Kujawy

Kujawy ([kuˈjavɨ], sometimes referred to as Kuyavia or Cuyavia (Latin: Cuiavia), is a historical region (ziemia, i.e. land) in the north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of Vistula, as well as east from Noteć River and Lake Gopło. It is divided into three traditional parts: north-eastern (with the capital in Bydgoszcz, ethnographically regarded often as non-kuyavian), central (the capital in Inowrocław or Kruszwica), and south-eastern (the capital in Włocławek or Brześć Kujawski). It is itself a part of the bigger region (dzielnica) – Greater Poland.

Etymology

The name Kujawy first appeared in written sources in the 1136 Bull of Gniezno (Polish: Bulla Gnieźnieńska, Latin: Ex commisso nobis) issued by Pope Innocent II, and was then mentioned in many documents from medieval times. It is also mentioned in the chronicles of Wincenty Kadłubek.

Geography

In the north, Kujawy borders with the historic regions of Prussian Gdańsk Pomerania (Pomerelia) and Chełmno Land, in the west with proper (exact) Greater Poland, in the south with Łęczyca Land and in the east with Masovia and Dobrzyń Land. The borders of Kujawy stretch out on the left bank of Vistula River: from the mouth of Skrwa Lewa in the south-east, almost to the mouth of the Wda River to the north. The borders of Kujawy spread out to the west from Koronowo and Nakło to the Noteć River where they turn south-west, cross Trląg Lake, and on to Strzelneński Forest, reaching Skulski Lake and the upper Noteć River. The borders also enclose Brdowski Lake, Przedecz and Lubień Kujawski through the Skrwa Lewa, ending at the Vistula River.

Kuyaba

Coordinates: 50°27′N 30°31′E / 50.450°N 30.517°E / 50.450; 30.517

Kuyaba (Arabic: كويابة‎ Kūyāba) was one of the three centers of the Rus or Saqaliba (early East Slavs) described in a lost book by Abu Zayd al-Balkhi (dating from ca. 920) and mentioned in works by some of his followers (Ibn Hawqal, Al-Istakhri, Hudud ul-'alam). The two other centers were Slawiya (Arabic: صلاوية‎ Ṣ(a)lāwiya) (tentatively identified with the land of Ilmen Slavs, see Rus' Khaganate) and Arthaniya (Arabic: ارثانية‎ ’Arṯāniya) (not properly explained).

Soviet historians such as Boris Grekov and Boris Rybakov hypothesized that "Kuyaba" was a mispronunciation of "Kiev". They theorized that Kuyaba had been a union of Slavic tribes in the middle course of the Dnieper River centered on Kiev (now in Ukraine). Kuyaba, Slaviya, and Artaniya later merged to form the state of Kievan Rus', believed to include modern Belarus and Russia. This explanation has been adopted by modern Ukrainian historiography.

See also