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Another online meeting from the series "In the early days it was...". We have already talked about the Pechenegs twice, this time it's the turn of... the Cumans! This nomadic people of Turkic origin inhabited the vast steppes of Europe and Asia in the early Middle Ages. They were known for harassing the Ruthenian principalities with their raids, but also Hungarian and Bulgarian territories. As Gallus Anonymus reports, their invasion was effectively repelled by Bolesław Krzywousty. On the other hand, the Cumans, also known as the Polovtsians, entered into intermarriage with the Rurikids, and even opposed the Mongol invasion with them in the mid-13th century. We most often associate them with the so-called Polovtsian Babes, i.e. stone statues, with which some researchers associate the famous Światowid of Zbruch. Is that right? Dr. Aneta Gołębiowska-Tobiasz, an archaeologist and specialist in the Cumans and nomadic peoples in general, will tell you all about this next Wednesday. She talks about it with true eloquence and knowledge of the subject.