Among the riddles of which the early history of Kievan Russia is full, the origin of the name of its capital city occupies a prominent place. Ever since Tatishchev's day, scholars for nearly two centuries have continued to propound all sorts of hypotheses regarding the names Kiev and Sambat, but up to the present not one has been so convincing or authoritative as to command the support of even a small group of specialists.
Most recently, in a Festschrift honoring the distinguished Ukrainian historian Hrushevski, two articles were devoted to this vexing problem, the first by G. Ilinski on the topic “The Sambatas of Constantine Porphyrogenitus” and the second by M. Tershakovetz entitled “The Legend of Kii, Shchek, Khoriv, and their Sister Lybed.” Ilinski reviews all previous suggestions in explanation of the name Sambatas as used by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the famous passage from The Administration of the Empire where the author, referring to the caravan of small cargo-boats assembled annually before the capital city on the Dnieper, writes, “They come down the river Dnieper and assemble at the strong-point Kioava, also called Sambatas.” Like the whole passage about the Russes, the latter place-name used by the Emperor derives from reliable official sources, and has given historians and philologists ample food for thought.