arabs began to rebuild it anew, housed a 14,000-strong Syrian corps in it.
However, the invincibility of the Caliphate was already ending. Capturing spaces from Indian to Atlantic oceans and fighting on many fronts, he scattered his forces. The former monolithic contingents of Arabs were diluted with representatives of many peoples. And the Arabs themselves were reborn. Children and grandchildren of unpretentious Arabian nomads adopted Persian traditions - they acquired rich houses, numerous harems, servants, bosses surrounded themselves with luxury. And the construction of palaces, mosques, the maintenance of armies required a lot of money. They were pumped out of the population, taxes were raised. The response was appropriate. One after another, uprisings broke out in Persia. In 733 it flared up in Central Asia. In 735, Georgia seethed and rose.
To pacify it, the commander Mervan was appointed the governor of Transcaucasia. He arrived with a large army and literally covered the country with blood. The cities were destroyed. The entire population was driven in droves to the places of execution, their heads chopped off, and thrown into the abyss. No pardon was given to anyone. When Georgia turned into a vast cemetery, Mervan judged that calmness had been restored permanently and for a long time. So, you can do other things. He undertook to prepare a large campaign against Khazaria. In addition to his own contingents, he mobilized auxiliary units from the Armenians, Aghvan and other Caucasian peoples. In 736, the columns of his soldiers, filling all the roads, flowed through the mountain gorges, swept Alania and Dagestan.
In the next, 737, the 150,000-strong army of Mervan rolled north. The kagan gathered only 40 thousand soldiers. They retreated beyond the Volga and began to retreat up the river. Mervan also reached the Volga and followed them along the right bank. For some time the armies moved in parallel. The Khazars, separated from the enemy by a wide river, felt themselves out of reach. But Mervan, having lulled their vigilance, suddenly built a pontoon bridge and threw a select detachment across the Volga. He hit the Khazars by surprise, panic arose. Kagan fled, 10 thousand of his soldiers were killed, 7 thousand were taken prisoner. After this defeat, Khazaria asked for peace. Mervan dictated conditions to her - to recognize the power of the Caliph and convert to Islam. The kagan had no choice but to agree.
And the Arabs and their vassals on the way back ravaged the villages on the “Slavic river” (on the Don), drove away 20 thousand families of the “Sakaliba” (Slavs). 20 thousand families - it was 120-140 thousand people. In every family there are women of different ages, a string of boys and girls. Someone was captured with her husband, someone's head of the family tried to protect their relatives and received an arrow or a blow with a spear. They were driven across the steppes, across the mountains. Like cattle, from watering hole to watering hole ... How many people fell and did not get up, how many were killed on the way? But when the Slavs were brought to the Transcaucasus, they did not want to be slaves. Exhausted women, teenagers, children rebelled. They tore apart the emir placed over them, killed the guards and decided to go home. True, they did not go far. Mervan immediately sent out troops, the fugitives were surrounded and were not taken prisoner, they exterminated every single one.
In general, both the Khazars and the Slavs got it. But neither one nor the other obeyed. The northerners were the first to recover from the losses and declared themselves. For the hijacking and murder of relatives, they paid harshly and in full. In the 750s. Armenian chronicles reported on the invasion of the "Sevordiks", and the Arabs called them "Savarzhdi". This time, they alone, without the Khazars, rushed into Azerbaijan in a flurry, took by storm and destroyed the city of Shamkhor, devastated the outskirts of Ganja.
And to the Khazars, the governor of Transcaucasia, Yasid bin Usaid-as-Sulam, tried to remind them that they promised to become Muslims and subjects of the Caliph. He received no answer. In 754 Yasid decided to repeat Mervan's campaign. Lo, as soon as he passed the Darial Gorge, he was met by the army of the Khazars and their friends. The battles were stubborn, bloody, and Yasid was unable to break through the defenses. Many of his subordinates were killed, and the governor became nervous - after all, his offensive was supposed to bring on retaliatory strikes. Therefore, he invited the kagan to make peace. And this time peace was concluded on an equal footing, the subordination of Khazaria to the caliph was no longer remembered. The Caucasus Range was recognized as the border.
However, Yasid really needed to take care not of the acquisition of new possessions, but of the safety of the existing ones. The Arab power was already crumbling. The executioner of Georgia and the winner of the Khazaria, Mervan became the last caliph from the Umayyad dynasty. Another uprising broke out in Persia, Mervan was killed. The rebels elevated the Abbasid dynasty to the throne and moved the capital from Damascus to Baghdad. But the usurpers were not recognized everywhere; other candidates for power were found. In the middle of the VIII century. the caliphate fell apart.
Not a single name has reached us slavic princes, military leaders, soldiers who participated in this century-old war. Even from the Khazar Khagans, we know only a few. Our ancestors did not keep chronicles yet. And the opponents were not particularly interested in names. They wrote in general terms about the battles with the Khazars, "Rus", "Sevordiks". But these nameless fighters, throwing themselves into desperate felling on the Terek, watering the enemy with arrows at the walls of Derbent, tired of the Transcaucasian roads with dust of their own bones - they won. They defended their homeland from the most formidable conquerors of that era. And not just one country, but the whole of Eastern Europe.