CHAPTER II.

GROWTH AND CONSOLIDATION OF RUSSIA

From 910 to 973.

Expedition to Constantinople.--Treaty with the Emperor.--Last Days of
Oleg.--His Death.--Igor Assumes the Scepter.--His Expedition to the
Don.--Descent upon Constantinople.--His Defeat.--Second
Expedition.--Pusillanimity of the Greeks.--Death of Igor.--Regency of
Olga.--Her Character.--Succession of Sviatoslaf.--His Impiety and
Ambition.--Conquest of Bulgaria.--Division of the Empire.--Defeat,
Ruin and Death of Sviatoslaf.--Civil War.--Death of Oleg.--Flight of
Vlademer.--Supremacy of Yaropolk.


The fleet of Oleg successfully accomplished the navigation of the
Dnieper, followed by the horse along the shores. Each barge carried
forty warriors. Entering the Black Sea, they spread their sails and
ran along the western coast to the mouth of the Bosporus. The enormous
armament approaching the imperial city of Constantine by sea and by
land, completely invested it. The superstitious Leon, surnamed the
Philosopher, sat then upon the throne. He was a feeble man engrossed
with the follies of astrology, and without making preparations for any
vigorous defense, he contented himself with stretching a chain across
the Golden Horn to prevent the hostile fleet from entering the harbor.