Lujain Alhakim/418A

Topic 1. Introduction: The Earliest Times

1. three geographic zones. The Black Sea coast

was for centuries in the sphere of the contemporary Mediterranean maritime powers. The open
steppe , funneling from the east across southern Ukraine and toward the mouth of the Danube
River, formed a natural gateway to Europe for successive waves of nomadic horsemen from
Central Asia. And the mixed forest-steppe and forest belt of north-central and western Ukraine.
2. the land was inhabited by Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians
3. A period of great migrations began about 200 ce
4. Slavs are ethnolinguistic groups of people who speak the various Slavic languages of the larger
Balto-Slavic linguistic group of the Indo-European language family, Slavs practiced agriculture
and animal husbandry, engaged in such domestic industries as cloth making and ceramics, and
built fortified, settlements, many of which later developed into important commercial and
political centers.
5. East Slavs, which include Belarus, Russia, The West Slavs, which include Czech Republic, Poland,
and Slovakia, The South Slavs Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,
Serbia, and Slovenia.

Topic 2. The Period of Kyivan Rus

1. The formation of the Kievan state that began in the mid-9th century, the role of the Varangians
(Vikings) in this process, and the name Rus by which this state came to be known are all matters
of controversy among historians.
2. The zenith of the state's power came during the reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015)
and Prince Yaroslav I the Wise (1019–1054). Both rulers continued the steady expansion of
‘Kievan Rus’ that had begun under Oleg.
3. Dividing the land , dividing the faith
4. Nations of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine all claim Kievan Rus' as their cultural ancestors, with
Belarus and Russia deriving their names from it.
5. The invasion, facilitated by the beginning of the breakup of ‘Kievan Rus’ in the 13th century, had
incalculable ramifications for the history of Eastern Europe, including the division of the East
Slavic people into three separate nations: modern-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Lujain Alhakim/418A