*** Welcome to piglix ***

Svyatoslav I of Kiev

Sviatoslav the Brave
Grand Prince of Kiev
Святослав Ігоревич — монета.jpg
Sviatoslav I on Ukrainian coin
Reign 945–972
Coronation 964
Predecessor Igor
Successor Yaropolk I
Born 942?
Kiev
Died March 972 [aged ~30]
The island of Khortytsa Dnieper
Wives
Issue With unknown woman:
Yaropolk I
Oleg

With Malusha:
Vladimir the Great
Full name
Sviatoslav Igorevich
Dynasty Rurik Dynasty
Father Igor
Mother Saint Olga (regent 945-964)
Full name
Sviatoslav Igorevich

Sviatoslav I Igorevich (Old East Slavic: С~тославъ / Свѧтославъ Игорєвичь, Sventoslavŭ / Svantoslavŭ Igorevičǐ; Old Norse: Sveinald Ingvarsson) (c. 942 – March 972), also spelled Svyatoslav was a Grand prince of Kiev famous for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers of Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. He also conquered numerous East Slavic tribes, defeated the Alans and attacked the Volga Bulgars, and at times was allied with the Pechenegs and Magyars.

His decade-long reign over the Kievan Rus' was marked by rapid expansion into the Volga River valley, the Pontic steppe, and the Balkans. By the end of his short life, Sviatoslav carved out for himself the largest state in Europe, eventually moving his capital in 969 from Kiev (modern-day Ukraine) to Pereyaslavets (identified as the modern village of Nufăru, Romania) on the Danube. In contrast with his mother's conversion to Christianity, Sviatoslav remained a staunch pagan all of his life. Due to his abrupt death in ambush, his conquests, for the most part, were not consolidated into a functioning empire, while his failure to establish a stable succession led to a fratricidal feud among his three sons, resulting in two of them being killed.


...
Wikipedia

...