Polans (East Slavs)

Origins

The Polans, the people of the fields, settled the wooded steppe on the middle Dnieper. The chronicle credits their legendary founder Kyi, with his brothers Shchek and Khoriv and his sister Lybid, with founding Kiev. For a time they paid tribute to the Khazars, said to have been one sword for every household.

Rule and society

The chronicler, himself from Kiev, praises the Polans as gentle and well mannered compared with their neighbours, particularly the Drevlians. They farmed the fertile soil, and Kiev's position on the Dnieper made it a centre of trade between Scandinavia, Byzantium and the steppe. In the mid 9th century Kiev was held by the Varangians Askold and Dir.

Decline and legacy

In 882 Oleg of Novgorod killed Askold and Dir and made Kiev his capital, so the Polan lands became the core of Kievan Rus'. The tribal name faded as the people of the region came to be called the Rus'.