Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the succession crisis of 1195

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Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and the succession crisis of 1195

Martin Dimnik

Аннотация

Димник М. Князь Ярослав Всеволодович и княжеская усобица 1195 г.

В 1195 г. киевский князь Рюрик Ростиславич, его брат смоленский князь Давид и суздальский князь Всеволод «Большое Гнездо» потребовали от черниговских князей Ярослава Всеволодовича и Ольговичей клятвенного обещания никогда не занимать вотчин Мономашичей - Киева и Смоленска. Однако Ярослав дерзко ответил, что после смерти Рюрика и Давида владение Киевом определит Божье провидение, т. е. военная сила. Важно, что в переговорах Ярослава с Ростиславичами его поддержал Всеволод «Большое Гнездо».

Ключевые слова: Ярослав Всеволодович, Рюрик Ростиславич, борьба Ольговичей и Мономашичей за киевское княжение.

Yaroslav Vsevolodovmh was one of the few Ol^ov^k whom the actident of tirth and good fortune allowed to сІітЬ to the pmnacle of power wrthm the dynasty of Cherrngov. The actident of tirth placed hm on the second rung of sernority іп Ms generation. Nevertheless, he began hti potitical career unassummgly by ruting the provmtial domam of Ropesk located southwest of Starodub іп the basm of the Snov' River. He reported fivmg there іп 1159 [1]. ffis good fortune was to have hti successkn to Cherrngov accelerated because, іп 1176, hti elder brother Svyatoslav vacated Cherrngov and occupkd Kkv [2]. Consequently Yaroslav dM not have to wart for hrt brother to drt before succeedmg hm to Cherrngov. In 1194 Svyatoslav drtd іп Krtv [3]. ffis last offitial act was to summon hrt co-ruler Ryurik to Krtv to succeed hm. ffis death also generated Yaroslav Vsevolodovmh's elevation to the status of the sernor prince of the Ol^ov^k. Thus, by outtivmg hrt brother he assumed sernority іп the dynasty for four years.

In 1195, after occupymg Kkv, Ryurik allocated towns іп the Kkvan lands to hrt Monomashkh! relatives. Included among them was hrt son-rn-law Roman Mstislavkh of Volyn' to whom he gave five towns. Vsevolod Bol 'shoe Gnezdo of Suzdafia, the sernor prince of the Monomashichi, was furious for bemg Snored іп the distribution and threatened retribution. Ryurik sought to appease hm and persuaded Roman to relmqmsh the five towns to Vsevolod. On bemg gken the five towns Vsevolod gave one of them, Torchesk, to Ryurik's son Rostislav, who was also hrt son-rn-law.

Roman was furious when he learnt that Torchesk had been gken to hrt brother-m-law Rostislav accusmg Ryurik of wanting to gke the town to Rostislav from the very begmnmg. Ryurik however remmded Roman that he had voluntarily surrendered the towns to Vsevolod and after that they were hrt to do wrth as he pleased. Roman, however, refusmg to be recontiled wrth Ryurik formed an altiance wrth Yaroslav Vsevolodovkh of Cherrngov and persuaded hm to seme Kkv. Yaroslav, whose father Vsevolod Ol'govkh had been prince of Kkv, had a legrtmate clam to the caprtal and was prepared to make a bid for it with Roman's assistance.

On learning this news Ryurik informed Vsevolod that Roman and the Ol'govichi were planning to wage war against him and called upon Vsevolod to come to his defense. In face of his father-in-law's impending retaliation Roman sought safety with the Poles. While with the Poles, however, he was wounded in battle and, on returning to Volyn', sought to be reconciled with Ryurik. The latter forgave him for his betrayal and in compensation for his loss of the five towns gave him the town of Polonyy southwest of Kamenets and a district in the Poros'e region [4].

In the autumn of 1195, after Yaroslav's overt declaration of hostility and his failed alliance with Roman, Ryurik attempted to take precautions against the Ol'govichi threat to his rule. He, his brother David, and Vsevolod Bol'shoe Gnezdo challenged Yaroslav. They demanded that he and the Ol'govichi pledge never to seize from them or their descendants their patrimonies of Kiev and Smolensk. They declared that their ultimatum was in keeping with the allocations that Yaroslav the Wise had made when he had given Chernigov to Yaroslav's forefather Svyatoslav [5]. Significantly, in arguing that the Ol'govichi had no need of Kiev and should be content with keeping solely their lands on the east bank of the Dnepr, the Monomashichi cited Yaroslav as their authority. Their argument, however, was flawed. Yaroslav the Wise had given Monomakh's father Vsevolod the domain of Pereyaslavl' as his patrimony and it also was on the east bank of the Dnepr. Consequently, the Ol'govichi could use the argument of the Monomashichi against them by pointing out that they also had no need of domains on the west bank. They argued much and were not reconciled.

With their demand the Rostislavichi for the first time attempted to secure their dynasty's control permanently over Kiev. They therewith attempted to violate the directive given by Yaroslav the Wise that Kiev must not become the permanent possession of any one of his sons but must remain the common patrimony of the families of his sons Izyaslav, Svyatoslav, and Vsevolod. If Yaroslav capitulated to Ryurik's demand and relinquished the rightful claim of the Ol'govichi, then the Monomashichi, but above all Ryurik and the Rostislavichi, would become the sole claimants to Kiev.

Yaroslav Vsevolodovich did not reject the demands of the Monomashichi outright but conceded on one point. He promised that he and the Ol'govichi would not seek to evict Ryurik from Kiev and therewith prudently agreed to maintain the status quo. After all, Ryurik was already ensconced in Kiev and Yaroslav realized that should he attempt to evict him Ryurik could summon the superior forces of Kiev, Smolensk, and Suzdalia to his aid. Nevertheless, Yaroslav refused to give up the right of future Ol'govichi generations to ruling Kiev. He proclaimed bluntly that following Ryurik and

David's death succession to Kiev would be decided by God's providence. That is, the Rostislavichi and the Ol'govichi would have to determine who was to rule Kiev by military force. Yaroslav declared that as the Ol'govichi and the Monomashichi were both offspring of Yaroslav the Wise, they both had a legitimate claim to the capital of Rus'. In 1195, therefore, he rebuffed the Rostislavichi by rejecting the most controversial demand that they had made to date. His refusal however was too important for the Rostislavichi to pass over without a military challenge.

It was most likely Ryurik who prompted Vsevolod Bol 'shoe Gnezdo and David to formulate the challenge to Yaroslav since he was the one whom Yaroslav had planned to depose. Thus, after Yaroslav rejected the demand, it was again Ryurik who took the initiative. Having had his knuckles wrapped by Vsevolod over his allocation of domains to Roman, he acknowledged Vsevolod's seniority by asking him to command the campaign against Yaroslav. Vsevolod promised to march against Chernigov in the winter. Acting as the commander-in-chief of a joint campaign with the Rostislavichi would bolster his status as the senior prince of the Monomashichi. Fortunately for the Ol'govichi, Yaroslav's promise to accept Vsevolod's terms defused the crisis and he cancelled the campaign. Moreover, at the beginning of winter in 1195 Yaroslav sent a delegation to Ryurik requesting him to refrain from invading the territories of Chernigov before he, Vsevolod, and David had decided whether to be reconciled or go to war. Ryurik agreed and withdrew to his patrimony of Vruchiy [6].

When Ryurik made his truce with Yaroslav he evidently promised to hand over to the Ol'govich the town of Vitebsk southeast of Polotsk in exchange for Yaroslav's promise not to challenge his rule in Kiev. At this time Vitebsk was under Rostislavichi control. Although Ryurik sent word to David that he had given the town to Yaroslav, David refused to relinquish control of Vitebsk because it was ruled by his son-inlaw [7]. Since, in Yaroslav's eyes, David had violated his agreement with Ryurik he did not wait for his peace delegations to return from Vsevolod in Suzdalia and from David. Instead, he declared war. In March of 1196 he dispatched troops under the command of his nephew Oleg Svyatoslavich to attack Vitebsk.

David sent his most senior nephew Mstislav Romanovich with the Smolensk militia to confront the invaders but troops from Polotsk came to Oleg's aid. They defeated the Rostislavichi forces, took Mstislav captive, and handed him over to Oleg. The latter immediately sent word to Yaroslav that the Ol'govichi had been victorious and that they had captured Mstislav. Oleg also advised his uncle to march against Smolensk. Yaroslav therefore set out with his troops for Smolensk. Meanwhile Ryurik warned Yaroslav that if he marched against Smolensk Ryurik would attack

Chernigov. Accordingly, Yaroslav aborted his attack. Nevertheless, he placed the blame for the conflict on David's shoulders accusing him of helping his son-inlaw to hold onto Vitebsk contrary to Ryurik's agreement with Yaroslav. Ryurik, for his part, defended David by explaining that David had refused to hand over Vitebsk because Ryurik's messengers had not yet reached him. Moreover, he pointed out that by attacking Smolensk Yaroslav would have broken the oath that he had made to the Rostislavichi not to seize Smolensk from them. Ryurik and Yaroslav therefore remained at odds [8].

After Ryurik successfully dissuaded Yaroslav from attacking Smolensk he once again sought to incite Vsevolod to invade Chernigov. It was owing to his inaction, Ryurik declared, that the Ol'govichi had invaded the lands of Smolensk and taken Mstislav Romanovich captive. He therefore pleaded with Vsevolod to avenge the insult to the Rostislavichi by helping them to set Mstislav free. In response Vsevolod yet again adopted delaying tactics. He instructed Ryurik to initiate attacks against Yaroslav and promised to bring reinforcements. Ryurik took Vsevolod at his word and led raids against Chernigov but waited hopelessly for Vsevolod to arrive. Thus Ryurik waged war alone against Yaroslav all summer [9].

In the autumn of 1196 Roman Mstislavich of Vladimir in Volyn', who had been forced to abandon his pact with Yaroslav owing to a wound he sustained in battle with the Poles, broke his agreement with Ryurik and once again joined Yaroslav. From Polonyy, the town that Ryurik had given to him, his forces ravaged districts belonging to Ryurik's brother David and son Rostislav. In retaliation Ryurik sent his nephew Mstislav Mstislavich Udaloy of Trepol' to Vladimir Yaroslavich of Galich and commanded him to accompany Mstislav in raiding Roman's lands in Volyn'. Mstislav and Vladimir therefore devastated Roman's lands around Peremil' while Rostislav Ryurikovich attacked his districts near Kamenets [10]. We are told that Ryurik sent these princes to attack Roman's possessions because he himself had joined forces with Vsevolod Bol 'shoe Gnezdo who had finally invaded the Chernigov lands with David.

While Vsevolod's troops were devastating the Vyatichi lands of the Ol'govichi, Yaroslav sent a delegation to him proposing peace. Nevertheless, he challenged Vsevolod by declaring that he would accept Vsevolod's terms only if they were reasonable. He rejected outright the demand of the Rostislavichi that the Ol'govichi never again rule Kiev. Instead, he announced that the Ol'govichi would fight for their right to sit on the throne of Kiev. Despite these acerbic reproofs Vsevolod favoured negotiating a peaceful settlement with Yaroslav. His ally David, however, urged him to engage the Ol'govichi in battle. He reminded Vsevolod that he had promised Ryurik and David that the three of them would conclude an agreement with the Ol'govichi that all three could accept. Besides, Vsevolod had procrastinated long enough. He had promised to attack the Ol'govichi before the spring but he had broken his promise forcing Ryurik to wage war against Yaroslav all summer by himself. Now, once again, Vsevolod was reneging on his promises. He intended to negotiate peace with Yaroslav and that even without consulting Ryurik.

Vsevolod, however, was of a different mind. He was not threatened by the Ol'govichi nor had they inflicted any damage to his possessions. What is more, in 1186 Vsevolod's daughter Vseslava had married Yaroslav's son Rostislav [11]. He also could not forget that after the death of Andrey Bogolyubskiy in 1174, Yaroslav's brother Svyatoslav had been his ally who had helped him and his brother Mikhalko secure the thrones of Suzdalia [12]. As the senior prince of the Monomashichi and the most powerful prince in the House of Monomakh he held the trump card. He ignored David's arguments and negotiated peace.

Not surprisingly, Vsevolod modified the terms stipulated by the Rostislavichi a year earlier to include conditions that were more for his own benefit. In keeping with the Rostislavichi demand he forbade Yaroslav to seize Kiev from Ryurik and Smolensk from David. These prohibitions were now more relevant after Yaroslav had expressed a desire to evict Ryurik with Roman's help, and after Yaroslav had sought to evict David from Smolensk. Vsevolod, however, neglected to repeat the Rostislavichi demand that the Ol'govichi renounce the claim of future generations of their dynasty to Kiev. Vsevolod also required, albeit half-heartedly, that Yaroslav terminate his friendship with Roman. This demand was evidently directed solely at appeasing Ryurik. Vsevolod himself had no argument with Roman. Even in this instance, however, his personal objectives may have been uppermost in his mind. This is suggested by the news that he did not challenge Yaroslav when he refused to break off his partnership with Roman. It was to Vsevolod's advantage to keep Roman and Yaroslav allied. Together they posed the most serious threat to Ryurik's rule in Kiev and in this way forced him to rely on Vsevolod for military support.

Finally, Vsevolod included two clauses that were of special importance to him. First, like Ryurik, he demanded that Yaroslav release his svat Mstislav Romanovich. In addition to the fact that the latter was a Rostislavich, Vsevolod himself had a family bond with Mstislav. One of his daughters had married Vsevolod's eldest son Konstantin [13]. Second, Vsevolod required the Ol'govichi to evict his nephew Yaropolk Rostislavich from Chernigov. After Andrey Bogolyubskiy's death Yaropolk had attempted to assert his rule over Vladimir on the Klyaz'ma [14]. He therefore remained a threat to Vsevolod's rule for as long as he had the backing of the Ol'govichi.

Although Yaroslav refused to terminate his pact with Roman he agreed to Vsevolod's other terms. HeISSN 2218-4805

released Mstislav Romanovich, expelled Yaropolk Rostislavich from Chernigov, and promised not to seize Kiev from Ryurik or Smolensk from David. Vsevolod, content with Yaroslav's almost complete compliance, had his officials conclude the agreement. Thus Vsevolod was reconciled with Yaroslav. By not forcing Roman to break his pact with Yaroslav, he also appeased Roman. As we have seen, Ryurik and Vsevolod had antagonized Roman when Vsevolod had given Torchesk to Rostislav Ryurikovich in the previous year. Despite Vsevolod's success with Yaroslav and Roman, however, his settlement failed to pacify the Rostislavichi. David had been opposed to the reconciliation and his brother Ryurik remained on a war footing with Yaroslav. Thus, whereas Vsevolod's agreement with Yaroslav mollified Roman it antagonized the Rostislavichi [15]. Indeed, Ryurik accused Vsevolod of violating every promise that he had made. In revenge he repossessed all the towns in Rus' that he had given to Vsevolod and allocated them to other Rostislavichi [16]. Ryurik remained on a war footing with Yaroslav after Vsevolod was reconciled with the Ol'govichi. Nevertheless, it appears that by the end of March in 1197 the two princes were pacified [17].

In 1096, Vladimir Monomakh and Oleg Svyatoslavich, the progenitors of the Monomashichi and the Ol'govichi, had been engaged in a bitter dispute for control of the Chernigov lands. The princes resolved their controversy at a council held at Lyubech in the following year where Oleg was allowed to retain possession of his hereditary domain. In 1196 Monomakh and Oleg's descendants also became embroiled in a territorial dispute but the controversy was over Kiev. Whereas one hundred years earlier Monomakh had attempted unsuccessfully to secure the right of succession to Kiev for his descendants, in 1196 Ryurik and the Rostislavichi sought once again to secure that right for themselves and, more generally, solely for the princes of the House of Monomakh. That is, they demanded that Kiev become their dynasty's hereditary possession. Ryurik failed in his attempt because Yaroslav refused to comply with his demand. Thus, in his controversy with the Rostislavichi he successfully protected the right of the Ol'govichi to lay claim to Kiev when the opportunity presented itself and when the outcome would be decided by God's providence.

Endnotes

1. «Ipat'evskaya letopis',» (Ipat.), Polnoe sobranie russkikh letopisey, (PSRL) 2, second edition (St. Petersburg, 1908), column (col.) 502.

2. Ipat., cols. 603-605; M. Dimnik, The Dynasty of Chernigov, 1146-1246 (Cambridge, 2003), pages (pp.) 136-137.

3. According to N. G. Berezhkov, Svyatoslav died on 25 July, Khronologiya russkogo letopisaniya (Moscow, 1963), page (p.) 207.

4. Concerning the controversy over Ryurik's allocation of domains, see Ipat., cols 683-688; compare under 1196: «Moskovskiy letopisniy svod kontsa XV veka,» (Mosk.), PSRL 25 (Moscow- Leningrad, 1949), pp. 96-97.

5. Ipat., cols. 688-689.

6. Concerning the demand of the Monomashichi, see Ipat., cols 688-690; under 1196: Mosk., p. 97. Concerning the dating of these events, see Berezhkov, Khronologiya, p. 207.

7. According to the Laurentian chronicler David sent his nephew Mstislav «to help his [David's] son-in-law at Vitebsk» (see under 1197: «Lavrent'evskaya letopis',» (Lav.), PSRL 1, second edition (Leningrad, 1926), col. 413).

8. Ipat cols 690-694. Concerning the date, see Berezhkov, Khronologiya, p. 207.

9. Ipat., cols 694-696.

10. Ipat., cols 696-698.

11. See under 1187: Lav., col. 405.

12. Ipat., cols 600-602.

13. Mosk., p. 95.

14. See under 1175: Ipat., cols 595-598; compare Lav., cols 371-374.

15. Concerning Vsevolod's settlement with Yaroslav, see Ipat., cols. 699-700.

16. Ipat., cols 700-702; see also under 1197: Lav., col. 413. Concerning the date, see Berezhkov, Khronologiya, pp. 85, 208.

17. Mosk., p. 98.

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