Userd on a Quiet Pine

Cities of Khazaria. Kromos Estatium
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     The khazar cities here include not only those cities that were built by the khazar architects, but also those that were built before the arrival of the khazars, were used by the khazars for their needs and tasks for a long time.
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Userd on a Quiet Pine **
     The city has existed since ancient times, although it appears in the annals only since 1592. When it was part of North-Eastern Russia.
     Its location was determined by historians near the village of Streletskoe at the confluence of Quiet Pine and Userd.
     According to one of the variants, the city got its name from the fact that it stood in the middle between the Quiet Pine and Userd rivers.
     Among historians, the version that the city was diligent (userd in Russian) in protecting its territory is no less popular.
     According to local folk legend, the old Voivode, who received the right to put a guard fortress here, still could not choose the name of his fortress, the old one did not suit him. And it was then the time of the midway (Pripolovenie) between Easter and Pentecost (Pyatidesiatnitza). Once he asked the voivode Sereda how far it was from here to Vladimir Zalessky, and the Sereda replied that they were standing between Serensk and Vladimir in the middle (userd). So they named this place as Userd in honor of the halfway. Local people still revere this holiday more than others.
     There is a version that the city got its name due to the fact that in the 17th century it was placed right in the middle of an ancient settlement.
     Most likely, the city was named after the river Userd, wich hydronym existed in the time of Christ.
     In the midlle of the 9th century, Userd served the Russian Khaganate as a border outpost in its south.
     In the 10th century, according to local legend, Userd was part of the cities of the Khazar Khaganate.
     In 1380, the cross on Userd and Quiet Pine, called Kamenny, was held by soldiers of the Guard regiment of Dmitry Donskoy.
     At the end of the 16th century, russian guard patrols stopped at cape Userd, which observed the movements of the tatars from here.
     In 1587, the construction of the Belgorod line of six fortresses, a wedge directed to the south of Russia, began. These were Kroms; Belgorod; Borisov; Valuyki; Userd; Voronezh.
     In 1630, the Voronezh voivode set up a standing burg for guard detachments at the mouth of the Userd river, where it flows into the Quiet Pine. Only retired military people, serving people on the device, tried here, serfs were forbidden.
     At the end of 1636, a government expedition led by Voivode Fyodor Sukhotin settled here, which decided to build a fortified town here.
     In 1637, the Charter of Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich to put the City of Userd on the site of an older one, which was dilapidated and breathed incense. No one said what his name was.
     Userd became part of the Belgorod line, which lasted almost 800 kilometers, from the Vorskla river to the Chelnova river, from the border with Poland to the Tambov province, from one forest area to another. Then there was the Siberian defensive line. Belgorod line was built from the raids of the Crimean khans and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
     The line on the left, northern bank of the Quiet Pine, which was very deep at that time, belonged to the Userd section of defense.
     Userd was located on The Kalmius Shlyakh, which almost every year the Crimean khans went to Moscow with their robber campaigns. The city stood almost at the end of this shlyakh, halfway between the Crimea and Moscow, which is why it was important for the Moscow Princes. The khans always made it their task to eliminate this defensive point, and they succeeded three times.
     Oak fortress walls made by the chopped city, according to the city plan, were placed on a small rampart that surrounded the fortress in a circle with an area of 2 hectares. Towers with loopholes were inserted in the walls. On one of the towers there was a message bell. Beyond the moat was an oak stockade.
     An underground passage led to the Userd river, the walls of which were reinforced with wooden supports. This passage was called the hiding place where the well was hidden.
     There was no Detinets in the fortress, instead there was a Voevoda yard for crafts and trade, where places were equipped for the life of punitive cossacks, for archers, the entire number of up to 500 soldiers. There was a church here, apparently a cathedral, croms armory and grocery. There was also a prison of Vojvoda.
     Despite the importance of the fortress for the defense of the approaches to Moscow, it was not a princely city, there were no luxurious towers and the interior of the fortress did not involve the placement of the Prince's family here.
     In 1638, in Userd settle immigrants from Kharkiv region for eternal life.
     In 1679, from Userd to the south, they began to build another defensive line that protected Central Russia from turkish-tatar raids, which was called the Izyum line. It went through the Belgorod Region and Kharkiv region.
     Since 1779, Userd ceased to be a county town, since at that time it no longer had a special strategic military significance, because the Crimean Khanate fell. Since that time, it has lost its significance as a city, receiving the name of Streletsk Sloboda. All Vojvodina service moved to the city of Biryuch. The city slowly ran out of people, since all the craft under it was focused on serving the needs of the military fortress. Posad did not have its own economy.
     In 1890, the city of Userd was mentioned as the Streletskaya Sloboda in the Voronezh province.
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