Kurya_(khan)
Kurya (khan)
Pecheneg khan
Kurya (Ukrainian: Куря, Pecheneg: *Kürä) was the name of a Pecheneg prince[1] and khan who allied with Svyatoslav I of Kiev in his campaigns in the Balkans. Later, after Svyatoslav's defeat by the Byzantine Empire, Kurya ambushed and killed the Kievan grand prince at Khortytsia.[2] According to the Chronicle of Bygone Years, Kurya had Svyatoslav's skull made into a goblet[3] (a known practice in Eurasian nomadic cultures for brave foes[4]), and gilded.[5][6] Dates of his rule are unknown, but he was no longer khan somewhere around 988 CE, being succeeded by Metiga.[7][8] It is also possible that he was the leader of the Pechenegs in the 968 siege of Kiev,[9] but since a starting date is unknown, it is almost impossible to tell (and it could have been any of several other Pecheneg princes). Kurya appears as a villain in the 2006 animated film Prince Vladimir.