Bolesław II the Bold's Expedition to Kiev (1077)
| Bolesław II the Bold's Expedition to Kiev | |
|---|---|
| Part of Kievan succession crisis Kievan Rus | |
| Result |
Polish victory[2]
|
| Territorial changes | Cherven Cities annexed into Poland[3] |
Kingdom of Poland
Iziaslav I
Bolesław II the Bold's Expedition to Kiev (1077)[a] was an expedition from May–June 1077 undertaken by Bolesław II the Bold against Vsevolod I of Kiev to restore Iziaslav I of Kiev to the throne. It ended with a Polish success, with the Cherven Cities being annexed into Poland and Iziaslav I being put on the throne.
Iziaslav was expelled in 1073 by Sviatoslav and Vsevolod. He tried to convince Bolesław to help him regain the throne, although this request was denied, causing him to try and find help elsewhere.
However, near the end of 1076, Sviatoslav, a Polish ally, had died. He was replaced by Vsevolod. Bolesław's relations with the Rus' then ceased, and he was now willing to help Iziaslav gain back the throne.
The expedition commenced in May 1077, and without resistance, Vsevolod agreed to enter into an agreement with Iziaslav and the approaching Polish forces. This led to Iziaslav being put on the throne with Sviatoslav to succeed him and giving Poland the Cherven Cities in exchange for the assistance provided by Bolesław.
Background
Fight over the throne
In 1068, Iziaslav I of Kiev had lost his throne after Vsevolod I of Kiev had succeeded in defeating him. After this, he was able to rely on Bolesław II the Bold in restoring himself to the throne.[4][5] In 1069, Bolesław set off with Iziaslav and his sons Mstislav and Sviatopolk II of Kiev. This caused Vsevolod to escape to Polotsk without battle. This led to Bolesław entering Kiev with Ruthenian princes and spending the winter there. He then returned to Poland and in 1070 captured Przemyśl from other Ruthenian princes.[6]
However, Sviatoslav II of Kiev tried to prevent this from re-occuring by intervening in Iziaslav's sphere of foreign relations and making direct contact with Bolesław, offering him the hand of his daughter and military aid against Bohemia in 1076. This led to Bolesław abandoning Iziaslav, and along with a general dislike of Iziaslav by the population,[5] caused him to again be expelled by Sviatoslav and Vsevolod in 1073.[4][b] Iziaslav went to Poland as usual, although he was not well-received, with Bolesław taking away part of (or all)[8] his treasures and "ordering him to go away". As a result, Iziaslav went to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII to complain. The emperor was bribed with treasures which led to misunderstandings with Bolesław[9] and a demand to Sviatoslav to return Iziaslav to the throne, threatening to go on armed expedition, likely motivated by the idea of breaking the Polish–Russian alliance.[10] The pope, supporting Iziaslav in the matter, sent a legate to Poland in 1075.[5] This persuaded Bolesław to a new expedition to Ruthenia, with the intention of restoring Iziaslav to the throne.[9][c]
It is likely that Bolesław gave in under pressure of the Pope, and began preparing for an armed expedition to the Rus.[13]
Consequences of Sviatoslav's death
On 27 December 1076, Sviatoslav died. This would cause Vsevolod to take power in Kiev on 1 January 1077.
It is unknown why Bolesław's relations with Vsevolod ceased, although Tadeusz Grudziński claims that he failed to reach an agreement with Vsevolod, causing the previous alliance with Ruthenia to end.[14] It is possible that this was due to Sviatoslav and Vsevolod being on poor terms with each other.[15]
Expedition
Bolesław's final Russian expedition took place in May and June 1077,[15] when Bolesław took an expedition in favour of Iziaslav, defeated Vsevolod, and for the third time placed Iziaslav on the throne.[18] Without resistance and marching to them,[16] Vsevolod had no choice but to enter into an agreement with Iziaslav and the Polish warriors, due to the possibility of internal conflicts after Sviatoslav's death.[15][19]
The two sides met at
Aftermath
On 15 July 1077, Iziaslav sat down on the throne of Kiev, while Vsevolod returned to his provincial principality.
On the other hand, Iziaslav also encountered internal difficulties in the Rus', causing discord to break out between Ruthenian princes, leading to the elimination of the Rus' from international politics for some time.[3] Iziaslav enjoyed the title of grand prince for a very short time, as he died on 3 October 1078 in a battle on the Nezhatyna Nyva against Oleg Svyatoslavich while defending his brother Vsevolod's land.[22] After Izaslav's death in the battle, Vsevolod took over the throne of Kiev.[5]
References
Notes
- ^ Polish: Wyprawa Bolesława Szczodrego na Ruś (1077), Ukrainian: Похід Болеслава ІІ Сміливого на Русь (1077)
- ^ It is possible this was also due to the possibility of a German-Polish War and the Czech threat.[7]
- ^ This is debated, with other sources saying that the papal letter to the Polish ruler did not mention anything about commanding Bolesław to organise an expedition in support of Iziaslav.[11] It is also possible that the only demand was for Bolesław to return the money taken from Iziaslav.[12]
Citations
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 57.
- ^ Kalicki 1871, p. 80.
- ^ a b c Grudziński 2010, p. 58.
- ^ a b Martin 2007, p. 56.
- ^ a b c d Bazylow 1983, p. 33.
- ^ Kalicki 1871, p. 76.
- ^ Grudziński 2010, p. 50-51.
- ^ Grudziński 2010, p. 51.
- ^ a b Kalicki 1871, p. 76-77.
- ^ Grudziński 2010, p. 51-52.
- ^ a b Delestowicz 2016, p. 325.
- ^ Grudziński 2010, p. 55.
- ^ Grudziński 2010, p. 56.
- ^ a b Delestowicz 2016, p. 328.
- ^ a b c d e Grudziński 2010, p. 57.
- ^ a b c Beech et al. 2015, p. 28.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 56-57.
- ^ Kalicki 1871, p. 79-80.
- ^ Delestowicz 2016, p. 331.
- ^ Kalicki 1871, p. 80-81.
- ^ Grudziński 2010, p. 15.
- ^ Beech et al. 2015, p. 29.
Works cited
- Bazylow, Ludwik (1983). Historia Rosji [History of Russia] (PDF) (in Polish). Ossolineum.
- Beech, George T.; Garver, Valerie; Livingstone, Amy; Rosenthal, Joel T. (2015). Medieval Prosopography: History and Collective Biography (PDF). Vol. 30. JSTOR 44946921.
- Delestowicz, Norbert (2016). Bolesław II Szczodry. Tragiczne losy wielkiego wojownika 1040/1042 - 2/3 IV 1081 albo 1082 [Bolesław II the Generous. The tragic fate of a great warrior 1040/1042 - 2/3 IV 1081 or 1082] (PDF) (in Polish). Avalon. ISBN 9788377303405.
- Grudziński, Tadeusz (2010). Bolesław Śmiały-Szczodry i biskup Stanisław. Dzieje konfliktu [Bolesław the Bold and Bishop Stanisław. A conflict is taking place] (in Polish). Universitas Press. ISBN 9788324214525.
- Kalicki, Bernard (1871). Opowiadania z dziejów Polski: Epoka piastowska [Stories from the history of Poland: The Piast era] (PDF) (in Polish) (1st ed.). Lviv: Alexandra Vogla.
- Martin, Janet (2007). Medieval Russia, 980-1584 (2nd ed.). ISBN 9780521676366.