«Discusses about definitions»: Vladimir Monomakh’s campaign of 1111 against the Cumans in the chronicle – «Russian crusade» or an appeal to the old testament history?

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to a number of historiographical and terminological plots related to the steppe campaign of the Russian princes in 1111. Vladimir Monomakh's military campaign in journalism, popular science works and even in strictly academic texts is often referred to as nothing less than the «Russian Crusade». The question is how exactly this designation corresponds to historical reality and scientific ideas about it. Materials and methods. A lengthy description of the campaign is read in the message of the Ipatiev Chronicle, which is most often attracted by historians during the reconstruction of the 1111 campaign. The main attention is paid to the his toriographical tradition of naming the campaign under study as the «Russian Crusade». Results. The main conclusion of the work is that in reality, only at first glance, there are features similar to the First Crusade of 1096-1099 in the description of the Ipatiev Chronicle. The author shows that in fact, for a number of reasons, the «crusading» campaign of 1111 cannot be considered. The fact is lost sight of that the chronicle descriptions have much more features similar to the wars known from the Old Testament than with the First Crusade of 1096-1099. Conclusion. The author of the weather record of the Ipatiev Chronicle set a goal through the description of the campaign to show how the will of God is realized through the angels sent by him. A large number of marked and implicit Bible plots are recorded in the text. And at the same time, there is no semantics characteristic of the First Crusade, adapted crusader ideas are not recorded.