Legendary founder of Kiev. Modern scholarship holds that Askold was apparently Rurik’s trusted man but was neither a relative nor an aristocrat. As Rurik’s agent to Constantinople, he discovered a settlement that would become Kiev while en route along the Dnieper. He claimed it as his capital from which he ruled over the Polans, a tribe of east Slavs which inhabited both sides of the Dnieper river. Within Kiev he gathered his fellow Varangians to his seat. Although usually linked with a co-rular, Dir, scholarship now speculates that as the word askold is derived from the old Norse word óskyldr meaning strange, there was probably a ruler of Kiev called Dir by the Slavs while the Varangians may have called him óskyldr Dyri or stranger Dir which would indicate both Askold and Dir were simply the same man. When Rurik died he was succeeded by his relative, Oleg of Novgorod. Oleg moved his capital from Novgorod to Kiev, attacking and conquering Kiev around 882. According to the Primary Chronicle he deceived and murdered Askold in order to do so. A Kievan legend identifies Askold’s grave with Uhorska Hill, where Olga of Kiev later built two churches, devoted to Saints Nicholas and Irene. Today the steep bank of the Dnieper is marked by a monument in honor of Askold. (bio by: Iola) Cause of death: Murdered