Grand Prince of Vladimir

The Prince of Vladimir,[1] from 1186[2] Grand Prince of Vladimir (Russian: Великий князь Владимирский),[3] also translated as Grand Duke of Vladimir, was the title of the monarch of Vladimir-Suzdal. The title was passed to the prince of Moscow in 1389.[4]

Overview

The monarch of Vladimir-Suzdal's title, veliky knyaz or velikii kniaz (Russian: Великий Князь, romanizedvelikiy knyaz' / velikii kniaz', Church Slavonic: великꙑи кнѧзь, romanized: velikȳi knęz'[2]) is variously translated into English as "grand duke"[citation needed] or "grand prince".[5] Consequently, Vladimir-Suzdal has been interchangeably described as a "grand principality"[6][7] or "grand duchy".[citation needed] Linguist Alan Timberlake (2000) found that the first time the phrase velikȳi knęz' shows up in the Suzdalian Chronicle (in the Laurentian, Radziwiłł and LPS manuscripts) is under the year 1186, where it is applied to Vsevolod Yurievich.[2] In his early reign from 1177 to 1186, he is simply referred to as "prince Vsevolod" (knęz' (zhe) Vsevolod').[1]

From 1157 to 1238, the principality's capital was Vladimir on the Klyazma,[citation needed] which had been founded in 1108.[8] In 1151 Andrey Bogolyubsky secretly left Vyshgorod, the domain of his father in the Principality of Kiev, and migrated to Suzdal.[citation needed] In 1157 he became prince of the principalities of Vladimir, Suzdal and Rostov.[citation needed] He sacked Kiev in 1169, installing his younger brother Gleb as new grand prince of Kiev.[9]

The city of Vladimir was sacked by a Mongol invasion in 1238. The second important city, Suzdal', was also destroyed by Mongols. The entire principality was then overrun in 1242 by the Mongols under Batu Khan, founder of the Golden Horde.[citation needed] The state of Vladimir-Suzdal (formally the grand principality of Vladimir[7]) became dominant among the various petty northeastern Rus' principalities left after the dissolution of the Kievan Rus' state.[citation needed] The title of Grand Prince of Vladimir became one of the three titles (along with Kiev and Novgorod[citation needed]) possessed by the most important rulers among the Rus' nobility.[citation needed] In the forest region, Vladimir enjoyed hegemony for a time, but it too disintegrated into a series of petty states.[citation needed] By the 14th century, Vladimir-Suzdal had splintered into various appanage principalities including Nizhny Novgorod (Novgorod-Suzdal), Tver and Moscow (Muscovy) who all claimed the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir, and sought to gain the favour of the Tatar-Mongol khan of the Golden Horde to secure it.[a] In the early 14th century, the khan awarded the title to Yury of Moscow to counterbalance the strength of Tver; and after the Tver Uprising of 1327, which the Muscovites helped put down, Özbeg Khan named Ivan "Kalita" of Moscow the new grand prince of Vladimir.[11]

By the mid-14th century and especially during the Great Troubles (1359–1382), the khan's alliance with Moscow made the latter militarily and administratively powerful enough to economically and demographically devastate its rivals, notably Tver.[12] The khans therefore started awarding the grand princely title to Moscow's rivals.[13] In 1353, Konstantin Vasilyevich [ru; uk] of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal unsuccessfully tried to obtain the title of grand prince of Vladimir,[14] and in 1371 it was awarded to Mikhail II of Tver.[14] But by that time it was too late for the Golden Horde to curb the rise of Muscovy.[15] Tokhtamysh allowed Vasily I of Moscow to succeed his father Dmitry Donskoy as grand prince of Vladimir in 1389.[16]

Yurievichi connection of Moscow, Novgorod-Suzdal, and Tver
Yaroslav II of Vladimir
G. P. of Vladimir (1238–1246)
Grandson of Yurievichi progenitor Yuri Dolgorukiy
Alexander Nevsky
Prince of Novgorod (~1246~1259)
G. P. of Vladimir (1252–1263)
Andrey II of Vladimir
Prince of Suzdal (1256–1264)
G. P. of Vladimir (1249–1252)
Yaroslav of Tver
Prince of Tver (1247–1271)
G. P. of Vladimir (1263–1271)
Daniel of Moscow
Prince of Moscow (1283–1303)
Daniilovichi progenitor
Konstantin of Suzdal
Prince of Nizhny
Novgorod-Suzdal (1341–1355)
Mikhail of Tver
Prince of Tver (1285–1318)
G. P. of Vladimir (1304–1318)

List

Monarch Regnal name Lifespan Relationship with predecessor(s) Reigned from Reigned until
Andrey Bogolyubsky Andrey I 1110–1174 Son of Yuri Dolgorukiy 15 May 1157 28 June 1174[17]
Mikhail of Vladimir Mikhail I ?–1176 Brother of Andrey Bogolyubsky 1174 September 1174
Yaropolk Rostislavich Yaropolk ?–after 1196 Grandson of Vladimir II Monomakh 1174 15 June 1175
Mikhail of Vladimir (again) Mikhail I ?–1176 Brother of Andrei Bogolyubsky 15 June 1175 20 June 1176
Vsevolod the Big Nest
first to be called "grand prince" from 1186 onwards[2]
Vsevolod III 1154–1212 Brother of Andrei Bogolyubsky
Brother of Mikhail of Vladimir
June 1176 15 April 1212
Yuri II of Vladimir Yuri II 1189–1238 Son of Vsevolod the Big Nest 1212 27 April 1216
Konstantin of Rostov Konstantin 1186–1218 Son of Vsevolod the Big Nest Spring 1216 2 February 1218
Yuri II of Vladimir (again) Yuri II 1189–1238 Son of Vsevolod the Big Nest February 1218 4 March 1238
Yaroslav II of Vladimir Yaroslav II 1191–1238 Son of Vsevolod the Big Nest 1238 30 September 1246
Sviatoslav III of Vladimir Sviatoslav III 1196–3 February 1252 Son of Vsevolod the Big Nest 1246 1248
Mikhail Khorobrit Mikhail? 1229–15 January 1248 Son of Yaroslav II of Vladimir 1248 15 January 1248
Sviatoslav III of Vladimir (again) Sviatoslav III 1196– 3 February 1252 Son of Vsevolod the Big Nest 1248 1249
Andrey II of Vladimir Andrey II 1221–1264 Son of Yaroslav II of Vladimir December 1249 24 July 1252
Alexander Nevsky Alexander I 1220–1263 Son of Yaroslav II of Vladimir 1252 14 November 1263
Yaroslav of Tver Yaroslav III 1230–1272 Son of Yaroslav II of Vladimir 1264 1271
Vasily of Kostroma Vasily 1241–1276 Son of Yaroslav II of Vladimir 1272 January 1276
Dmitry of Pereslavl Dmitry? 1250–1294 Son of Alexander Nevsky 1276 1281
Andrey of Gorodets Andrey III 1255–1304 Son of Alexander Nevsky 1281 December 1283
Dmitry of Pereslavl (again) Dmitry? 1250–1294 Son of Alexander Nevsky December 1283 1293
Andrey of Gorodets (again) Andrey III 1255–1304 Son of Alexander Nevsky 1293 1304
Mikhail of Tver Mikhail? 1271–1318 Son of Yaroslav of Tver Autumn 1304 22 November 1318
Yuri of Moscow Yuri III 1281–1325 Grandson of Alexander Nevsky 1318 2 November 1322
Dmitry of Tver the Fearsome Eyes Dmitry I 1299–1326 Son of Mikhail of Tver 1322 15 September 1326
Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver Alexander II 1281–1339 Son of Mikhail of Tver 1326 1327
Alexander of Suzdal [uk; ru] Alexander III c. 1300–1331 Grandson of Andrey II of Vladimir 1328 1331
Ivan I of Moscow Kalita Ivan I 1288–1340 Grandson of Alexander Nevsky 1332 31 March 1340
Simeon of Moscow Simeon 1317–1353 Son of Ivan I of Moscow 1340 1353
Ivan II of Moscow Ivan II 1326–1359 Son of Ivan I of Moscow 1353 1359
Dmitry of Suzdal Dmitry? 1323–1383 Great-grandson of Andrey of Gorodets 1359 1362
Dmitry Donskoy Dmitry? 1350–1389 Son of Ivan II of Moscow 1362 1371
Mikhail II of Tver Mikhail? 1333–1399 Son of Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver 1371 1375
Dmitry Donskoy (again) Dmitry? 1350–1389 Son of Ivan II of Moscow 1375 1389

See also

Notes

  1. ^ During the 14th century, "political history is dominated by the vicious struggle between Moscow and Tver' for supremacy in Vladimir-Suzdalia. In the drive for power, both states had to address Sarai, for the Golden Horde had the uncontested prerogative of determining succession to the symbolic throne of the grand prince of Vladimir. In this new political climate, the Mongols abandoned the now obsolete policy of respecting the traditional Russian lines of succession."[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Timberlake 2000, p. 240.
  2. ^ a b c d Timberlake 2000, p. 241.
  3. ^ Martin 2007, p. 164.
  4. ^ Fennell, John (13 October 2014). The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304. Routledge. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-317-87314-3.
  5. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 68–72, 118, 156.
  6. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 59, 69, 79, 109.
  7. ^ a b Martin 2007, p. 190.
  8. ^ Martin 2007, p. 92.
  9. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 117.
  10. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 68, 71.
  11. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 71–72.
  12. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 99–100, 109.
  13. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 99–100.
  14. ^ a b Halperin 1987, p. 68.
  15. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 100, 109.
  16. ^ Halperin 1987, p. 75.
  17. ^ Martin 2007, p. 112.

Bibliography