863 C.E..

1. Chronology of early Russia. Please draw the following timeline in your notebook. 1206 C.E. 1019 C.E. 988 C.E. 882 C.E. 1476 C.E. 1547 C.E. 1054 C.E. 1480 C.E. 1472 C.E. 957 C.E. 1584 C.E. 989 C.E. 863C.E.. 1380 C.E. 1240 C.E. 1462 C.E. 980 C.E.

2. 863 C.E. Two Greek monks, Cyril and Methodius, adapt the Greek alphabet so they could translate the Bible into Slavic languages. This alphabet became known as Cyrillic and is still used in Russia and Ukraine today. The Cyrillic alphabet with English transliteration in the parentheses. 863C.E..

3. 882 C.E. Oleg of Novogard moves the capital to Kiev effectively starting the reign of the Kieven Rus. A map of Rus territory and some of the major cities is shown to the right. 882 C.E.

4. 957 C.E. Princess Olga of Kiev converts to Byzantine Christianity. She is the first Rus ruler to do so. Christianity will not become popular until the conversion of her Grandson Vladimir partway through his reign. 957 C.E.

5. 980 C.E. Vladimir the Great who was the grandson of Olga of Kiev murders his brother and conquers the other Rus principalities to become Prince of Kiev and Knyaz of all Kieven Rus. 980 C.E.

6. 988 C.E. The conversion of the KievenRus begins. Vladimir encourages mass baptisms in the Dnieper River. 988 C.E.

7. 989 C.E. Vladimir the Great, marries Anna, the sister of Byzantine Emperor Basil II. This marriage would have far reaching effects for both Empires and for Christianity as well. 989 C.E.

8. 1019 C.E. • Yaroslav the Wise comes to the throne and ushers in a golden age of Rus civilization. • Began work on a Russian law code. • United different Rus principalities. • Arranged marriages between his children and powerful European Royalty. 1019 C.E.

9. 1054 C.E. Yaroslav the Wise dies. The map to the right shows the territory of the Rus principalities at the time of his death. 1054 C.E.

10. 1206 C.E. Genghis Kahn comes to power and begins the Mongol Empire. It would grow to be the largest contiguous land empire in world history. (Even today!) 1206 C.E.

11. 1240 C.E. Kiev falls to the Mongol Invasion. The Mongols would rule over Russia or parts of Russia for the next 240 years. 1240 C.E.

12. 1380 C.E. Battle of Kulikovo. Prince Dimitri of Moscow united various Russian principalities to defeat the Golden Horde and begin establishing Muscovite independence. This would later lead to an independent Russian state. 1380 C.E.

13. 1462 C.E. Ivan III, later known as Ivan the Great comes to power. Constantinople had been conquered by the Ottomans just nine years earlier, and Ivan began to refer to Moscow as the “Third Rome.” 1462 C.E.

14. 1472 C.E. Ivan III marries Sophia Palaeogologus, the niece of the last Byzantine Empire. 1472 C.E.

15. 1476 C.E. Ivan the Great refuses to pay tribute to Khan Ahmed of the Golden Horde, effectively claiming independence and beginning a war. 1476 C.E.

16. 1480 C.E. Great stand on the Ugra River. The last Mongols and Tartars are expelled from Muscovite territory. Ivan III would rule for 25 more years until his death in 1505 C.E. During his reign he would triple the territory of the Russians, a feat for which he is given the title, “Ivan the Great.” 1480 C.E.

17. 1547 C.E. Ivan the IV, grandson of Ivan III becomes Czar of all Russia. He is commonly known as Ivan the Terrible. During his reign he would centralize power and take away land and privileges from the boyars (landowning nobles). The changes he made laid the foundation for centuries of authoritarian rule in Russia. 1547 C.E.

18. 1584 C.E. Ivan the Terrible dies. He left his empire to his childless son Feodor who died 14 years later. In his later years, Ivan had become emotionally unstable. In 1581, he beat his pregnant daughter in law for wearing immodest clothing. Supposedly this caused her to miscarriage. When Ivan’s second son and future heir confronted him, Ivan struck him on the head accidentally killing him and effectively ending his dynasty. 1584 C.E.