Tivertsi

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Tivertsi, a.k.a. Tivertsy, Tiverians ( Тиверцы in Russian, Тиверці in Ukrainian) is a tribe of early East Slavs which supposedly lived in the lands of upper Dniester^{[citation needed]}, and conjecturally lower Dniester and Danube rivers^{[citation needed]}, that is in modern-day Western Ukraine, and possibly in modern-day Moldova, eastern Romania and southern Odessa oblast of Ukraine. Several settlement of Tivertsi are now archaeological sites, in Ukraine and Moldova^{[citation needed]}.

The original information about the tribe is scarce. Tivertsi and Ulichs are briefly mentioned in early Ruthenian manuscripts, 863 being the earliest reference, 944 being the latest. The Primary Chronicle from the Laurentian Codex mentions that they lived by Dniester and Danube down to the sea (evidently, the Black Sea). The Hypatian Codex replaces Dniester with Dnieper. The Tver Chronicle mentions them in the year 883, mentioning their fight against Askold and Dir. A number of manuscripts mention in the year 885 that they fought with Oleg. They are mentioned as taking part in Oleg's expeditions in 907 and in Igor's expeditions in 944, the latter year being the last reference to Tivertsi in early East Slavic manuscripts. ^[1]

All other knowledge concerning them consists of the hypotheses of various historians.

Vernadsky suggests that the name Tivertsi possibly originates from the fortress Turris of Justinian I, pointing out that the letter "u" was commonly rendered as "v" (or, rather, ypsilon), suggesting the common root "tvr" of Iranian origin.^[2]

At the beginning of 10th century, the tribe became part of the Kievan Rus. Starting in the mid-10th century, the Tivertsi frequently carried fights with the neighbouring Pechenegs and Cumans, as a result of which the tribe was gradually assimilated by other East Slavic tribes. In 12th and 13th centuries, some lands of Tivertsi were part of kingdom of Galicia and later the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On the lands populated by Wallachians, from Transylvania, some Tivertsi were gradually assimilated by them.

[edit] Controversy

It has been suggested that the sections about the "Tivertsi and Ulichs" in the Primary Chronicle were taken from the Descriptio civitatum et regionum ad septentrionalem plagam Danubii ("Descriprion of cities and lands north of Danube") by an anonymous Bavarian chronicler known as The Bavarian Geographer, where he lists a number of Slavic tribes, such as Vulgarii, Ruzzi, etc. and it is conjectured that the Geographer mistook these terms for Tver Karelians (tiverin karjala) and Uglichs, hypothetical founders of Uglich.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, article "Tivertsy"
2. ^ Vernadsky, G. Ancient Rus, Chapter VIII

[edit] References

• This article is based on material from the public domain 1906 Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.