- Severians
The Severians or Severyans or Siverians were a tribe or tribal union of
Early East Slavs occupying areas to the east of the middleDnieper river around the rivers Desna, Sejm and Sula on the territory of the archaeologicalRomny culture .The Etymology of the name of Severians is controversial. Though it is similar to the Russian word for "north" ("sěver"), the severians never were the northernmost tribe of Slavs. More probable is that the name is of Iranian (sarmathian tribe of "Seuer", from Iranian "seu" = "black") or Turkic origin (a part of Huns). Alternatively, the name may be derived from a
Proto-Slavic word for "family member", compare "serbs ". The modern names are "Сiверяни" in Ukrainian and "Северяне " in Russian.Their neighbours were the tribes of Viatich and Radimich in the north, and the Derevlian and Polian tribes in the west. The eastern and southern borders of the tribe's habitat were never permanent and would sometimes reach the upper reaches of the
Seversky Donets .Their existence as a political unit can be proven for the 8th to
11th century and thought to be sprang from the KrivichiFact|date=February 2007. They had to pay tribute to theKhazars in the 8th and9th century , were annexed byOleg of Novgorod to the Kiev state together with the Polans in the late 9th century, and participated in Oleg's campaign againstConstantinople in907 . Finally they became part of theGrand Principality of Chernigov . The last reference to them stems from1024 . For subsequent history of the region, seeSeveria (whose name is derived from "Severians").They are mentioned especially by
Geographus Bavarus (9th century, "Zeriuani"), byConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos, by the khazarkhagan Joseph (c. 960) and by thePrimary Chronicle .The principal cities of the Severians were
Chernigov (modern "Chernihiv"),Kursk ,Novgorod-Seversky (modern "Novhorod-Siverskyi") and others.Archaeologist s also found numerous rural settlements of the 8th - 10th centuries, inhabited by the Severians, andburial mound s with cremated bodies. The Severians were mostly engaged inagriculture ,cattle breeding and differenthandicraft s.Part of the Severians also migrated to the south-west and settled in the areas of the southern
Pannonian plain (theBanat region) and southern Carpathians. The Severin region of the medievalKingdom of Hungary situated in south-eastern Banat was named after Severians. Another branch of Severians also settled in the territory of present-day north-easternBulgaria .References
#Jovan M. Pejin; Iz prošlosti Kikinde; Kikinda; 2000.
#Istorijski atlas; Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva - Zavod za kartografiju "Geokarta"; Beograd; 1999.
#Školski istorijski atlas; treće izdanje; Zavod za izdavanje udžbenika Socijalističke Republike Srbije; Beograd; 1970.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
