Historical geography – Podlasie. Does Podlasie exist at all? This question may sound absurd, but for centuries historians, geographers and politicians argued about its borders and identity. Some considered them part of Mazovia, others as a fragment of Ruthenia, while others saw in him the “foreground of Lithuania”. Even the name itself is debatable. One of the most popular theories says that it comes from the word “forest”, pointing to the land of forest and forests. Another, more intriguing, from the phrase “under Lachem”, which means “land at the lach”, that is by Poles. This second interpretation reveals the essence of Podlasie – the eternal border, where the Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, Tatar and Jewish worlds came across, and in the background of these meetings the history of the great history of Eastern Europe took place. This area belongs to the oldest inhabited regions of Poland. Traces of human presence reach Paleolithic, and in the valleys of the Bug, Narew and Biebrza, traces of neolithic settlements and burial mounds were discovered. In the iron era, the Baltic and Slavic tribes appeared here, and in the north – Jaćwingowie, a warous people who, until the 13th century, resisted Christianization and expansion of neighbors. They broadcast the tone in this part of Europe before they disappeared as a result of the conquests of the Teutonic Order and the Lithuanian princes. In the south, settlements related to East Slavic culture were developing – the influence of Kiev Ruthenia, and Masovian elements entered the west. Already then Podlasie was a transition zone – ethnic and language. The early Middle Ages brought the intensification of settlement. The first defensive castles were created at strategic points – on the Bug, Narew, and Biebrza. Drohiczyn, Bielsk, Surraż, Łomża – these names have been in sources since the 11th -12th century. Drohiczyn rose to a local commercial center, and its importance increased when he was lying on the trail between Mazovia and Rusia. However, in the 13th century these lands became an arena of dramatic fights. Mazowsze tried to expand their influence, the Russians defended their own, and the Jaćwing organized invasions. #Podlasie #Geography #pamnicze #jaćwingowie #WielkieStarstwolitewskie #unialalska #Mazowze #drobnaszlachta #tatarskiślady #kruszyniany #bohonics #Jewishhistoria #wizna #wizna
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