Aepa


Aepa is the name of at least two early 12th-century Cuman (Polovtsi) princes mentioned in Rus' chronicles.
The Primary Chronicle mentions two men named "Aepa" under the year 6615 :
"Prince George" is understood to be Yuri Dolgorukiy, who thus married a daughter of Aepa son of Osen'. With her, he begot his son Andrey Bogolyubsky. The son of Oleg Sviatoslavich is understood to be Sviatoslav Olgovich, who thus married a daughter of Aepa son of Girgen.
In the so-called Testament of Vladimir Monomakh, which is attached to the PVL only in the Laurentian Codex, the name "Aepa" occurs twice more, although it appears the author thought there was only one Aepa and not two:
  • "After Christmas, we were able to make peace with Aepa, and after receiving his daughter in marriage, we proceeded to Smolensk."
  • "Aepa and Bonyak had approached Vÿr' with the intention of capturing it. I advanced to meet them as far as Romnÿ with Oleg and my sons. When the nomads learned of our coming, they fled."
The latter event is partially corroborated by the continuation of the PVL in the Hypatian Codex sub anno 6621, although it doesn't mention any "Aepa": 'When the Polovtsi heard of Sviatopolk's death, they gathered and marched on Vyr. But Vladimir gathered his sons and cousins, marched on Vyr, joined his forces with Oleg's, after which the Polovtsi fled.'
One last mention of an unspecified "Aepa" occurs in the Hypatian PVL continuation sub anno 6625 : 'Then the Polovtsi went to the land of the Bulgars, and the Bulgar prince sent them poisoned beverage. After Aepa and the other princes drank from it, they all died.'
Aepa may be a slavicization of the Arab name Ayyub. A recent and more accepted theory reconstructs it to Ayoba or Ayapa.

Primary sources

Primary Chronicle.
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Literature

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