Many settlements of modern Belarus were born along the banks of rivers and lakes, water sources not only gave life, but also gave the name. At least, the history of Gomel contains different versions of the appearance of such a toponym, but the main one is associated with the Gomeyuk stream, near which the first settlement appeared.
Origins
Scientists cannot name the exact date of the formation of Gomel (Gomiya), roughly - the end of the first millennium. At that time, these were the lands of the East Slavic Union, where the Radimichi lived. It was they who built the Detinets, choosing a convenient location - the confluence of the Sozh River and the Gomeyuk Creek.
Historians cite evidence that the city was the center of the Gomel principality; in the Ipatiev Chronicle (1142) it is mentioned as part of the Chernigov principality. Then there was a period when the settlement passed from one princely hands to another, at one time it was owned by Igor Svyatoslavovich, who later became the main character of "The Lay of Igor's Regiment".
During the XII-XIII centuries, the city developed, crafts appeared, due to the convenient location, trade with the cities of northern and southern Russia was active. The city was subjected to numerous raids of the Tatar-Mongols.
As part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
A new period in the history of Gomel begins in 1335, when Prince Olgerd annexed the city and the territories around it to the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Over the course of two centuries, the settlement changed owners more than once, survived the reign of grand-ducal governors, princes.
As part of Lithuania, the history of Gomel, in short, continued until 1452, when Ivan Andreevich, the prince of Mozhaisk, took control of the city. In 1505, his son Semyon, who took possession, became a citizen of Moscow. The main goal of the Russian-Lithuanian war was precisely the Gomel lands, which Moscow got, though not for long.
The 16th century was marked by the return of Gomel to Lithuania, then finding it in the Commonwealth. This is the time of large and small wars, when the city was in the center of attention of Moscow, the Commonwealth and the free Cossacks. All this could not but lead to sad consequences for the settlement and its inhabitants, the city fell into decay.
As part of the Russian Empire
The very first partition of the Commonwealth led to the fact that Gomel became part of the Russian Empire. It was presented by Catherine II to her commander Peter Rumyantsev, who made it a district center.
The settlement was again awaiting changes, it was included in various territorial formations. At the same time, the rapid growth of urban infrastructure began, and the population increased. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Gomel was considered a large industrial center.
