East Europe (909 BCE – 819 CE) Early Iron and Antiquity — Scythian–Sarmatian Steppe, Greek Ports, Balts & Finno-Ugric Forests, and Early Slavs

Geographic and Environmental Context

East Europe includes Belarus, Ukraine, and European Russia west of the Urals (including the forest, forest-steppe, and steppe zones and the Russian republics west of the Urals).

• Anchors: Scythian Pontic steppe (Lower Dnieper–Don), Taurica/Crimea Greek ports (Olbia, Chersonesus, Bosporus), Sarmatian Lower Volga–Don, Balts on the Upper Dvina–Neman, Finno-Ugric Volga–Oka forests, and the forest-steppe of Kyiv–Chernihiv.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• First-millennium variability; steppe aridity pulses alternated with good pasture years; rivers remained trade arteries.

Societies & Political Developments

• Scythians (7th–3rd c. BCE) dominated Pontic steppe; later Sarmatians (3rd c. BCE–3rd c. CE) advanced from the east.

• Greek colonies flourished along the Black Sea coast, brokering grain, slaves, and crafts.

• Forest zone: Balts consolidated; Finno-Ugric groups (Merya, Muroma, Mari ancestors) sustained fishing–hunting and garden plots.

• Przeworsk–Zarubintsy and later Chernyakhiv cultural spheres in the forest-steppe bridged steppe and Carpathians.

• Gothic and Hunnic incursions (3rd–5th c. CE) reshaped steppe polities; Avars skirted the Carpathians; Khazars(7th–10th c.) organized lower Volga–Don tribute (Saltovo–Mayaki culture).

• Volga Bulgars formed on the middle Volga (7th–10th c.); Early Slavs (Prague–Korchak, Pen’kovka) spread through Dnieper–Bug–Pripet basins (5th–7th c.), foreshadowing Rus’.

Economy & Trade

• Steppe exported horses, hides, slaves; imported Greek wine/oil, metal goods; Greek ports shipped grain from forest-steppe.

• Forest traded furs, wax, honey via Dvina–Volga–Dnieper; Khazar and Bulgar routes taxed Volga traffic to the Caspian.

Technology & Material Culture

• Iron weaponry; saddles and stirrups (late); composite bows; Greek ceramics/coins; hillfort gorodishcha with ramparts; black-burnished and wheel-made wares in late centuries.

Belief & Symbolism

• Sky-god/Tengri and ancestor cults among steppe riders; Greek polytheism then Christianity in ports; Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, Muslim minorities under Khazars; forest animisms persisted.

• Kurgan art (animal style), Greek funerary stelae, and forest-zone ritual pits coexisted.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Pastoral nomadism tracked pasture cycles; mixed farming in forest-steppe stabilised grain; river/port networks re-routed trade during wars.

Legacy & Transition

By 819 CE, East Europe was a braided frontier: Scythian–Sarmatian legacies, Greek–Khazar–Bulgar economic lattices, Balto-Finnic forests, and Early Slavs in the Dnieper–Pripet. The political and economic scaffolding for Kyivan Rus’ (emerging in the 9th century) and later medieval polities was in place.

Balanjar, a city located in the North Caucasus region, between the cities of Derbent and Samandar, probably on the lower Sulak River, flourishes from the seventh to the tenth centuries CE.

The legendary founder of Balanjar, according to the Arab chroniclers Ibn al-Faqih and Abu al-Fida, was named Balanjar ibn Japheth.

Balanjar was a capital of the Baranjar state in the 630s.

Some scholars speculate that the name derives from the Turkic root "Bala" or "Great", and the clan-name "Endzhar".

They are first mentioned in Arab chronicles of the seventh century.

They were supposedly settled in the northern Caucasus Mountains in the 370s CE, having come to Europe with the nomadic Huns.

From the second half of the sixth century, they were subjected to the Göktürk Khaganate.

After the collapse of the Göktürk power in the 630s, they formed a state centered on the town of Balanjar on the lower Terek and Sulak rivers in Daghestan and along the western shore of the Caspian Sea.

Their independence was short-lived, however, and by the end of the 630s they were incorporated into the Bulgar Khaganate and later the Khazar Khanate.

The Khazars establish a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia.

With the rest of the Baranjar domains, the city becomes part of the Khazar Khaganate around 650; Balanjar will serve as the capital of Khazaria until the early 720s.

The Khazars, whose Khaganate extends from the Dnieper to the Caspian Sea, and northward to the headwaters of the Volga, have established the city of Balanjar as their capital.

The Khazars and the Arabs had come into conflict as a result of the first phase of Muslim expansion: by 640 the Arabs had reached Armenia, and in 642, they had launched their first raid across the Caucasus under Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah.

In 645/646, the Arabs had defeated an imperial army in Armenia, reinforced with Khazar and Alan contingents.

This is followed by an attempt in 651–652 to advance onto the Khazar capital, Balanjar, but the Arabs are heavily defeated in battle before the city, resulting in the death of Abd ar-Rahman's brother Salman and four thousand Muslim troops.

The rapidly expanding empire of the Arabs has penetrated as far northward as the northern Caucasus by the middle of the seventh century, and the Khazars engage in the first of a series of wars with the Arab empire.

The Arabs initially force the Khazars to abandon Derbent in 661.

Bulgar khan Batbayan, warring with his relative Kotrag in 668, is temporarily driven into the Crimea.

Kotrag’s Khazars attack and eventually take the steppes between Don and the Urals, according to the treaty of 668 between Batbayan and the Khazar Khagan (Kaban) under which Batbayan and his sister Huba are taken prisoners.

Western Bulgar warriors will later adopt the practice of wearing Martenitsas—a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and usually in the form of two dolls, a male and a female—in battle to remind them of the sacrifice of their ancestral relatives Batbayan and Huba.

Batbayan's Bulgars are an essential part of the ethnogenesis of the contemporary Balkars and probably in some scale of the Volga Tatars and Crimean Tatars, though the ethnogenesis of the eponymous inhabitants of modern Bulgarian is probably very little influenced by Batbayan's Bulgars.

When Great Bulgaria disintegrates under Khazar attack in 668, Batbayan's brothers part ways, leading their people to seek a more secure home in other lands.

East Europe (676–819 CE): Slavic Consolidation and the Rise of New Polities

Political and Military Developments

Consolidation of Slavic Tribes

Between 676 and 819 CE, East Europe witnessed significant consolidation among the Slavic tribes, resulting in the establishment of powerful tribal confederations and early states. Communities increasingly united under regional leadership, fostering the formation of cohesive political entities.

Rise of the Khazar Khaganate

The Khazar Khaganate, emerging from the steppes of Central Asia, extended its influence into parts of East Europe, particularly in areas near the Volga and Don rivers. This powerful entity exerted considerable political and military pressure on neighboring Slavic and nomadic groups, shaping regional power dynamics.

Formation of Early Rus' Polities

Early forms of Rus' polities began to emerge, characterized by loosely structured federations of Slavic and Varangian (Norse) groups. These polities marked the beginning of organized political and social structures, laying foundations for future statehood.

Economic and Technological Developments

Expansion and Stabilization of Trade Routes

East Europe became a central hub of extensive trade networks linking the Byzantine Empire, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the Islamic world. Rivers like the Dnieper and Volga served as critical arteries for commerce, facilitating robust economic exchange.

Advancements in Agricultural and Military Technologies

Improvements in agricultural techniques and the introduction of new crops led to increased productivity and population growth among Slavic settlements. Military technology also advanced, influenced by interactions with the Khazars, Byzantines, and Norse traders.

Cultural and Artistic Developments

Maturation of Slavic Artistic Expression

Slavic artistic traditions matured significantly, reflected in distinctive pottery styles, jewelry, and metalwork. Cultural exchanges with Byzantium, the Khazar Khaganate, and the Norse further enriched artistic expressions, incorporating diverse influences.

Cultural Interactions and Synthesis

This period saw intensified interactions between Slavic, Norse, Khazar, and Byzantine cultures. These interactions produced a vibrant cultural synthesis evident in material culture, art, architecture, and religious practices.

Settlement Patterns and Urban Development

Urbanization and Growth of Trade Centers

Slavic settlements expanded and urbanized substantially, particularly along key trade routes and river systems. Early urban centers, such as Kiev and Novgorod, began to thrive, becoming significant political, economic, and cultural hubs.

Fortification and Defensive Strategies

Increasing political and military pressures led to more extensive fortifications and defensive planning within settlements. The strategic development of fortified towns reflected heightened security concerns and improved socio-political organization.

Social and Religious Developments

Emergence of Aristocratic Leadership

Societal structures became more hierarchical, with aristocratic leaders emerging prominently. Leadership was increasingly determined by military capabilities, control over trade routes, and alliances with neighboring powers.

Religious Diversification and Early Christian Influence

East Europe's religious landscape diversified further, featuring traditional Slavic paganism alongside significant influences from Byzantine Christianity, Judaism (notably within the Khazar Khaganate), and Norse pagan practices. Early forms of Christianity began to penetrate Slavic regions, setting the stage for broader religious shifts.

Long-Term Consequences and Historical Significance

The era from 676 to 819 CE was instrumental in shaping East Europe's early medieval identity. The consolidation of Slavic tribes, emergence of powerful regional entities, and intensive cultural interactions laid crucial groundwork for subsequent political, economic, and cultural developments in the region.

The commercial empire of the Turkic Khazars, centered in the southeastern section of modern European Russia, adopts Judaism in about 740 and continues its alliance with Constantinople against the Muslim Arabs.

The rapid expansion of Islam from the Middle East to Spain in the seventh and eighth centuries brings a significant portion of the Jewish people under Muslim rule.

Jews, tolerated by Muslims as People of the Book, with a common ancestor in Abraham, regain religious autonomy and, as long as they pay tribute to the rulers, see to the affairs of their communities.

The Fragmentation of the Arab Caliphate and the Rise of Independent Muslim States

Throughout this period, the Arab Caliphate, predominantly ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, is fractured by a series of civil wars, one of which leads to the split of Islam into three major branches:

• Sunnites,
• Kharijites, and
• Shi'ites.

This internal strife ultimately shatters unified Islamic rule. In 750 CE, the Abbasids overthrow the Umayyads, seizing control of the Caliphate. However, a cadet branch of the Umayyads escapes to Muslim Spain, where they establish the Emirate of Córdoba, marking the beginning of an independent Islamic state in Al-Andalus.

Elsewhere, other independent Muslim states emerge, including:

• Idrisid Morocco, and
• Aghlabid Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia, eastern Algeria, and western Libya).

These developments mark the transition from a unified Arab Empire to a diverse Islamic world, ruled by multiple, competing dynasties.

In 711 CE, Muslim Arab and Berber forces launch an invasion of Visigothic Spain from North Africa, swiftly defeating the Visigothic kingdom. Within a few years, they conquer nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula, except for the northernmost regions, where Christian resistance endures.

Their expansion also extends into Septimania in southern Gaul, further consolidating Muslim rule in Western Europeand marking the beginning of Al-Andalus, a new Islamic domain in Iberia.