Battle of the Sula River (1107)

The battle on the Sule River - a battle in 1107 between the troops of the Old Russian state and the Polovtsians, won by the Russian princes. Occurred in the reign of Kiev Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. The battle was the last major invasion of the Polovtsians since the appearance of the Polovtsians in the southern Russian steppes in the middle of the XI century until the rise of the Polovtsian danger in the 70-80s of the XII century.

Background
In 1103, the first campaign of the Kiev, Chernigov, Pereyaslav and Polotsk troops against the Polovtsyians was carried out in the steppe, the Polovtsians were defeated. In 1106, an insignificant Polovtsian raid was repelled by Kiev governors Yan and Ivan Zakharich.

The battle
In May 1107, Bonyak seized the herds of Pereyaslavl, then Sharukan joined him, and they stood near Lubin on the left bank of the Sula. Apart from Svyatopolk Grand Prince of Kiev, Oleg Prince of Novgorod-Seversky and Vladimir Prince of Pereyaslavl the army came against them, there were four more princes: Svyatoslav, Mstislav, Vyacheslav and Yaropolk.

The chronicle does not provide details of the battle. Russian troops forded Sula and struck at the enemy, he fled, and in the course of the persecution he lost many dead and prisoners. Bonyak and Sarukhan managed to escape, but Boznyak's brother Taz was killed, and Sugra and his brother were captured. Russian Polovtsy was captured convoy.

Consequences
In 1107, dynastic marriages were concluded: the son of Oleg Svyatoslavich Svyatoslav and the son of Vladimir Monomakh Yury married the daughters of the Polovtsian khan Aepa.

Significant Polovtsian raids on Russia stopped, but the Russian princes continued their offensive actions. In 1109, the campaign was conducted by small forces under the leadership of the governor Dmitry Ivorovich with the defeat of the nomads (successfully), and in 1111 - the campaign into the possession of Sharukan and Sugra, which ended with the new defeat of the Polovtsians in the Battle of the Salnitsa River (1111).

Links
The Tale of Bygone Years