Sviatoslav I Igorevich (Old East Slavic: С~тославъ / Свѧтославъ Игорєвичь, Sventoslavŭ / Svantoslavŭ Igorevičǐ; Russian: Святослав Игоревич, Sviatoslav Igorevich; Ukrainian: Святослав Ігорович, Sviatoslav Ihorovych; Belarusian: Святаслаў Ігаравіч, Sviataslaŭ Iharavich; Bulgarian: Светослав, Svetoslav, Greek: Σφενδοσθλάβος, Sphendosthlabos) (c. 942 – March 972), also spelled Svyatoslav, Grand prince of Kiev. The son of Igor of Kiev and Olga, Sviatoslav is famous for his incessant campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers of Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. He also conquered numerous East Slavic tribes, defeated the Alans and attacked the Volga Bulgars, and at times was allied with the Pechenegs and Magyars.
His decade-long reign over the Kievan Rus' was marked by rapid expansion into the Volga River valley, the Pontic steppe, and the Balkans. By the end of his short life, Sviatoslav carved out for himself the largest state in Europe, eventually moving his capital in 969 from Kiev (modern-day Ukraine) to Pereyaslavets (modern-day Romania) on the Danube. In contrast with his mother's conversion to Christianity, Sviatoslav remained a staunch pagan all of his life. Due to his abrupt death in ambush, his conquests, for the most part, were not consolidated into a functioning empire, while his failure to establish a stable succession led to a fratricidal feud among his sons, resulting in two of his three sons being killed.
Sviatoslav was the first ruler of the Kievan Rus' recorded in the Primary Chronicle with a name of Slavic origin (as opposed to his predecessors, whose names derived from Old Norse). This name, however, is not recorded in other medieval Slavic countries. Even in Rus', it was attested only among the members of the house of Rurik, as were the names of Sviatoslav's immediate successors: Vladimir, Yaroslav, and Mstislav. This is questionable, however, as these names follow conventions well established in other Slavic lands, and it ignores Vladimir of Bulgaria, who ruled between 889-893. Some scholars speculate that the name of Sviatoslav, composed of the Slavic roots for "holy" and "glory", was an artificial derivation combining those of his predecessors Oleg and Rurik (they mean "holy" and "glorious" in Old Norse, respectively). On the other hand, such a compound structure name was already known from Great Moravia, as in the rulers named Svatopluk. Clearly Sviatoslav's name belongs to this tradition, as he had a son by the name of Yaropolk, of much the same form, and a grandson by the same name, Sviatopolk.
Early life and personality
Virtually nothing is known about Sviatoslav's childhood and youth, which he spent reigning in Novgorod. Sviatoslav's father, Igor, was killed by the Drevlians around 945, and his mother, Olga, ruled as regent in Kiev until Sviatoslav reached maturity (ca. 963). Sviatoslav was tutored by a Varangian named Asmud (meaning "quick as a leopard"). The tradition of employing Varangian tutors for the sons of ruling princes survived well into the 11th century. Sviatoslav appears to have had little patience for administration. His life was spent with his druzhina (roughly, "company") in permanent warfare against neighboring states. According to the Primary Chronicle, he carried on his expeditions neither wagons nor kettles, and he boiled no meat, rather cutting off small strips of horseflesh, game, or beef to eat after roasting it on the coals. Nor did he have a tent, rather spreading out a horse-blanket under him and setting his saddle under his head, and all his retinue did likewise.
Sviatoslav's appearance has been described very clearly by Leo the Deacon, who himself attended the meeting of Sviatoslav with John I Tzimiskes. Following Deacon's memories, Sviatoslav was a blue-eyed male of average height but of stalwart build, much more sturdy than Tzimiskes. He shaved his blond head and his beard but wore a bushy mustache and a sidelock as a sign of his nobility. He preferred to dress in white, and it was noted that his garments were much cleaner than those of his men, although he had a lot in common with his warriors. He wore a single large gold earring bearing a carbuncle and two pearls.
