4748 AM · 988 CE · world history
Kievan Rus and Its Christianisation
Prince Vladimir adopts Christianity from Byzantium, setting the course of the Eastern Slavs.
The state that grew along the route from the Baltic to Byzantium chooses a religion under Vladimir. The chronicle tells of envoys comparing faiths and of a service in Hagia Sophia settling the matter. With baptism come Slavonic letters, stone building and book culture. Under Yaroslav, Kiev becomes one of Europe's great cities.
Sources
Documents of the period
- documents and chronicles of the period — the Primary Chronicle on the baptism of Rus
Scholarship
- general histories of the region — Rus between Byzantium and the steppe
Basis: documents and evidence.