The seat of the Roman empire, having now in the fourth century been established at Constantinople, a struggle between the Romans and the Greeks on the one hand, and the barbarians on the other, ensued for the mastering of the Balkan peninsula.
We may pass over a long series of more or less mythical and unimportant semi-savage wars and migrations until we approach the historic period when the Slavs began to take a national name and form, under the name of Russians, a word which comes from the appellation of one of their tribes known as the Russ of Rossani.
In the midst of dissension and rebellious faction we find a noted Varangian chief, Rurik, who appears upon the scene as a peacemaker, with the result that he restored quiet, suppressed factions, made himself master of the country and laid the foundations of the Russian empire. After a reign of fifteen years and a career of victorious conquest Rurik died, leaving his infant empire to his son Igor, who was a child and whose crown was kept for him by a kinsman named Oleg, who assumed the reins of power in the year 879.
Previous article Next article
From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
