The foundation of Tver. When will historians come to a consensus?

The foundation of Tver is one of the disputable moments of Russian history. Most historians are inclined to approximately one historical period (the end of the 12th - the beginning of the 13th century), but each researcher has his own point of view.

Official date of foundation of Tver

Each city for the convenience of celebrating another anniversary has an official date of foundation. The year of birth of the city of Tver is officially 1135. In the famous literary work of Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich "Handwriting" the first mention of Tver is dated precisely this time. What points are in doubt? First, there is no exact mention of Tver as a city, because it is a matter of money taxes, which the "Tver visitor" brought. In this case, we can speak, perhaps, not about the city in the literal sense of the word, but about some kind of settlement, which was later transformed into the city of Tver.

Secondly, the "Handwriting" does not belong to the historical science to the number of annalistic sources. This work is more like ordinary prose, written in Old Russian. It does not have a typical breakdown of the text for years by years, and the narrative itself is mixed. By all indications, "Handwriting" does not belong to the class of annals, therefore it is not worthwhile to completely trust this source.

Was Tver transferred from one place to another?

In the first third of the XX century, there was another version, which explained the foundation of Tver. The fact is that historians admitted: perhaps the current location of the city's location is not the first, but the second. Quite an original version, but it existed. How did scientists explain their views? Approximately in one region there are two rivers - Tvertsa and Tmaka. The data of the early excavations that were carried out in those years suggested that the first (Tver) was located at the confluence of Tvertsi in the great Russian river Volga. Ostensibly in the second half of the 13th century, Tver relocated to the cape, which was formed at the confluence of the T'mak River in the Volga. The version, of course, is interesting, but if we assume its reality, then it is worth talking about the disappearance of one city and the emergence of another with the same name. In the 1930s, repeated archaeological excavations were carried out, as a result of which this version was completely discarded as untenable.

1181-th year of foundation of Tver

We have repeatedly stressed that in historical literature and sources there are several versions about the appearance of the city of Tver. Let's consider one more of them. The well-known Russian historian VN Tatishchev in his "History" suggested that the foundation of Tver occurred in 1181. He found in the chronicles sources that this year the troops of Prince Vsevolod III defeated the city of Torzhok. Moving some distance from this city, the prince told his people to build a fort. In translation from Old Russian it means "fortress". Proceeding from the consonance of the names Solidus and Tver, the foundation of the city in 1181 is quite real. According to other historians who are engaged specifically in the study of the past of the Tver region, the construction itself began not in 1181, but in 1182. By the way, if we talk about the consonance of names, then not all researchers agree that the word "Tver" came from the name "Solid".

The first documents mentioning Tver

Based on the documentary basis, the authenticity of which can not be questioned, the foundation of Tver is to be attributed to the beginning of the XIII century. For example, it is worth paying attention to a document from 1208 - an agreement between Prince Vladislav III and residents of the city of Novgorod. The prince greatly oppressed the local residents. His people robed the Novgorodians, made obstacles, collected huge taxes.

Residents of Novgorod called on their defense of the famous prince Mstislav Udalogo. The governor of the city of Svyatoslav, the son of Vsevolod, was placed in custody, and the Novgorod army went to defend the honor of his city. The army also came out from Vsevolod, but the battle itself did not take place, because reasonable camps were found in both camps . When the troops met near Tver, a peace treaty was concluded. By the way, not only on this source can be considered that the date of foundation of Tver is roughly the beginning of the XIII century. In the Tver Kremlin during the studies that were conducted in 1983 and in 1985, birch bark letters were written about 1200-1220.