By the second half of the 13th century, Moscow lands were an inconspicuous fiefdom, incomparable in size and significance with the richer and more extensive principalities in Russia. In 1272, they were inherited by the eleven-year-old prince Daniil Alexandrovich, who managed the affairs of this region until his death, that is, until 1303. During his reign, this estate expanded greatly, taking possession of the territory up to the mouth of the Moscow River.
And Prince Daniel, the son of Alexander Nevsky, the youngest of his brothers, became famous for centuries for being the founder of the famous grand ducal dynasty, the Moscow line of Rurikovich, the ancestor of Russian tsars.
Reign history
Little is reliably known about the childhood years of Prince Daniel Alexandrovich. He was born in 1261, as expected, in November or December, and therefore the Christian ascetic Daniel the Stylite was considered his patron saint, whose name is traditionally honoredOrthodox Church on December 11th. In honor of him, the prince later built a monastery, wore his image on his gloves. The boy's father died when he was less than two years old. And so he spent his childhood years with his uncle Yaroslav Yaroslavovich, Prince of Tver and Vladimir, in Tver.
Moscow was part of the grand duke's lot, ruled at that time only by governors. That is why Daniil's receipt of Moscow lands after the death of his guardian did not at all predict his future rise and did not speak of the trace that he would leave in history.
Moscow Principality
In those days, Russia had many problems: princely civil strife, the dominance of the Mongol-Tatars. All this greatly ruined and bled the Russian lands. However, it is believed that major troubles bypassed the Moscow wilderness. This circumstance can be judged because in the annals after 1238, in connection with the cruel skirmishes of the princes, fires and invasions of the Tatars, this region, full of forests and swamps, was not mentioned.
On the contrary, settlers fled here from disadvantaged and devastated areas: Kyiv, Chernigov, Ryazan, in search of a peaceful life and salvation from persecutors. Among the refugees were excellent farmers, skilled craftsmen, and brave warriors. All this became the basis for the imminent greatness of the future capital.
Princes-viceroys ruled this patrimony since the XII century. But Daniil Alexandrovich is the first Moscow prince who went down in history, because it was he who strengthened these lands, expanding to the Oka River, also annexing the cityKolomna during the war with Ryazan in 1302.
Creative activity
From the age of fifteen, Prince Daniel already conducted active creative work on the lands entrusted to him, continuing until the end of his life. He erected monasteries and temples, introduced changes in the procedure for collecting trade duties, increased the defense capability of the principality, striving for its independence.
The activities of Prince Daniil Alexandrovich and his policy were aimed at expanding their own lands. Naturally, wishing this, he could not avoid intrigues, the struggle for power and internecine squabbles, which seriously shook Russia at that time. However, chronicles and folk memory, and later Orthodox traditions, attributed to him a fair love of peace and wisdom, noting his diplomatic abilities, the desire to avoid blood and military conflicts.
Battles with the Golden Horde
The eldest sons of Alexander Nevsky in the 80s of the XIII century launched a struggle for Vladimir and other principalities. One of them, Dmitry Pereyaslavsky, obsessed with the struggle for power, sought an alliance with the Golden Horde ruler of the western ulus Nogai. The second of the brothers, Andrei Gorodetsky, turned to his rival Khan Tuda-Meng for help. By that time, the Tatars had already pretty much ruined Ryazan, Murom and the Mordovian lands. And therefore, looking for new profit, they rejoiced at the opportunity, taking advantage of the quarrels of the Russian princes, to intimidate and rob Vladimir and other rich cities of Russia.
Trying to protect Moscow from Tatar lawlessness and shortsightednessbrothers, Prince Daniil Alexandrovich was forced to pursue a flexible policy, supporting one or the other of the parties involved in the conflict. Teaming up with Prince Novgorodsky, his second uncle, Daniel stopped the Tatars and won an impressive victory over the troops of the Golden Horde. In addition, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky managed to reconcile, albeit for a while, his brothers, Andrei and Dmitry, who after that fought for some time on the same side. A friendly alliance with Prince Vladimirsky, who later became the elder brother Dmitry, and later with his son Ivan, brought Daniil a considerable political benefit.
Strengthening Moscow's influence
But the civil strife of the Russian princes, as well as their battles for the thrones, continued and could not stop. The warring parties alternately quarreled, then reconciled, uniting and breaking off relations with each other. They did not disdain to strengthen their positions and an alliance with the Tatars, who were handing out shortcuts to rule in those days. The Russian princes fawned over them in order to put their rivals in their place. And this only made foreigners stronger, their dominance stronger, which brought new ruins to Russia.
A terrible disaster for Moscow and for fourteen other affected cities was the invasion of the Tatars and their robberies that occurred in 1293. Even remote places, wild forests and swamps did not prove to be an obstacle for them. Russia was in dire need of a strong government capable of protecting it.
Daniil, seeking to strengthen the position of Moscow, pursued his policy, acting either by persuasion or by force. Soon he got the opportunity to establish himself in Novgorod, where the young son of Prince Daniel Alexandrovich became the ruler. It was Ivan, who later received the nickname Kalita and went down in history under this name.
Ivan Kalita was the fourth son of Daniel. The others were Boris, Alexander and the first-born Yuri. In total, seven sons were born. Nothing was mentioned about daughters in the annals, and therefore it is not known whether the Russian prince Daniil Alexandrovich had them. But there is some information about his wife, a certain Evdokia Alexandrovna.
Accession of Pereyaslavl
Dead in 1302, Ivan Dmitrievich, Prince of Pereyaslavl, left his possessions to his uncle Daniel, since during his lifetime he treated him with great sympathy, considering him a wise politician, and he himself had no direct heirs. The accession of a new strong principality (namely, Pereyaslav was considered such at that time) for the Moscow lands was a very important acquisition, which gave political weight and strengthened the position of Prince Daniel Alexandrovich. And most importantly, everything happened without intrigues and military conflicts, voluntarily.
However, it was not without rivals. And his son Yuri, sent by Daniel to Pereyaslavl, had to expel other applicants by force. The conflict was resolved without bloodshed, but Prince Andrei, who was the instigator of the showdown, again rushed with complaints and requests to the Tatars in order to defend their rights to the principality, though without any special consequences.
Monastic vows
Moscow Prince Daniil Alexandrovich was a pious man, and therefore before his death he took the veil as a monk,tired of the quarrels, squabbles and cruelty of this world. So testify the annals of those times.
He died in 1303, in March. Information differs regarding the place of his burial. Some believe that his body found its last refuge in the Danilovsky Monastery erected by him in honor of his holy heavenly patron Stylite. According to other sources, he was buried in the Church of the Archangel Michael in Moscow. Both places eventually became famous in the Orthodox world and became very visited. The last of them turned over time into the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Thus ended the reign of Prince Daniel Alexandrovich. The Orthodox Church has not forgotten and honors his name to this day. March 17 and September 12 are considered the days of his memory. He was canonized in 1791.
Danilovsky Monastery
The fate of the Danilovsky Monastery turned out to be surprising. After the death of its founder, it existed for some time, and then became impoverished, and for a certain period even the memory of him completely disappeared in Russia. But, as Orthodox legends say, miracles began to happen at this place.
Legends testify that St. Daniel of Moscow began to appear to people and speak with them. Other amazing things also happened, and sick people were healed. Since there were many such testimonies, under Ivan the Terrible, a new church was built on the site of the Danilovsky Monastery. And in the temple of the Holy Fathers of the SevenThe Ecumenical Councils decided to transfer the relics of Saint Prince Daniel. It happened in August 1652.
The heirs of Prince Daniel Alexandrovich
After Daniel's death, his son Yuri took his place, and contrary to custom, the older brother did not want to give anything to the rest of the children. Meanwhile, the Moscow principality expanded greatly. Ivan Kalita took an active part in the defense of his territories, defending Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. But the struggle with Tver continued, where Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich settled down, who, through intrigues with the Tatars, received a label to rule from the Golden Horde. For the war with him, Ivan made an alliance with Novgorod. His influence continued to grow.
According to the official version, Ivan Danilovich began to rule in Moscow in 1325 after the treacherous murder of his brother Yuri by Dmitry Tverskoy. Soon he received Kostroma, began to control Novgorod and the Volga region. During the reign of Ivan Kalita, there was a relative calm in the wars in Russia, which continued after his death and lasted for about 40 years.
But peace was achieved only because Ivan arranged for the Horde uninterrupted collection of tribute from Russian lands, often accompanied by the use of brute force. For this, the Tatars celebrated Kalita and awarded him the title of "Prince of Great All Russia", which he passed on to his descendants. However, it was precisely the strengthening of the positions of the Moscow principality during the time of Ivan Danilovich that became the key to future victories over foreigners, the deliverance of Russia from the Tatar-Mongol yoke and the endless strife of princes in the struggle for power.
