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TheDregoviches, also called theDregovichi,[a] were anEast Slavic tribal union.[1] They inhabited the territories along the lowerPripyat River and the northern parts of the right bank of theDnieper River (more exact extents of the tribe's domain are still unknown).
The name of the tribe most probably derives from theProto-Slavic word "*drъgъva" (found only inSouthern Belarusian as "dregva" andNorthern Ukrainian as "dragva, dryagva", which is a loanword fromBaltic languages "dreguva" meaning 'swamp'), because the Dregoviches used to live in themarshlands.[2] Linguists consider that they are "undoubtedly" related to a South Slavic tribe with a similar name,Drougoubitai.[2][3]
The first known reference to the Dregoviches is in thePrimary Chronicle(c. 1113), where they are listed among the 12 tribes. However, there is a reference in theDe Administrando Imperio (written between 948 and 952) ofConstantine Porphyrogenitus to "δρουγουβίται", "Drougoubitai".[4] Since the reference appears in a passage describing the "Druguvitai" as one of the Slavic peoples who pay tribute to the princes of theKievan Rus', and they are named alongside theSeverians andKrivichians, it was suggested these are the same people as the Dregoviches. By the 12th century, they were assimilated into the mainEast Slavic peoples.
Thechronicles do not tell historians much about the Dregoviches. We only know that they had their ownprincely rule in the city ofTurov. In the 10th century, the lands of the Dregoviches became a part of Kievan Rus and later theTurov Principality. The northwestern part of the land of the Dregoviches became a part of thePolotsk Principality.
"Дреговичи" .Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.  | This article about Belarusian history is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
