The Pechenegs In Khazar History 129
Sea of Azov was still Bulgar which is evident from its anthropological traits and
burial rites.8 It is possible that a part of these Bulgars gradually fell, to some
extent, into submission to the Pechenegs.
In fact, our knowledge of the consequences of the Pecheneg invasion
depends primarily on archaeological research. There is not enough infor-
mation on the fortresses, settlements and necropoles of the Saltovo culture
to reveal the time of their abandonment or plunder. There are a few reason-
ably well studied complexes of the Saltovo culture in the Severski Donets and
the Don region9 which to some extent help to determine more precisely the
appearance of the Saltovo settlements during the tenth century.
M. Artamonov consents that the Bulgars and Alans that inhabited the for-
est-steppe zones along the Don and the Donets were allies of the Pechenegs
when those appeared north of the Black Sea. This is why their settlements were
destroyed by the Khazars. M. Artamonov opposes S. Pletneva’s assertion that
the Pechenegs took over the lands of the Bulgars and Alans who were banished
and massacred by them.10 Thus, even back in the 1960s two of the important
conclusions of S. Pletneva were questioned. According to M. Artamonov, the
Lower Don (Bulgar) steppe version of the Saltovo culture “which also included
settlements in the Sarkel area, as well as Sarkel itself [.. .] ceased to exist only
after the downfall of the Khazar kingdom during Sviatoslav’s rule”.11
L. Gumilev supports the conclusion that during their migration the
Pechenegs did not cause serious damage. In the 1960s he associates the
Pecheneg invasion with climate warming from the late ninth century. At
that time, “nomads passed through the withering steppes, driven by hunger
and thirst. They moved in small groups, remaining elusive for the mercenary
guards of the Khazar rulers. Their troops were too weak to conquer cities or to
invade the inhabited delta (of the Volga—Author’s note), but they blocked the
8 Pletneva 1967, 99; Artamonov 1962, 358.
9 The information published up till now is insignificant in view of all the settlements and
fortresses of the Saltovo culture. On this, see Pletneva 1999.
10 Artamonov 1962, 357–358; in 1958 M. Artamonov presumes that the arrival of the
Pechenegs in the steppes north of the Black Sea region had disastrous consequences for
the bearers of the Saltovo culture (not a word is said about its demise by the hands of the
Khazars). But this generally happened “back during the tenth century”. He accepts as pos-
sible that part of the Saltovians could have returned to a nomad way of life and merged
with the Pechenegs (Artamonov 1958, 82–83).
11 Artamonov 1962, 358. In 1935, however, M. Artamonov is much more categorical. In his
opinion, the tenth century was the time of the greatest heyday of the Tsimliansk region
as a whole, with the majority of settlements along the Don and along the border with the
forest-steppe region disappearing by the eleventh century. (Artamonov 1935).