Muscovite War of Succession
Muscovite War of Succession Muscovite Civil War | |
---|---|
Grand Duchy of Moscow (Muscovy) | |
Result | Vasily II victory |
- 1425—1434
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C_%D0%92%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F_II_%D0%92%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B0_%D0%A2%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE.svg/14px-%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C_%D0%92%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F_II_%D0%92%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B0_%D0%A2%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE.svg.png)
- 1425—1434
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Prince_Dmitry%27s_Seal.gif/14px-Prince_Dmitry%27s_Seal.gif)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Coin_of_Vasily_Kosoy_with_the_image_of_the_prince_on_the_throne.jpg/15px-Coin_of_Vasily_Kosoy_with_the_image_of_the_prince_on_the_throne.jpg)
- 1434—1436
Vasily II Vasilyevich
Dmitry II Shemyaka
- 1434—1436
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Coin_of_Vasily_Kosoy_with_the_image_of_the_prince_on_the_throne.jpg/15px-Coin_of_Vasily_Kosoy_with_the_image_of_the_prince_on_the_throne.jpg)
- 1436—1453
Vasily II Vasilyevich
Mäxmüd of Kazan (1445–8)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Symbol_of_Principality_of_Tver.svg/15px-Symbol_of_Principality_of_Tver.svg.png)
Ivan of Mozhaysk (1445–7)
Qasim Khan (1452–3)
- 1436—1453
Dmitry II Shemyaka (1439; 1445–53)
Ulugh of Kazan (1437–45)
The Muscovite War of Succession,
According to Alef (1956), it was "the only struggle for succession in Moscow's history",[5] as well as "the only civil war within the Muscovite principality".[4] He argued that "the death rate in the Moscow family was so high that the dynasty barely maintained itself. When the inheritors to the family patrimony increased sharply at the end of the fourteenth century, an internecine struggle was foreordained. This element helps explain the stability and strength of Moscow in the fourteenth century."[6]
Background
The
When Dmitry Donskoy wrote his will just before he died in 1389, he appointed his 17-year-old son Vasily Dmitrievich as successor, with the provision that if Vasily were to die childless, his 14-year-old son Yury Dmitrievich would be the successor.[8]
First period (1425–1434)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Kniazia_i_boyare.jpg/220px-Kniazia_i_boyare.jpg)
Vasily died in 1425 and left several children. Allegedly, he appointed his oldest son Vasily Vasilyevich, as the next Grand Prince (known as Vasily II). Yury challenged this appointment, arguing that he should have received the crown because of the provisions written in Donskoy's will.[b] In 1425, Yuri and Vasily agreed to present their succession dispute to khan of the Golden Horde, but this led to nothing.[8]
In 1428 Yury Dmitrievich formally conceded, under pressure from
Second period (1434–1436)
The brothers of Vasily Yuryevich — Dmitry Shemyaka and
In 1435, Vasily managed to collect an army in
Subsequently, when the Vyatka people continued to attack the lands belonging to the Grand Prince, Vasily II ordered to have Vasily Yuryevich blinded. Vasily Yuryevich was known after that as Vasily Kosoy. He lived until 1448, but chronicles do not mention him between 1436 and 1448; apparently he was imprisoned all this time. At the same time Vasily II released Dmitry Shemyaka, who had been exiled to Kolomna, and concluded a treaty with him similar to the treaty he previously concluded with Vasily Kosoy, returning Shemyaka all his lands.[9]
Third period (1436–1453)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Facial_Chronicle_-_b.14%2C_p._119_-_Blinding_of_Vasiliy_II.jpg/220px-Facial_Chronicle_-_b.14%2C_p._119_-_Blinding_of_Vasiliy_II.jpg)
In the early 1440s Vasily II was mostly busy with the wars against the Khanate of Kazan. The Khan, Ulugh Muhammad, besieged Moscow in 1439. Dmitry Shemyaka, despite being under the oath of allegiance, failed to appear in support of Vasily. After the Tatars left, Vasily chased Shemyaka, forcing him to flee to Novgorod again. Subsequently, Shemyaka returned to Moscow and confirmed his allegiance. In 1444, Tatars led by Mustafa, the Khan of the Golden Horde, plundered the Ryazan lands, before being defeated by a much larger army sent by Vasily. In 1445, Ulugh Muhammad conquered Nizhny Novgorod, was defeated in a skirmish near Murom, but won the second battle in Suzdal, capturing, among other prominent Muscovites, Vasily II.[9]
Vasily was released after negotiations, having promised to pay an enormous
In addition, Shemyaka and his ally, Prince Ivan of Mozhaysk, ruled inefficiently, did not manage to attract allies, and nobility started to defect from Moscow to Vologda. Vasily also managed to ally with Kazan Tatars. In the end of 1446, when Dmitry Shemyaka was out in Volokolamsk, the army of Vasily II entered Moscow. Vasily then started to chase Shemyaka and Mozheysky, who had to retreat, with both armies ravaging and plundering the country. In 1447, they asked for peace, and agreed to accept the superiority of Vasily. Nevertheless, Dmitry Shemyaka continued resistance, trying to attract the allies and to collect a big enough army to fight against Vasily. In 1448, Vasily started military action, which included mostly Northern lands up to Veliky Ustyug and with some interruptions continued till 1452, when Shemyaka was finally defeated and fled to Novgorod. In 1453, he was poisoned there following a direct order of Vasily.[9]
Subsequently, Vasily managed to remove all local princes who previously supported Shemyaka. In particular, Ivan Mozheysky had to flee with their family to Lithuania, and the Principality of Mozhaysk was made a part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Similarly, the Principality of Serpukhov was made a part of the Grand Duchy, and the Principality of Vereya remained after the war the only independent state in Moscow lands.[9]
Assessment
Halperin (2001) observed: 'During the Muscovite civil war both sides simultaneously sought the assistance of the Khan, and excoriated their opponents for doing exactly the same thing.'[10] In 1977, Halperin had observed that the Muscovite War of Succession weakened Muscovy so much that its old rival, the Principality of Tver, once again felt strong enough to challenge its sole claim to represent the "Rus' Land" (русская земля). Although the Word of Praise (pokhval'noe slovo) to Boris of Tver never claimed the myth of the Rus' Land exclusively for itself instead, it did suggest that the "Tverian Land" (Тферськая земля) and "Muscovite Land" (Московская земля) were equals within a larger "Rus' Land", and went as far as having foreigners say that grand prince Boris Aleksandrovich of Tver was 'the greatest prince of the Rus' Land'.[11]
Notes
- ^ "The struggle was precipitated by the challenge of an uncle to the succession of his nephew on the grand princely throne. The death of the challenger (whose claim was debatable) did not end the dispute. For another nineteen years the struggle continued intermittently (...)."[4]
- ^ "When Dmitrii Donskoi composed his will, his son Vasilii had yet to produce a son of his own. Therefore Donskoi named his second son, Yurii, as Vasilii's heir. Subsequently Vasilii did indeed father a son, Vasilii II, whose accession to the throne was challenged by his uncle Yurii."[8]
References
- ^ Alef 1983, p. 11.
- ^ Martin 2004, p. 400.
- ^ Alef 1956, p. 1–2.
- ^ a b Alef 1983, p. Abstract i.
- ^ Alef 1983, p. Preface i.
- ^ Alef 1983, p. Abstract i–ii.
- ^ Gascoigne, Bamber. "History of Russia". Historyworld. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Halperin 1987, p. 76.
- ^ a b c d e Соловьев, Сергей Михайлович. "2". IPage История России с древнейших времен (in Russian). Vol. 4. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
- ^ Halperin 2001, p. 262.
- JSTOR 27669454. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
Bibliography
- Alef, Gustave (1956). A history of the Muscovite civil war: the reign of Vasili II (1425–1462) (PhD). Retrieved 5 February 2023 – via ProQuest.
- Alef, Gustave (1983). "The Battle of Suzdal' in 1445. An Episode in the Muscovite War of Succession (1978)". Rulers and nobles in fifteenth century Muscovy. Part II. London: Variorum Reprints. pp. 11–20. ISBN 9780860781202. (first published in Forschungen zur osteuropäischen Geschichte 25 (1978) Berlin.)
- Halperin, Charles J. (1987). Russia and the Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History. p. 222. ISBN 9781850430575. (e-book).
- Halperin, Charles J. (2001). "Text and Textology: Salmina's Dating of the Chronicle Tales about Dmitrii Donskoi". Slavonic and East European Review. 79 (2): 248–263. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- * Martin, Janet (2007). Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-36800-4.
External links
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