The legend of the Babylonian kingdom brief summary. Tales of the Babylonian Kingdom, “the tale of the princes of Vladimir”

THE TALE OF THE TROJAN WAR

The Legend of Trojan War known in manuscripts under the title "The Parable of the Stealers." This legend arose not on the basis of Homer’s poems, but on later legends associated with the names of Dictys and Dareth. Dictys was a Greek from the island of Crete, a companion of Idomeneo. He allegedly described the Trojan War; and his writing remained unknown for a long time. Under Nero, an earthquake once occurred, as a result of which the tomb of Dictys, in which his work was kept, was opened. According to his origin, Dictys depicts Greek heroes with sympathetic features and calls the Trojans barbarians who curse over the corpses of their enemies. The tale of Dictys is preserved in Latin translation. Darthe, who was the Trojan priest of Hephaestus and wrote the Phrygian Iliad, presents the Trojan War from the opposite point of view: he depicts the Trojans with sympathetic features. Dareth's tale was especially popular among Western European peoples, who traced their cultural origins to Rome, and through Rome to Aeneas and Troy. This legend was preserved in a Latin translation with the name Cornelius Nepos. Tales of the Trojan War are found in the chronicles of Malala and Manasseh, translated into Old Bulgarian.
The tales of both Dictys and Dareth do not present such a poetic treatment as “Alexandria”: this is a compressed list of events that Dictys and Dareth allegedly witnessed.
In the "Parable of the Kings" at the beginning the Trojan region is described and the genealogy of the kings before Priam is outlined, then the story itself comes. Hecuba sees an ominous dream: the son who will be born to her will be the cause of the death of Troy. To prevent this fate, the boy born, Paris (Paris), is abandoned. He is raised by shepherds. At the wedding of Peleus, Paris resolves the dispute between the three goddesses in favor of Venus, who promises him beautiful Elena. Cassandra, the prophetess of Troy, warns Paris against going to King Menelaus. But he does not listen to these warnings, goes to Greece, declares his love to Elena and, despite Elena’s warning, takes her to Troy. Further, the events from the campaign of the Greek kings to the death of Polymnestor are presented concisely and briefly. The “Parable of the Stealers” ends with the following conclusion: “So the Trojan kingship ended... so God humbles those who exalt and destroys the seed of the wicked, as the prophet proclaimed, saying: I saw the wicked exalted and exalted, and I passed by, and his place was not found, because God he is righteous and loves righteousness, but destroys the ways of the wicked and with his own arm resists the proud, but gives grace to those who walk the right and does not deprive those who walk kindly of goodness.” This conclusion, probably made by a Slavic translator, is purely externally tied to the “Parable” and internally completely unconnected with it.

POEM "DEUGE'S ACTION"

Devgenius, the hero of the tale of the Russian-Slavic version, corresponds to Vasily Digenis Akrit, the hero of the Byzantine poem of the 10th century. It consists of 10 songs that tell the origins of Digenis and depict his exploits in the fight against the Saracens on the borders of Byzantium near the Euphrates. Its content is as follows.
The widow of the famous figure Andronikos Dukas, during the reign of Theodora and Leo the Wise, had five sons and one daughter, distinguished by her remarkable beauty. One day, when the mother was in church and the brothers were hunting, the Arabian king Amir (Emir) kidnaps the beauty. The mother sends her sons to chase after Amir. The brothers set off and catch up with Amir. They reproach him for taking his sister away as a “thief” and demand her return. Amir, pointing to the mountain, tells them that there lies the corpse of their sister, who was killed by him. The brothers are looking for their sister's corpse and, not finding it, return to Amir with threats. Then Amir tells them that their sister is alive and he loves her; out of love for her, he is ready to renounce Mohammed and settle within the empire. The brothers, seeing their sister, asked her how Amir treated her. The sister described Amir’s respectful and impeccable behavior and stated that if Amir is baptized, then they don’t need a better son-in-law, because he is famous in fame, strong in strength, wise in wisdom, and rich in wealth. The brothers agreed, and Amir, having collected his treasures, renounced the kingdom and went to Byzantium. Amir is baptized and gets married, which is solemnly celebrated.
Amir's mother, having learned about her son's departure, sends him a letter in which she reproaches him for betraying the faith of his ancestors and demands, under threat of curse, to return back. Amir decides to go see his mother and then return back. He manages to persuade his mother to accept Christianity, and she comes to Byzantium with her son.
Amir gives birth to a son, Vasily, who received the name Digenisa (cousin, i.e. from a Saracen father and a Greek mother), in Russian-Slavic translations - Devgenia. Digenis is growing by leaps and bounds. Very early on, he performs a number of feats while hunting, leading to the admiration of his father and uncle. Its beauty is amazing.
When Digenis's upbringing ended, Amir devoted himself exclusively to deeds of piety, and Digenis became the chief of the pallikars, encountered robber appellants, and his name soon gained fame and inspired fear.
At this time, rumors reached Digenis about the beauty of Evdokia, the daughter of the general Ducas. Digenis felt love for Evdokia. The general Dukas does not want to give his daughter to Digenis. Then Digenis, with the consent of Evdokia, kidnaps her. Ducas sends his sons in pursuit of him. Digenis fights them and knocks them out of the saddle. Duca is forced to agree to his daughter's marriage to Digenis. The marriage festivities last for three months. All nature takes part in the celebration: the earth blossomed with joy, the mountains dance, the rocks sing, the rivers slow down their flow.
After the wedding, Digenis goes with his wife to the borders to protect them. He performs many feats in the fight against heroes and beasts and receives the nickname Akrit (invincible). He fights the dragon that attacked Evdokia, defeats the lion, has a duel with three leaders of the appellate robbers and defeats them all. One of the leaders, Philopappus, calls upon the warlike girl Maximo, descended from the Amazons, against Digenis. In the duel, Digenis defeats Maximo. At Maximo's request, the duel resumes the next day. Maximo appears in luxurious clothes, in a golden armor and on a snow-white horse. Digenis wounds Maximo in the fingers of his right hand, and she drops her sword. Maximo offers Digenis his love. Digenis cheats on his wife. The wife, suspecting why her husband did not return for a long time after the second fight with Maximo, forgives her husband’s offense and fears only God’s justice over him. Digenis does not dare to confess his crime to his wife and reassures her: “Maximo was wounded: I bandaged her hand. That’s why I hesitated, my fragrant apple, because I don’t want to be known as a murderer of women.”
The last songs of the poem depict the life of Digenis in his beautiful palace on the banks of the Euphrates, describes the death of his father, mother and his own death. The wife did not survive the death of her husband.
The Russian-Slavic edition of the poem has some significant differences from the Greek: firstly, the historical, geographical and genealogical side of the poem in the Russian-Slavic edition was erased, and the poem took on the character of a fairy tale, the action of which takes place far away in the thirtieth kingdom. Even individual details have a fabulous character; So, Amir’s mother does not send a letter to her son, but sends three Saracens, who must take back the king with the girl he loves; She gives them three prophetic books and three horses: one windhorse, the other thunder, the third lightning; the Saracens, having brought Amir out, will sit on the anemone, and no one will be able to see them; when they enter the Saracen land and mount the thunder-horse, then all the Arabians will hear about it; and when they sit on the lightning horse they will become invisible in the Greek land. Secondly, individual episodes have undergone changes; so, for example, the episode with Maximo underwent significant changes; defeated Maximo begs Devgeny to marry her: “then no one will be able to resist both of us”: but the wise Devgeny, who, according to the Russian-Slavic version, is not yet married, looked at the prophetic book about “his life and death” and saw there that if he marries Maximo, he will live sixteen years, and if he takes possession of Evdokia, he will live thirty-six years; Therefore, Devgeniy refuses an alliance with Maximo. Thus, the romantic element is replaced in the Russian-Slavic edition by a religious-mystical element. Thirdly, the struggle of the Greeks with the Saracens, defined in the Greek poem in the Russian-Slavic version, as the struggle of the Orthodox against the filthy in general; preparing for battle, Christian heroes sing an angelic song; where they stand, the sun shines; where they spin Amir, there, like darkness, it’s dark.
Probably, the Russian-Slavic edition of the “Deeds of Devgius” had as its source some Greek or South Slavic reworking of the poem in a fairy-tale style with Christian illumination.

"THE TALE OF THE KINGDOM OF BABYLON"

This legend was based on the idea of the global power of Byzantium. It tells how Nebuchadnezzar the foundling, having reigned in Babylon, ordered the “sign of the serpent” to be performed on all city utensils, on clothes, weapons, banners, and mansions. Nebuchadnezzar made himself a self-cutting sword, an “asp-serpent”, the property of which was that during the battle he himself flew out of his sheath and began to cut down his enemies without mercy. Before his death, Nebuchadnezzar bequeathed to embed a sword in the city wall and conjured not to remove it until the end of time.
Nebuchadnezzar's son Basil, in a moment of danger, prompted by the Babylonians, decides to resort to the help of a self-cutting sword. But as soon as the self-cutting sword was taken out of the wall, it flew out of its sheath, cut off the king’s head and hacked to pieces many Babylonians; at the same time the serpents depicted on different subjects, suddenly descended and devoured all the Babylonians. Babylon was deserted, and people settled in it wild animals and all kinds of monsters; A monstrous serpent lay spread out around Babylon.
Much time after this, the Greek emperor Leo sends three ambassadors to Babylon, a Greek, an Obezhanian and a Slav, with the goal of finding out how the bodies of the three youths - Ananias, Azarias and Misail - are doing, and to take a sign from them. The ambassadors stumble upon a number of miracles and dangers, but they manage to penetrate Babylon. Here they venerated the relics of the saints. They wanted to take their cup with myrrh and frankincense from the tomb and take it to the king as a sign. But at that time a voice was heard ordering them to go to the royal chambers and take a sign from there. Entering the chambers, the ambassadors found two crowns - one of Nebuchadnezzar - the king of Babylon and "the whole universe", and the other - his wife. With the crowns there was a certificate for Greek: it said that these crowns should be on Emperor Leo and his wife. The ambassadors took the crowns with the letter, captured a carnelian crab and purple crab and delivered it all to Byzantium. The Patriarch crowns the Byzantine Emperor with the sign of Babylon.
Thus, the story symbolically depicts the transition of power over the universe from Babylon to Byzantium. (...)

"THE TALE OF THE WHITE CLOCK"

Constantine the Great, having defeated Mansentius, at the command of the apostles Peter and Paul, who appeared to him in a dream, was baptized by Pope Sylvester. Constantine reveres Sylvester as God and father, and even wants to place a royal crown on his head, but the pope does not agree to this. The apostles Peter and Paul appear to the emperor, who show him in their hands “a white robe, worthy of a saint to wear on his head.” The Emperor bequeaths “the sacristan of the wisest” and orders them to create “a white hood for the blessed Pope.” This white hood is solemnly placed on the head of the pope. In the thirtieth year of his reign, Constantine came to the conviction that where there is hierarchical power, where the head of Christian piety is installed by the Heavenly King himself, there should not be the power of an earthly king. On this basis, Constantine, taking a blessing from the pope, entrusted Rome to him, and he himself built a new city, which he called Constantinople.
After the death of Pope Sylsvester, the white hood was initially held in great veneration. But then other times came: the devil raised up a certain king Karul (Charlemagne) and Pope Farmus (Formoza), whom he taught to deceive the Christian race with false teachings. They ordered to retreat from the Orthodox faith and tear apart the holy apostolic church; they fell into the Apolinarian heresy and attributed unleavened bread to the truth (the Apolinarian heresy was considered the use of unleavened bread: according to the teachings of Apolinarius, the Son of God received from the Mother of God only flesh, without a soul; whoever partakes of unleavened bread receives dead flesh, and not living, because the dough itself soulless; kvass is to dough what the soul is to the body). From that time on, they did not like the holy white hood and imprisoned him “in a certain chapel of the church walls.”
“After many times” another pope of the Latin ministry arose, who began to reject the worship of holy icons. He is trying to burn the white hood, send it to distant countries and there scold and destroy it. But he fails: a storm breaks up the ship on which the hood was transported; a certain Jeremiah, who secretly adhered to Orthodoxy, saves the hood. Through his prayer the storm at sea subsides; Constantine and Sylvester bring a board to Jeremiah, which he grabs, and tell him to go and tell about what happened. The Pope, having learned about this, was horrified and ordered a hood to be placed in the church, “but did not give him any honor.” In a dream, a terrible-looking angel of the Lord appears to the pope with a flaming sword in his hand and orders the pope to send the holy hood to Constantinople to the patriarch. The Pope fulfills God's command. At that time, Philotheus, distinguished by fasting and other virtues, was the patriarch of Constantinople, and Ivan Kandakuzin was the king.
The legend of the white hood was intended to establish symbolically the transition of spiritual power to Christendom from the pope to the Byzantine patriarch (...)

ABOUT SYNAGRIP AND HIS ADVISOR AKIRA

The story "About Synagripus" is of eastern origin. It affected legendary biography Aesop and was included in the Arabian collection of fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights". In the Russian-Slavic edition, which is based on the Byzantine reworking of the story, the names of the characters and places are distorted: Sancherib, the ruler of Arabia (Assur) and Nineveh turned into Synagripus, Sinographer, king of Ador (Thor, Assur) and Nalivskaya (i.e. Nineveh ) country, or to the king of Anevitsky (Arabian) and Azores (Assurian); Geykar - in Akira and Nadan - in Anadan, Anadon, Anadam. Probably, among the Byzantines this story acquired a Christian instructive character. The instructive element, expressed in a whole series of aphorisms conveyed by Akir to Anadan, was so popular that it was even isolated from the story and distributed in independent lists. The content of the story is as follows.
The wise adviser to King Sinagrip Akir has a lot of wealth, but God did not give him one thing: children. He prays to God: “Lord, my God! If I die without an heir, they will say: Akir was righteous and served God, but he died and there was no one of the male sex who could stand at his tomb, nor of the virgin who I would mourn him." A voice is heard in response from the sky, telling Akira that he will have no offspring, and advising him to adopt Anadan’s “son’s sister.” Akir followed this advice. He began to teach Anadan all the wisdom that he himself possessed. Having satisfied Anadan with his teaching, “like bread and wine,” Akir gives him a series of instructions: “Man, listen to my words, my lord, Nadana!.. If you hear anything from the king, or see in his house, let it remain in your soul and don’t tell people about this... Tame your son from childhood, and if you don’t tame him, he will make you old prematurely... Do not be talkative, so as not to sin before your master... A deceitful person will first enjoy love, but in the end they will laugh at him... If you are invited to dinner, then do not go to the first invitation; but if you are invited a second time, this will mean that you are really being honored... A good death is better for a person than an evil death ... It is better to have a sheep's leg in your hand than a sheep's shoulder in someone else's hand; better is a nearby sheep than a distant ox. Better is one sparrow that you have in your hand than a thousand birds flying around the air. It is better to be sick with fire (to be in the heat ) or a shaker, rather than live with an evil wife... When the water in the river flows to its source, when a bird begins to fly backwards, or a bluebird or a Saracen turns white, or the bile becomes sweet like honey, then only a madman will learn reason.”
After such instructions, Akir appoints his nephew as an adviser to the king instead of himself. But Anadan turned out to be ungrateful to Akira. Convinced of this, Akir gave his house not to Anadan, but to his younger brother. Then Anadan decided to destroy Akir. He allegedly wrote letters on behalf of Akira to the kings of Egypt and Persia with a proposal to transfer the possessions of Synagripus to them without a fight and planted these letters in the palace. The letters came to the king. The king believed that Akir had cheated on him and ordered his execution. But the servant who was supposed to carry out the order, instead of Akira, executes another, similar to him, and Akira is imprisoned.
Some time after this, the Egyptian king, hearing about the execution of Akira, sent an embassy to Synagripus demanding that he send him a skilled builder who would build a house between heaven and earth and answer all his questions. If Sinagrip sends such a sage, the pharaoh promises to pay tribute for four years; if he does not send, Synagripus will pay tribute to him. Synagrip speaks to Anadan; but Anadan is unable to give advice on what to do, and everyone involuntarily remembers the wise Akira. Then the servant decides to reveal to the king that Akir is alive. The king, in great joy, hurries to free Akir and sends him to Egypt under a false name. Arriving in Egypt, Akir wittily answers the pharaoh's tricky questions. So, the pharaoh asks Akira the following riddle: there is an oak log, on it there are twelve pine trees, on each there are thirty wheels, and on the wheel there are two mice - one black and the other white. Akir solves the riddle: a log is a year, 12 pines are 12 months, 30 wheels are 30 days, a black mouse is night, a white mouse is day. He fulfilled the pharaoh’s demand to build a house between heaven and earth like this: Akir’s hawks taught two eagles to fly into the air with a cage tied to them; in the cage there was a boy who shouts: “Here the workers are ready, carry the stone and lime!” Akir says to the king: “Order to carry the stone and lime, so that the workers do not hesitate.” “How to carry them to such a height?” the king answers and refuses from your idea.
When Akir, having successfully completed his assignment, returns home, Sinagrip showers him with honors and rewards, and Anadan is punished.

"THE MIRACLE OF ST. NICHOLAS ABOUT KING SYNAGRIP"

In connection with the previous story is the story of the miracle of St. Nicholas with King Sinagrip.
King Sinagrip goes by sea to war. A storm arises that threatens to sink the ship. At that time the king had an adviser named Akir, very wise and “very peasant” (i.e., a deep Christian). Akir advises the king to turn to St. to get rid of the threatening danger. Nicholas and promise him eve and a candle. The king was delighted with the advice and began to call upon Saint Nicholas. The storm began to subside, and the ship reached safely hometown. Upon arrival, the king said to Akira: “Who is Saint Nicholas? Call him to me!” Akir replied: “There is a metropolitan in Chalcedon, named Theoktiristos: he can call Nikolas in the form of a man.” The tsar sent to invite the metropolitan to his place, since he “promised an eve and candles at sea to St. Nicholas, and meals and tables are ready.” Theoctrist appeared. To call St. Nikola, it was necessary to build a church. At three days the church was ready. The liturgy and prayer service were served, and the eve was blessed. Everyone sat down to the meal and Theoktrist prepared a place for St. at the table. Nicole. Those present doubted that St. Nikola actually appeared, when suddenly Theoktirist was the first to see the saint walking. Theoktirist jumped up from his seat and went to meet the saint with candles and a censer. Approaching, St. Nicholas said: “I was on the Sea of Tiberias, and a great storm arose, and they began to call my name, and I delivered the ship from the sea." Theoktirist asks the saint what the rescued gave him. The saint replied: "They promised me eve and candles and dark and gave me a baked dough chicken" - and showed Theoktirist the gift. Theoktirist remarked to the saint with "philosophy": “And I wouldn’t step three steps for this dough chicken.” Hearing these words, St. Nicholas turned to leave and said to Theoktirist: “You are proud, and you are called a saint, but I will make a prayer for you to the Most High King, Christ God ". The frightened Theoktirist fell weeping at the feet of the saint, and the king and all those present began to beg the saint to enter the royal chamber. The saint entered, blessed the food and wine and drink; they began to eat and drink, and St. Nicholas became invisible. The king and all the people glorified God and created St. Nicholas honest holiday. For the “three steps,” the holy fathers ordered that Saint Theoktirist be commemorated three years later in the fourth year on a leap year, and Saint Nicholas be commemorated three times a year: on his birthday, on his dormition, and on the transfer of his relics.

THE WORD ABOUT BABYLON, ABOUT 3 BOYS. Message FROM KING LEUKIUS, AND AT THE BAPTISM OF BASILIY, ALSO AN AMBASSADOR TO BABYLON TO EXPERIENCE THE SIGNS OF THE HOLY THREE YOUTH ONANYA, OZARIA, MISAIL

A WORD ABOUT BABYLON, ABOUT THE THREE YOUTHS. EMBASSY OF KING LEUCIA, NAMED BASILI IN BAPTISM, WHO SENT TO BABYLON TO ASK FOR A SIGN FROM THE HOLY THREE YOUTHS - ANANIAS, AZARIA, MISAIL

And the first ambassador was 3 people of peasant and surish origin. They said: “It’s not like us to go there, but they came from Grek Grichina, from Bez obyazhanina, from Rusyn Rus.” And the ambassador, as they want.

At first he wanted to send three people, Christians of the Syrian family. They said: “It is not proper for us to go there, but we sent a Greek from Greece, a Bezhan from Obesia, a Rusyn from Rus'.” And he sent those whom they wanted.

Having been near Babylon for 15 days, Tsar Vasily spoke to them: “If the sign of the saints is here, let me not be separated from Jerusalem, but I will be like the faith of the peasants and a champion against the enemies of other faiths for the Christian race.”

When they were fifteen days away from Babylon, King Basil told them: “If there is a sign of the saints here, then I will not renounce Jerusalem, but will be a champion of the Christian faith and a defender of the Christian race from the enemies of other faiths.”

And 3 men went, Gugriy Gretsin, Yakov obezhanin, Laver Rusin, and traveled 3 weeks to Babylon. And I arrived there and did not see the city: it was overgrown with its former glory, as if I did not see the roofs. They deserted the horses and found a path, little animals walking. In the past there was only grass, and two parts were reptiles, but there was no fear for them. And I walked that way and came to the serpent.

And three men went, the Greek Gugriy, Yakov the Bezhanin, Laver the Rusin, and rode to Babylon for three weeks. And when they arrived there, they did not see the hail: it was all overgrown with the former so that the chambers were not visible. They set off their horses and found a path that had been trodden by small animals. In those thickets there was only part grass, and two parts reptiles; but they had no fear. And they went that way and came to the serpent.

That ladder from the cuparis tree is attached through a serpent, and three words are written on it: Greek, Bezeski, Russian. 1st word in Greek: “Which man God will bring to this ladder...” 2nd word in the obezsky: “Let one climb over the serpent without fear...” Third word in Russian: “Let one go from the ladder through the floor to the chapel.” The 18 degrees of the ladder swell: this is the thickness of that serpent. Having looked at the mountain, there is another ladder inward, it is written in the same way.

A ladder made of cypress wood was laid across the serpent, and on it was an inscription in three letters: in Greek, in Obezh and in Russian. The first inscription in Greek: “Which man God will lead to this ladder...” The second inscription in Obezh: “Let him climb over the serpent without fear...” The third inscription in Russian: “Let him go from the stairs through the chambers to the chapel " And there was that ladder of eighteen steps: such was the thickness of that serpent. They climbed to the top of it, and there was another staircase, into the city, and the same thing was written on it.

And having gone through the coats, the coats were full of reptiles, but did not do anything to them.

And when they passed through the chambers, the chambers were full of reptiles, but they did not cause them any harm.

They came and entered the church, and their lips were filled with fragrance: for many deeds were written in the church. And bowing at the grave of the three saints, Onanya, Ozarya and Misail, said: “I have come to you by God’s will and the great Tsar Basil, the God-protected one, to ask for a sign from you.” And standing on Onanya’s coffin there was a ball of gold with a precious stone and adorned with pearls, full of mud and Lebanon, and a glass, which I have not seen. We, having taken from that cup, were happier. And getting up from sleep, with a thought, take the cup of wine and carry it to the king. And a voice came to us from the tomb at the 9th hour of the day: “You will not take a sign here, but go to the king’s house, take a sign!” They are terrible by the way. And a second voice came to them: “Don’t terrify, go!”

When they approached the church and entered it, their lips were filled with a fragrance, for in the church many deeds of the saints were written. They bowed to the tombs of the three holy youths - Ananias, Azariah and Misail - and said: “At the command of God, the great God-protected Tsar Basil came to you to ask for a sign from you.” And on the tomb of Ananias stood a golden cup, decorated with expensive stones and pearls, full of peace and Lebanon, and a glass bowl, the like of which had never been seen. They, when the cup ebbed, rejoiced. And having risen from sleep, they thought to take the cup of wine and bring it to the king. But a voice came to them from the tomb at the ninth hour of the day: “You will not take a sign from here, but go to the king’s house, there you will receive a sign!” They were horrified. And a voice came to them a second time: “Don’t be horrified, go!”

They got up and went. By the way, the Tsar's coat was from the chapel. And going into the king’s robe and seeing that bed standing, and that lying there, 2 crowns: King Nechadnezzar and his queen. They saw the letter, which was written in Greek: “The crown was created quickly when King Nechadnezzar created a golden body and placed it on the field of Direlmsgy.” Byahu bo vintsi from the stone of samphire, emerald and great pearls and gold of Arabite. "Si wenzi secrets It has been done until now, but now it is destined to happen to the God-protected Tsar Vasily and the blessed Tsar Alexander through the prayers of the saints 3 youths.”

And they got up and went. The Tsar's chamber was near the chapel. And when they entered the king’s chamber, they saw a bed, and on it were two crowns: King Nebuchadnezzar and his queen. Having taken them, they saw a letter written in Greek: “These crowns were made when King Nebuchadnezzar erected a golden idol and placed it on the Direlmes field.” And those crowns were made of sapphire, emerald, large pearls and Arabian gold. “Until now, these crowns were hidden, but now, through the prayers of the three holy youths, they should be placed on the God-protected Tsar Vasily and the blessed Queen Alexandra.”

And entering the 2nd floor and seeing the cufflinks and royal pamphires, he took them with his hands, and everything became like dust. And the caskets with gold and silver banged, and they rejected, seeing gold and silver and valuable and precious stones. And they took the stone of the great ones, 20 in number, to bring it to the princess, and carry it to themselves, as they could, and took the cup the same as that of the three youths.

And when they entered the second chamber, they saw royal clothes and purple, but as soon as they touched them with their hands, everything turned to dust. And there stood caskets with gold and silver, and when they opened them, they saw gold, silver and precious stones. And they took twenty large stones to take to the king, and to themselves - as much as they could carry, and they took a cup, the same as that of the three youths.

And he came to the church and bowed down to the three youths, and there was no sound to them. And I began to grieve, and took from that cup, drank and had fun. And the voice of the morning, winding the days of the week, came to them and said to them: “Let us wash our faces!” And she saw the church cup of water, and washed her face, and gave praise to God and the three youths. Having sung the morning service and the clock, a voice came to them: “Take the sign, go on your way, led by God, to Tsar Vasily.” They bowed down, drank 3 glasses each and went to the snake. And leaning against the ladder, he climbed up through the serpent and brought everything that I had.

And they returned to the church and, entering it, bowed to the three youths, but there was no voice from above. And they began to grieve, but after drinking from that cup, they rejoiced. And in the morning at dawn Sunday There was a voice to them, saying: “Let us wash our faces!” And they saw the church cup with water, washed their faces and gave praise to God and the three youths. When they sang matins and the hours, a voice came to them like this: “You have taken the sign, now, led by God, go your way to Tsar Vasily.” They bowed, drank three cups each and went to the serpent. And, leaning against the ladder, they climbed over the serpent and carried everything they had taken.

The son of the Obezhanian, named Yakov, froze from the 15th degree and flew down and killed the snake. And scales rose on the snake, like the waves of the sea. They, carrying their friend, walked through the past from midday and saw the horse and their friends. When I begin to put the burden on my horse, I whistle the snake. They were as if they were dead out of fear.

The son of the Obezhanian, named Yakov, stumbled on the fifteenth step, flew down and woke up the serpent. And the scales of the serpent rose up like the waves of the sea. They, picking up their friend, went through the thickets and by noon they saw horses and their servants. And when they began to put the burden on their horses, the serpent whistled. And they fell dead from fear.

And where is Tsar Vasily standing, waiting for his children, - I called myself like children, - because the snake was whistling and there. And they fell from that whistling, they screamed blind, and many from their herds were destroyed, as if up to 3000: more than 15 days came. And he retreated from that place in 16 days and said: “My children are already dead.” And again he said: “I’ll wait a little longer.”

The serpent's whistle also reached the place where Tsar Vasily stood, waiting for his children, for he called them his children. From that whistle many of their brethren, up to three thousand, became blind and fell dead, for the king approached Babylon fifteen days' journey. And he retreated from that place sixteen days' journey and said: “My children are already dead.” And then he said: “I’ll wait a little longer.”

These, however, arose as if from sleep, and walked and besieged the king for 16 days, and when they came, they bowed down to the queen. And the king and all his warriors were glad. And told him one by one.

And they, getting up as if from sleep, went and overtook the king in sixteen days' journey, and when they arrived, they bowed to the king. And the king and all his army were glad. And they told him everything, each one separately.

The Patriarch will take 2 crowns and, having read the letter, put them on Tsar Vasily and on the Tsarina Alexandria, who was named an Armenian. The king, taking the cup, ordered it to be filled with dry gold, and stones with 5 precious ambassadors to Jerusalem to the patriarch. And what did she bring, telling the queen gold and silver and precious stones and great pearls. The king did not take anything, but also gave them 3 perpera gold And let me go and say to them: “Go in peace, where your fathers and mothers are, and glorify God, and the 3 youths, and Tsar Ulev, and in baptism the named Basil.”

The Patriarch took two crowns and, after reading the letter, placed them on Tsar Vasily and Queen Alexandria, originally from Armenia. The king, taking the cup, ordered it to be filled with pure gold and sent five expensive stones to Jerusalem to the patriarch. And about everything that they brought for themselves - about gold and silver, oh precious stones and large pearls,” the messengers told the king. The king did not take anything for himself, but also gave them three gold coins. And he sent them away, saying to them: “Go in peace to where your fathers and mothers are and glorify God and the three youths, and King Ulevui, who was named Basil in baptism.”

That’s why the king wanted to go to India. David, the king of Crete, said: “Go against the midnight countries, against the enemies of the Gentiles, for the peasant race!”

From there the king wanted to go to India. David, the king of Crete, said: “Go against the northern countries, against the enemies of other faiths, for the Christian race!”

Wordο Babylon, ο 3 youth.- According to the Bible (Dan. 3), three youths: Ananias, Azariah and Mishael - during the captivity of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, they were sent by him to Babylon, to the Chaldean school; for refusing to worship a pagan idol, they were thrown into a burning furnace, but remained unharmed. Babylon in this monument, depicted as a kingdom of snakes, is a symbol of hostile pagan forces, and the three Babylonian youths symbolize the eternal, indestructible Christian principle.

Message from King Leukius, about the baptism of the named Vasily... - Under this double name appears in the Russian version of the legend as a generalized image of the Byzantine emperor (this is not only Leo VI, the Philosopher of the oral Byzantine legend), his middle name “Basily” (basileus) from Greek - “king”, “sovereign” - according to the author’s plan, was supposed to embody the idea about the ideal Byzantine emperor, as a devout champion of the Orthodox faith .

...from Without Obligation... - The term “Without”, “Obez” in Russian historical literature up to the 16th century. was the main word for Georgia .

We are... - To give an impression of authenticity, the presentation is sometimes conducted on behalf of eyewitnesses .

...king Navchadnezzar - The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC) twice captured Jerusalem, taking its inhabitants to Babylonia. Under him, great construction was carried out, a new royal palace was erected, and Babylon was turned into an impregnable fortress .

...create a golden body and place it on the field of Direlemsty. — An idol placed by Nebuchadnezzar on the left bank of the river. Tiger, on the plain of Deire (field of Direlmes, Deiraste) (Dan. 3.1) .

...and the blessed king Alexandra... - Under the pen of the author of the Russian version of the legend, the co-ruler of Leo VI the Philosopher, his brother Alexander, turns into a co-ruler - the queen; both Byzantine emperors were of Armenian descent .

...The son of a resident, named Yakov, froze from the 15th degree and flew down... - The Russian author plays on one of the meanings of the name Yakov - “stammerer” .

...and was named after the queen Alexandria, an Armenian by birth. — See footnote 7 .

...for 3 per coins. — Correction, in manuscript: verapra; perper - the name of a Byzantine gold coin from the Crusades .

...David, king of Crete... - The Cretan king was given the name of the wise biblical king .

THE WORD ABOUT BABYLON, ABOUT 3 BOYS. Message FROM KING LEUKIUS, AND AT THE BAPTISM OF BASILIY, ALSO AN AMBASSADOR TO BABYLON TO EXPERIENCE THE SIGNS OF THE HOLY THREE YOUTH ONANYA, OZARIA, MISAIL

A WORD ABOUT BABYLON, ABOUT THE THREE YOUTHS. EMBASSY OF KING LEUCIA, NAMED BASILI IN BAPTISM, WHO SENT TO BABYLON TO ASK FOR A SIGN FROM THE HOLY THREE YOUTHS - ANANIAS, AZARIA, MISAIL

And having gone through the coats, the coats were full of reptiles, but did not do anything to them.

And when they passed through the chambers, the chambers were full of reptiles, but they did not cause them any harm.

When they approached the church and entered it, their lips were filled with a fragrance, for in the church many deeds of the saints were written. They bowed to the tombs of the three holy youths - Ananias, Azariah and Misail - and said: “At the command of God, the great God-protected Tsar Basil came to you to ask for a sign from you.” And on the tomb of Ananias stood a golden cup, decorated with expensive stones and pearls, full of peace and Lebanon, and a glass cup, the like of which had never been seen. They, when the cup ebbed, rejoiced. And having risen from sleep, they thought to take the cup of wine and bring it to the king. But a voice came to them from the tomb at the ninth hour of the day: “You will not take a sign from here, but go to the king’s house, there you will receive a sign!” They were horrified. And a voice came to them a second time: “Don’t be horrified, go!”

And they returned to the church and, entering it, bowed to the three youths, but there was no voice from above. And they began to grieve, but after drinking from that cup, they rejoiced. And in the morning at dawn of Sunday there was a voice saying: “Let us wash our faces!” And they saw the church cup with water, washed their faces and gave praise to God and the three youths. When they sang matins and the hours, a voice came to them like this: “You have taken the sign, now, led by God, go your way to Tsar Vasily.” They bowed, drank three cups each and went to the serpent. And, leaning against the ladder, they climbed over the serpent and carried everything they had taken.

The Patriarch took two crowns and, after reading the letter, placed them on Tsar Vasily and Queen Alexandria, originally from Armenia. The king, taking the cup, ordered it to be filled with pure gold and sent five expensive stones to Jerusalem to the patriarch. And the messengers told the king about everything that they brought for themselves - about gold and silver, about precious stones and large pearls. The king did not take anything for himself, but also gave them three gold coins. And he sent them away, saying to them: “Go in peace to where your fathers and mothers are and glorify God and the three youths, and King Ulevui, who was named Basil in baptism.”

That’s why the king wanted to go to India. David, the king of Crete, said: “Go against the midnight countries, against the enemies of the Gentiles, for the peasant race!”

From there the king wanted to go to India. David, the king of Crete, said: “Go against the northern countries, against the enemies of other faiths, for the Christian race!”

Message from King Leukius, about the baptism of the named Vasily... - Under such a double name appears in the Russian version of the legend a generalized image of the Byzantine emperor (this is not only Leo VI, the Philosopher of the oral Byzantine legend), his second name is “Basily” (basileus) from Greek - “king”, “sovereign”, - according to the author’s plan, was supposed to embody the idea of an ideal Byzantine emperor, as a devout champion of the Orthodox faith .

...from Without Obligation... - The term “Without”, “Obez” in Russian historical literature until the 16th century. was the main word for Georgia .

We are... - To give an impression of authenticity, the presentation is sometimes conducted on behalf of eyewitnesses .

...The son of a resident, named Yakov, froze from the 15th degree and flew down... - The Russian author plays on one of the meanings of the name Yakov - “stammerer” .

...and was named after the queen Alexandria, an Armenian by birth. — See footnote 7 .

...for 3 per coins. — Correction, in manuscript: verapra; perper - the name of a Byzantine gold coin from the Crusades .

...David, king of Crete... - The Cretan king was given the name of the wise biblical king .

Andrey Rublev. Four kingdoms: Babylonian, Macedonian, Roman and Antichrist. Fresco from the cycle " Last Judgment"in the Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir. 1408

By a coincidence of historical circumstances - or according to the Creator's plan - Rus' took over the baton of power of the Orthodox Tsar from Byzantium, crushed by the military power of the Ottoman Turks, the burden of its own sins and mistakes, and the unbearable weight of betrayal of imaginary friends. Historical fate Rus' has developed in such a way that, having gone through the terrible trials of enemy invasions, preserving and strengthening the Orthodox faith in the conditions of foreign yoke and, in the end, again gaining state power, a new strong Rus' appeared to the world in order to carry further the cosmic fire of Christ’s “right confession” "on the path to the worldwide Kingdom of grace.

This theme of saving the original Christian faith through Russia’s assumption of the mission of the Orthodox “center of power” is reflected in Russian culture. Ancient legends establish a mystical pattern of development of world civilizations. Universal kingdoms-empires arise, strengthen and perish under certain conditions, and the place of the “center of power” doomed to disappear must be taken by another - capable of making a breakthrough into the future, meeting the tasks of the Divine Plan.

Legends about the transfer of universal power:

from ancient Babylon to Byzantium

Oral tradition, genetic memory, expressed in folk culture, stores and transmits through many, many generations the truth about the events of long-gone eras and relatively recent times. Ancient works make it possible to establish historical truth, determine the place, role and relationship of peoples in general process development of world civilization.

Babylonian cycle of tales

From the end of the 15th century. extend to Rus' legends about the Babylonian kingdom, among them - “The Parable of the City of Babylon”", or "Tale of the City of Babylon"», « Message from Leo to Babylon" And " About the marriage of Nebuchadnezzar."

Nebuchadnezzar the foundling ( character out of historical context), by the will of fate having reigned in Babylon – the first world "center of power"- ordered to do “ sign of the serpent"on all city utensils, on clothes, weapons, banners, mansions. A stone serpent was built at the gates of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar made himself a self-cutting sword, a werewolf sword - “ Asp-serpent", characterized by the fact that during the battle he himself flew out of his scabbard and began to chop down his enemies without mercy. Before his death, the king of the “sceptre-holding Babylonian state” bequeathed to wall up a terrible destructive weapon in the city wall and begged never to take it out.

Under Nebuchadnezzar's son Basil, "many kings with great forces" attacked Babylon. Vasily sent his commanders with a large army against them, but the army could not withstand the onslaught. The nobles began to force Vasily to take out a self-cutting sword. Vasily did not dare to violate his father’s prohibition: “My father’s sword was cursed until the end of the age; I did not command it to be taken out.” , - but they told him: “You, sir, for the present time, and when the military time passes, you, the king, preserve it again.” The king took out a self-cutting sword and rode out with it to the army. The sword flew out of its sheath and cut off the king's head and cut down many soldiers. And the serpents depicted on various objects suddenly descended and devoured all the Babylonians. “From the same places to the now reigning city of Babylon, the new city became empty” . Wild animals and all kinds of monsters settled in it. A monstrous serpent, a living stone statue, lay spread out around Babylon. Thus, Babylon perished through its own fault and from its own superpower, when it violated its father’s covenant.

This story continues with the legend “Message from Leo the Greek King, in the holy baptism of Basil...” The Orthodox Tsar Leo (Levky), in the baptism of Vasily, decided to obtain from Babylon “signs” belonging to the three holy youths (according to the Bible, friends of the prophet Daniel) - Onania, Ozaria and Misail. Having gathered an army, the Greek king headed towards Babylon. Fifteen days on the way to Babylon, the king decided to send “three men” there: the Greek Gugriy, the “Obezhanin” (Abkhazian) Yakov and the Rusyn Lavr. “...and we traveled to Babylon for three weeks. And when they arrived there, they did not see the hail: everything was so overgrown with the former that the palace could not be seen. They set off their horses and found a path along which small animals walked. In those thickets there was only part grass, and two parts reptiles; but they had no fear. And they went that way and came to the serpent.”

Having read the inscription above the serpent, composed of phrases in three languages - Greek, "Obez" and Russian - with with great difficulty Having passed by all the monsters and climbed over the serpent, the messengers entered the dead city of Babylon, bowed to the relics of the saints and drank from the cup that stood on the coffin. And the “voice from the grave” of the holy youths directed them to the king’s chambers, where the ambassadors found two crowns - one of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and « the whole universe,” and the other is his wife. With the crowns there was a letter in Greek, it said: “Until now, these crowns were hidden, but now, through the prayers of the three holy youths, they should be placed on the God-protected Tsar Basil and the blessed Queen Alexandra.”. The ambassadors took the crowns with a letter and, together with the captured jewelry, including "carnelian crab" With " royal scarlet", delivered to Byzantium.

The holy “sign” - signs of royal power - was handed over to the patriarch. “The Patriarch took two crowns and, having read the letter, placed them on Tsar Vasily and Queen Alexandria, originally from Armenia.”

Nebuchadnezzar is a prototype of the universal king

Babylon in Russian folk art is an archetype, the personification of non-aggressive power, fabulous wealth, and glorious heroic deeds, rooted in the Russian consciousness. During its two thousand year history ancient city Babylon became the capital twice great empire. Babylonian kingdom in the 19th-6th centuries. BC. became the cradle of significant scientific and intellectual progress. Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II(605-562 BC) in Rus' – legendary character, he was revered on a par with epic heroes. In the minds of the people, he is an ideal ruler, victorious, wise and fair.

Depiction of the historical Nebuchadnezzar II (630-562 BC). Babylonian cameo

Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest rulers in history. He was the son of Nabopolassar, the founder of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar's conquests were all aimed at one goal: strengthening the new state within the borders of the former Assyro-Babylonian kingdom, destroyed by nomads and internal uprisings. For this purpose, it was necessary to fight with the Egyptians who invaded Syria. Egypt's repeated and insidious attempts to create an anti-Babylonian coalition with local kings in violation of all agreements resulted in the conquest of Judea, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon (586 BC), the Babylonian captivity and the devastating campaign of Nebuchadnezzar himself in Egypt (568 BC). BC.). The kingdom he founded extended from Suez to Iran. It was announced that the god Marduk gave the entire earth to Nebuchadnezzar, so that “from horizon to horizon he would have no rivals.” He reigned for 43 years.

Nebuchadnezzar was a gifted commander and talented diplomat. But his most glorious deeds are associated with his peaceful initiatives. Babylon owes its restoration as the capital of the world to him. The technocrat king used new technologies for the construction of palaces, temples, and city fortifications. He introduced new materials (enameled brick, asphalt in combination with natural materials), advanced defensive and engineering solutions (drainage and irrigation systems, ditches, hanging parks, multi-story construction of residential buildings, seven-story 91st ziggurat - Tower of Babel), built roads and complex defensive complexes. The prayers he addressed to Marduk have a monotheistic-biblical flavor. “Marduk, lord, grant us eternal life!” However, the role of “the destroyer of the city of God” and the Temple of Jerusalem was the reason that his name was for a long time the subject of horror and even disgust, or was generally taboo in literature.

Nebuchadnezzar. Color engraving. Tate Gallery, London.1795

In the Bible, the Jewish prophets (Isaiah, 14; Daniel, 4) created the image of a proud villain, who at the end of his life went crazy and began to eat grass like an animal. But this information is doubtful. As “The Encyclopedia Americana” writes (“American Encyclopedia”, vol. 20), “Nebuchadnezzar until the end of his days was the type of perfect monarch" IN modern sources he is sometimes compared to Napoleon and Stalin.

The Babylonian captivity and the power of Babylon left such a mark on historical memory Jews, which in later written monuments his name was pronounced in a negative context - it became a symbol of a terrible, rich and immoral city. The Revelation of John the Theologian (Apocalypse) says: "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and abominations of the earth" (Rev. 17:3-6). It should be said, however, that reading from the Book of Revelation has never been part of the liturgical practice of the Eastern Church.

Babylon is mentioned in the first letter of the Apostle Peter, where he says that he “welcomes the chosen church in Babylon.” Some Latin writers claimed that under this name ap. Peter means Rome. The claims of the popes as successors of the Apostle Peter, therefore, correlate with the transfer of the universal “center of power,” which was Babylon, to Rome.

Symbolism of "Tales of Babylon"

The Babylonian stories are full of symbols, everything seems to be encrypted in them. Participation in the campaign for the “sign” of three representatives Greece (Byzantium), Abkhazia (Georgia) and Rus' indicates the unity of the three peoples in their Christian asceticism. But when Constantinople fell, the Georgian kingdom (with Abkhazia as part of it) disintegrated, and the separated Abkhazia, as well as Armenia, fell under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire, all rights to the signs of royal dignity were to go to the Russian Grand Dukes.

It is interesting that the “Tale” localizes the main geopolitical threat to Orthodoxy not in exotic southern countries: “From there the king wanted to go to India. David, the king of Crete, said: “Go against the northern countries, against the enemies of other faiths, for the Christian race!”

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“Babylonian legends” developed in Byzantium before the 13th century. and symbolically conveyed the idea of natural succession precisely by Byzantium to royal power from the rulers of Babylon - the greatest and most ancient “universal kingdom”. It is difficult to say how they got to Rus': the Greek original of these legends has not reached us. Perhaps the legends about Babylon were brought by pilgrims from the East. It is also known that at the beginning of the 13th century. Novgorod Bishop Anthony (Dobrynya Andreikovich) traveled to Constantinople and saw there a “dear stone”, according to legend, brought to Emperor Leo (probably Leo VI the Philosopher) from Babylon. Be that as it may, the cycle of legends was included in the hagiographic collection “Great Menaions of Chetiy,” especially revered by the Old Believers.

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In the 16th century in Rus', there were already versions of the story about Babylon, where the original Byzantine legend was supplemented with a Russian ending, corresponding to the new geopolitical reality. IN "Tales of the Grand Dukes of Vladimir“It is said that the Byzantine king Constantine Monomakh sent Vladimir Vsevolodovich, the Russian prince, purple and the royal scepter, “carnelian crab with all the royal fine linen” and Monomakhov's hat, " like taken from Babylon»: “and from that hour the Grand Duke Vladimir of Kiev Monomakh rose to prominence, and to this day throughout all Russia the kings of Moscow have been crowned in the present century with royal purple and a Monomakh’s cap.”

Thus, “The Tale of the Kingdom of Babylon” substantiates the historical transfer of “universal” power to the Russian Tsar and the head of the Russian Church and gives this act a sacred character. The motifs of the Babylonian story became popular among the people and spread to many Russian medieval works (for example, the life of St. Cyric and Julitta). The tales are filled with folklore and fairy-tale images that came from ancient myths: here is a serpent guarding the city and emitting a terrible whistle, and a cup with a magic drink; a wonderful self-cutting sword, a journey for jewelry in a city inhabited by monsters.

The Serpent and other reptiles inhabiting Babylon are mentioned in the Bible - the Books of Genesis tell about the struggle of the god Yahweh with the monstrous serpent of the depths, Leviathan. The image of the serpent has the most ancient origin– cuneiform Sumerian texts recount the battle supreme god the Sun and light of Enlil (Marduk) with the dragon goddess Tiamat - the Serpent of Darkness, personifying chaos, deceit and vice; about the god Ea - the tempting snake, about the white king of all snakes - the healing seven-headed white snake Shahmer.

God Marduk and the dragon serpent

The deadly serpent appears in the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh (3 thousand BC), where the demigod king Gilgamesh sought and found the flower of eternal life, but the serpent stole his immortality:

“The snake smelled the flower,

She rose from the hole and stole the flower,

Returning back, she shed her skin.”

The image of the serpent later passed into the Christian tradition. The serpent or dragon is Satan, the enemy of God and a participant in the Fall. He personifies the forces of evil, death, destruction, deceit, and the enemy.

In the snake of the stories about Babylon one can discern the image of Ouroboros ( Greekοὐ ροβόρος, lit. “devouring [its] tail”) - a mythological world serpent that wraps a ring around the Earth, grabbing itself by the tail.

Depiction of the ouroboros in an alchemical treatise of 1478 by Theodore Pelecanos

Ouroboros is one of the first infinity symbols in human history, a symbol of eternal rebirth, the cyclical nature of the Universe: creation from destruction, Life from Death. This is a symbol of immortality and time, which has neither end nor beginning. The successful overcoming of the obstacle in the form of the Babylonian Serpent by the Greeks and Rusyns in the legend symbolizes what time itself hands to these peoples "the Omen» power for the sake of eternal life.

Fairy-tale images and symbols that have come down to us from ancient times are evidence of the common origin and common historical past of many peoples. Studying their transition from one cultural layer to another makes it possible to recreate a picture of the development of mankind. The roots of the Russian people go back thousands of years to ancient Sumer-Babylon.

V.M. Vasnetsov. Fight with the snake

From Nebuchadnezzar to Ivan the Terrible

The legend about the transfer of spiritual and temporal power acquired new accents and branched into new plots along with how Rus' itself developed. Folk tales about the journey to Babylon Theodora Bormy (Bormy Yaryzhka) the royal crown and scepter are linked to the transfer of royal signs from Babylon to Rus' with the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible and his adoption of the royal title. In the fairy tale, the envoy of Emperor Leo Fyodor Borma, a pious, pious man, brings purple, a crown and other royal regalia from Babylon to Constantinople, but finds a war there, sees that the Orthodox king is gone, the Christian faith is crumbling, and therefore takes the regalia to the conquered Terrible Kazan: “And here the porphyry and the crown from the city of Babylon fell on the head of the Terrible Tsar, the Orthodox Ivan, Tsar Vasilyevich, who destroyed the kingdom of Passable, the filthy prince of Kazan.”

The tale captures the events of the moment: the capture of Kazan with the help of mines and explosions of gunpowder is symbolically depicted in Borma’s fight against the “reptiles”, when he burns the snakes attacking his ship with the explosion of twenty-seven barrels of gunpowder. The kingdom where the royal regalia was kept is called in the fairy tale "serpentine"and is associated with the Kazan kingdom, which in the chronicle story about the capture of Kazan and other sources the authors call "the city of the serpent" saturated with Russian blood (repeating the legend that Kazan was founded on the place where there used to be a “serpent’s nest”), and the “besermism” expelled from Kazan is depicted in the form of a fiery serpent flying away from the city.

This is how the Byzantine legend developed in Russian folklore, and in fabulous symbolic images a cosmogonic picture of the emergence, development, fall of world civilizations and their revival in new forms was created. Rus' became a new Ecumenical Kingdom, which was entrusted with a special historical mission: to become an Orthodox “center of power” so that the Divine Plan for the endless development of human civilization would not be interrupted and would continue to be implemented.

« The Legend of the Babylonian Kingdom" is a folk literary work preserved in manuscripts of the 16th-17th centuries. The plot of the legend is the story of the miraculous fall of the Babylonian state, which was then inhabited by fierce animals and a huge serpent lying around the entire city. The Byzantine Emperor Leo (probably Leo VI the Philosopher) sends envoys to Babylon for a sign; The ambassadors return with the royal crown of King Nebuchadnezzar and with a Greek charter, according to which the supreme power, by God's command, should pass to the Byzantine emperors.

This is the original skeleton of a Byzantine legend, to which, over time, was attached Russian ending: the Byzantine Tsar Vasily sends to Prince Vladimir of Kyiv “a carnelian crab with all the royal fine linen” and Monomakh’s cap, “the same taken from Babylon.”

“The Tale of the Kingdom of Babylon” is quite similar to “The Tale of the Novgorod White Cowl” and emphasizes the prevailing opinion in Russia at that time, which considered Byzantium the source of secular and spiritual power. At the same time, it marks the awareness of the worldwide power of the Russian Tsar and the head of the Russian Church.

The plot, similar to the end of the Russian edition of the story about the Kingdom of Babylon, is “The Tale of the Grand Dukes of Vladimir,” which says that Emperor Constantine Monomakh sent Vladimir, the Russian prince, a royal crown and “carnelian crab.” Which legend is ancient cannot be said with complete certainty. Perhaps the Byzantine legend about the transfer of imperial power to the Byzantine king first passed to Russia and immediately received a Russian coloring, so that everything said about Emperor Leo was repeated with a change of names: Nebuchadnezzar to Basil and Leo to Vladimir; then, over time, the first part was completely discarded, and only the common Russian ending remained, which thus developed into the independent “Tale of the Princes of Vladimir.” Or maybe, on the contrary, historical traditions about the adoption of Christianity from Byzantium, over time, they began to take on, instead of a religious, political overtones, and thus the “Tale of the Vladimir Princes” could appear completely independently on Russian soil; Then, when “The Tale of the Kingdom of Babylon” was brought from Byzantium to Russia, the Russian story naturally joined it and merged with it. A. N. Pypin leans towards the latter opinion in his “essay literary history ancient stories and Russian fairy tales." I. N. Zhdanov, in his study “The Tale of Babylon” cites two folk tales about the journey to Babylon of Theodore Borma and Borma Yaryzhka for the royal crown and scepter. Both of them reflect the story of the embassy to Babylon of Emperor Leo with the addition of other subjects of mythological content, for example the myth of Polyphemus or Likha the One-Eyed, tales of grateful animals, etc. Zhdanov divides Old Russian tales about Babylon into three sections: “The Parable of the City of Babylon ", or "The Tale of the City of Babylon", "The Message from Leo to Babylon" and "On the Marriage of Nebuchadnezzar." All these stories are completely mixed up in Russian literature and are known only from later copies.