The ominous eclipse in The Tale of Igor's Campaign really happened.

1185

On 1 May 1185, as Prince Igor's army marched against the Cumans, a solar eclipse darkened the steppe — astronomers can date it exactly.

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The event

• Prince Igor's campaign1185 · Cuman steppe. In spring 1185, Prince Igor Svyatoslavich of Novgorod-Seversky attacked the Cumans, was defeated and captured. The campaign is the subject of The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the masterpiece of Old East Slavic literature.

12th century

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