Grand Prince of Kiev
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Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes Grand Duke of Kiev) was the title of the Kievan prince and the ruler of Kievan Rus in the 9th–12th centuries.
Rurik (or Ryurik), a semi-legendary Scandinavian Varangian, was at the roots of Kievan Rus'.[1] He founded the Rurikovich dynasty that would rule Kievan Rus', Rus' principalities and early Russian Tsardom for the next 700 years. Rurik's capital was the northern city of Novgorod. His successor Oleg relocated the capital to Kiev (now the capital of Ukraine) at around 880, thus laying the foundation of what has become known as Kievan Rus'.[2]
While the early rulers of Rus' were Scandinavians, they gradually merged into the local Slavic population. Still, in the 11th century, Yaroslav, (called Jarisleif in Scandinavian chronicles) maintained the dynastic links, married a Swedish princess, and gave asylum to king Olaf II of Norway.
The movement of nobility also went in the opposite direction. According to Adam of Bremen, Anund Gårdske, a man from Kievan Rus' was elected king of Sweden, ca 1070. As he was a Christian, however, he refused to sacrifice to the Aesir at the Temple at Uppsala and he was deposed by popular vote.
The unity of Kievan Rus' gradually declined, and was all but gone by 1136. After that period Kievan Rus' shattered into a number of smaller states, the southern of which contested for the throne of Kiev.
Kievan Rus' was finally destroyed by the Mongols in 1237,[3] but the Riurikovich line persisted and continued to rule Rus' principalities.
Rulers of Kievan Rus' held the titles Kniaz and later Velikiy Kniaz, traditionally translated as Grand Prince or Grand Duke.[3]
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[edit] Princes of Kiev
[edit] Legendary princes of Kiev
- Kyi (200—230)
- Lebedin (230—250)
- Veren (250—270)
- Serezhen (270—280)
- Gredin (280—310)
- Osilin (310—330)
- Sil'nomir (330—350)
- Bozh (350—376)
It is possible to object that Kyi has started to ruling in 430 year, and same year Kiev has been based. But this objection should be rejected, as date in sources initially to concern Kiev on Average Danube (now Keve in Hungary).
[edit] Rulers of Kiev and Kievan Rus (~860–1246)
[edit] Pagan rulers of the Rurik Dynasty
The Rurik Dynasty were descendants of Rurik, and originally pagans.
| Portrait | Name | Born-Died | Ruled From | Ruled Until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Askold and Dir, were rulers of Kiev, not Kievan Rus | ?-882 | 860 | 882 |
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Oleg of Novgorod | ?-912 | 882 | 912 |
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Igor of Kiev | ?-945 | 912 | 945 |
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Olga of Kiev (regent), was baptized by Emperor Constantine VII but failed to bring Christianity to Kiev | ?-969 | 945 | 962 |
| Sviatoslav I of Kiev, the first true ruler of Rus', he united all of the Rus' principalities under the Kiev throne | 942-972 | 962 | 972 | |
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Yaropolk I of Kiev, supposedly was baptised into Catholisism | 958 (960?)-980 | 972 | 980 |
[edit] Christian rulers of the Rurik Dynasty
Christianity was officially adopted in 988 by Vladimir the Great.
| Portrait | Name | Born-Died | Ruled From | Ruled Until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Vladimir the Great, early rule is characterized by a staunch pagan reaction but in 988 he was baptized into Orthodoxy and successfully converted Kievan Rus to Christianity | 958-1015 | 980 | 1015 |
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Sviatopolk the Accursed | 980-1019 | 1015 | 1019 |
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Yaroslav the Wise, Kievan Rus reached the pinnacle of its' power during his reign | 978-1054 | 1019 | 1054 |
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Iziaslav I of Kiev, first time | 1024-1078 | 1054 | 1073 |
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Vseslav of Kiev, was a brief ruler during Iziaslav's official reign | 1039-1101 | 1068 | 1069 |
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Sviatoslav II of Kiev (on picture, first form right) | 1027-1076 | 1073 | 1076 |
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Iziaslav I of Kiev, second time | 1024-1078 | 1076 | 1078 |
| Vsevolod I of Kiev | 1030-1093 | 1078 | 1093 | |
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Sviatopolk II of Kiev | 1050-1113 | 1093 | 1113 |
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Vladimir II Monomakh, was the last ruler of the united Kievan Rus | 1053-1125 | 1113 | 1125 |
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Mstislav I of Kiev, during his reign Kievan Rus fell into recession starting a rapid decline | 1076–1132 | 1125 | 1132 |
[edit] The decline of Kievan Rus
During this time the territory of modern Ukraine was conquered by various princes of the disintegrating Kievan Rus principalities and Galicia-Volhynia.
- Yaropolk II (1132–1139)
- Vyacheslav I (1139) (first time)
- Vsevolod II (1139–1146)
- Igor II (1146)
- Izyaslav II (1146-1149) (first time)
- George I (1149–1151) (first time)
- Vyacheslav I (1151–1155) (second time)
- Izyaslav II (1151-1154) (second time)
- Rostislav I (1154) (first time)
- Izyaslav III (1154-1155) (first time)
- George I (1155–1157) (second time)
- Izyaslav III (1157–1158) (second time)
- Rostislav I (1159-1167) (second time)
- Izyaslav III (1162) (third time)
- Mstislav II (1167–1169) (first time)
- Gleb I (1169) (first time)
- Mstislav II (1170) (second time)
- Gleb I (1170–1171) (Second time)
- Vladimir (1171)
- Mikhail I (1171)
- Roman I (1171–1173) (first time)
- Vsevolod III (1173)
- Ryurik (1173) (first time)
- Svyatoslav III (1174) (first time)
- Yaroslav II (1174–1175) (first time)
- Roman I (1175–1177) (second time)
- Svyatoslav III (1177–1180) (second time)
- Yaroslav II (1180) (second time)
- Ryurik (1180-1182) (second time)
- Svyatoslav III (1182–1194) (third time)
- Ryurik (1194-1202) (third time)
- Ingvar I (1202)
- Ryurik (1203-1205) (fourth time)
- Roman II (1203-1205)
- Rostislav II (1204–1206)
- Ryurik (1206) (fifth time)
- Vsevolod IV (1206–1207) (first time)
- Ryurik (1207-10) (sixth time)
- Vsevolod IV (1210–1214) (second time)
- Ingvar I (1214)
- Mstislav III (1214–1223)
- Vladimir III (1223–1235)
- Izyaslav IV (1235–1236)
- Yaroslav III (1236–1238) (first time)
- Mikhail II (1238–1239) (first time)
- Rostislav III (1239)
- Daniil I (1239–1240)
- Mikhail II (1241–1246) (second time)
- Yaroslav III (1246) (second time)
[edit] See also
- List of Ukrainian rulers
- List of Russian rulers
- List of rulers of Galicia and Volhynia
- Genealogy of early Russian princes
[edit] References
- ^ Dunn, Dennis J. (2004). The Catholic Church and Russia: Popes, Patriarchs, Tsars and Commissars. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. pp. 1. ISBN 0754636100. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lmFEjKYlQfcC&pg=RA1-PR12-IA1&dq=Kievan+Rus%27+rurik&as_brr=3&sig=y0aZ0HuB0Sv7AMuO6ql0ys55SC4#PRA1-PR12-IA1,M1.
- ^ Kendrick, T. D. (2004). A History of the Vikings. Courier Dover Publications. pp. 151–152. ISBN 048643396X. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3Z8NgXgRytUC&pg=PA151&dq=Rurik+novgorod+capital+oleg&as_brr=3&sig=593AzZv24AUI7Asx5Jb_uJ7BLrg#PPA151,M1.
- ^ a b Stone, David R. (2006). A Military History of Russia: From Ivan the Terrible to the War in Chechnya. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 3–4. ISBN 0275985024. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DbR62llvLh0C&pg=RA1-PA3&dq=Kniaz+Kievan+Rus&sig=ZgjQ02jM2ANubGRRTIADCKI1J_Y#PRA1-PA4,M1.
