Kuzenkov Pavel V.
@sevsu.ru
Leading Researcher
Sevastopol State University
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Byzantine studies; historical chronology; computus ecclesiasticus, Church history
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Павел Владимирович Кузенков and Юрий Миронович Могаричев
Tatarstan Academy of Sciences
В статье рассматривается один из наименее изученных периодов в истории Горной Юго-Западной Таврики, 2-я половина XIII в. В этот период происходит коренная трансформация политической системы всего Причерноморского региона, началом которой послужило разрушение Византийской империи в 1204 г., а катализатором выступили монгольские завоевания. Начиная с 20-х гг. XIII в., Крымский полуостров подвергается вторжениям армий Чингисхана и его потомков, однако процесс его интеграции в структуру Улуса Джучи (Золотой Орды) протекает неравномерно и растягивается на многие десятилетия. На основе комплексного анализа нарративных и эпиграфических источников авторы изучают специфику ранней фазы золотоордынского периода на территории Горного Юго- Западного Крыма, где представлены такие значительные археологические памятники, как Эски-Кермен и Мангуп. Сделаны выводы о том, что в рассматриваемый период регион сохранял определенную форму независимости от ханской власти и управлялся местными полиэтничными элитами, которые сохраняли приверженность греческому православному христианству, но при этом стремились вписатьсяв формирующийся привилегированный класс Золотой Орды.
Pavel Vladislavovich Kuzenkov and
Ural Federal University
The Synopsis of Histories of John Skylitzes is one of the most important sources on the history of Byzantium in the tenth and eleventh centuries. By its nature, it is a compilation of many works of other authors. In view of the fact that most of these writings have not been preserved, a great part of Skylitzes’ book is significant as a primary source. The author’s working method can be revealed by comparison with the only main source of the Synopsis that survived, the so-called Continuator of Theophanes. This article analyzes all the dated events in the work of Skylitzes, compares them with his sources, and draws conclusions about the specifics of his approach to chronology. In general, John Skylitzes, as a chronicler, stands head and shoulders above other known Byzantine authors from the tenth and eleventh century; however, his “systematic” approach to the material does not save him from errors and hyper- corrections, which makes us cautious about the chronological and other information he reports. The account of the Synopsis of Histories is of great importance for the history of Byzantine chronology.
Pavel Kuzenkov
LLC Integration Education and Science
The article traces the history of the names of the Crimean peninsula and its main regions in the Greek-language literature of the Byzantine period, from late Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages (4th — 15th centuries). During this thousand-year period, the political and ethnic history of Crimea was characterized by large-scale transformations, accompanied by significant changes in the ethno-population structure of both mountainous and lowland populations. Nevertheless, Byzantine sources demonstrate a persistent desire to archaize and artificially “stabilize” the Crimean realities by describing them within the framework of the classical antique ethnogeographic nomenclature (Taurica, Scythia, etc.). The reflection of the actual linguistic usus in Byzantine time is typical, with rare exceptions, only for written monuments of the so called middle style, and even then mainly during the period of cultural decline of the “dark ages” (8th — 9th centuries).
Pavel V. Kuzenkov and
Ural Federal University
This research offers a detailed reconstruction of one of the most famous episodes of Byzantine-Arab relations in the ninth century, the victorious campaign of the Abbasid army led by Caliph al-Mu‘tasim deep into the territory of Byzantium in 838 AD, which ended with the defeat of the army of Emperor Theophilos and the destruction of two most important fortresses in Asia Minor, Ankyra and Amorion, the native place of the ruling dynasty. The accounts of the circumstances and the route of this expedition kept by Arab, Syrian, and Greek sources make it possible to build a detailed chronological map of this military campaign with the use of new methodology created for the project of the comprehensive database of events of Byzantine history. The bringing together chronological and topographic indications of all available sources made it possible not only to make a complete reconstruction of the military operations, but also to revise the date of one of the most important events in the ninth-century history of Byzantium, the battle of Anzen at Dazimon plain, when the Arab-Turkic-Armenian army commanded by Afshin inflicted a crushing defeat on the Byzantine army of Emperor Theophilus, which included the Persian detachments of the ex-Khurramites of Babek. Taking the data in possession into account, there are reasons to date the battle to July 4th, 838 AD. It is proposed to correlate the previously accepted date indicated by at-Tabari, July 22nd, with another key event of the 838 campaign, the destruction of Ankyra. In addition, a comprehensive analysis of the sources makes it possible to clarify the chronology and circumstances of the fall of Amorion, which surrender to the Arabs was resulted by an ethno-religious conflict.