Kurya (khan)

Kurya (Ukrainian: Куря, Pecheneg: Kürä) was the name of a Pecheneg prince and khan who allied with Svyatoslav I of Kiev in his campaigns in the Balkans. Later, after Svyatoslav's defeat by the Byzantine Empire, Kurya ambushed and killed the Kievan king at Khortitsa. According to the Chronicle of Bygone Years, Kurya had Svyatoslav's skull made into a goblet (a known practice in Eurasian nomadic cultures for brave foes), and gilded. Dates of his rule are unknown, but he was no longer khan somewhere around 988 CE, being succeeded by Metiga. It is also possible that he was the leader of the Pechenegs in the 968 siege of Kiev, but since a starting date is unknown, it is almost impossible to tell (and it could have been any of several other Pecheneg princes). Kurya appears as a villain in the 2006 animated film Prince Vladimir.

Very little is known of Kurya's life; most of what can be reasonably inferred about him is taken from educated guessing and very vague. Apparently, Kurya and his wife drank from the gilded chalice made from Svyatoslav's skull and prayed for a son as brave as him (it is unknown if he had any children). Only mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, Kurya was the most powerful of the Pecheneg princes - Rus' historians included only his name in the Chronicle (a history of the Rus') when it was being compiled. In the late 1520s, however, the Nikonian Chronicle was created. A compilation of Rus' chronicles, it mentioned Pecheneg prince Ildeya as coming into the service of Yaropolk I. Around 988, Pecheneg leader Metiga did the same for Vladimir the Great - therefore Kurya was no longer khan by 988. However, what occurred after the death of Svyatoslav is not recorded, and Kurya's reign can be pinpointed to the 970s; this is not to say that he was not in power earlier, as there is no timeline for his rule until 988, when Metiga had definitely replaced him.

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