Chernihiv was first mentioned in the Rus'-Byzantine Treaty of 907 but the time of establishment is not known.

According to the items uncovered by archaeological excavations of a settlement which included artifacts from the Khazar Khaganate, it seems to have existed at least in the ninth century.

Towards the end of the tenth century, the city probably had its own rulers.

It is here that the Black Grave, one of the largest and earliest royal mounds in Eastern Europe, will be excavated in the nineteenth century.

In the southern portion of the Kievan Rus' polity, the city was the second by importance and wealth.

From the early eleventh century, it was the seat of powerful Grand Principality of Chernigov, whose rulers at times vied for power with Kievan Grand Princes, and often overthrew them and took the primary seat in Kiev for themselves.

The grand principality was the largest in Kievan Rus and included not only the Severian towns but even such remote regions as Murom, Ryazan and Tmutarakan.

The golden age of Chernihiv, when the city population peaked at twenty-five thousand, lasted until 1239 when the city was sacked by the hordes of Batu Khan, which started a long period of relative obscurity.

The area falls under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1353.