4748 AM · 988 CE · world history
Kievan Rus and Its Christianisation
Prince Vladimir adopts Christianity from Byzantium, setting the course of the Eastern Slavs.
The state that grew along the route from the Baltic to Byzantium chooses a religion under Vladimir. The chronicle tells of envoys comparing faiths and of a service in Hagia Sophia settling the matter. With baptism come Slavonic letters, stone building and book culture. Under Yaroslav, Kiev becomes one of Europe's great cities.