Daniil Alexandrovich is the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky. He went down in history thanks not only to the reign, but also to the creation of the St. Danilov Monastery. In addition, Daniil Alexandrovich is considered one of the revered Moscow saints. Today we will get acquainted with his biography and merits.
Childhood
Prince Alexander Nevsky and his sons made a rather significant contribution to the well-being of Russia. Daniel was born in 1261. When the great Alexander Nevsky, the son of the Russian land, died, Danil was only 2 years old. The first years the boy lived in Tver, with his uncle Yaroslav Yaroslavich. The latter was first prince of Tver, and then Vladimir. Moscow was then part of the Grand Duke's inheritance and was under the leadership of the "tiuns" - the governors of the Tver prince.
Principality
At what time and from whom the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky received Moscow as his inheritance, it is not known exactly. Historians believe that this happened in the 70s of the XIII century. Daniel first appears in the chronicle in 1282. At this time, he was already a full-fledged prince of Moscow. It should be noted that this was the first mentionabout Moscow in the annals after the terrible devastation of Batu, which occurred in 1238. Such a long silence was very significant. The fact is that in the annals of that time, mentions of cities were made only if there were any disasters, civil strife, major fires, invasions of the Tatars, and so on.
Thus, there is reason to believe that things were more or less calm in Moscow at that time. According to many historians, it was this silence, which lasted for more than forty years, that predetermined the future greatness of Moscow. In calm times, the city and its districts gained strength. Many refugees moved here from the devastated regions of Russia, mainly the southern ones: the Ryazan, Kyiv and Chernigov lands. Among the settlers there were artisans, farmers, and warriors.
According to The Tale of the Birth of the Great City of Moscow, Prince Danilo loved life in Moscow and therefore tried to populate the city and expand its borders. It is also said that he was virtuous and tried to help the poor. Speaking of Daniil Alexandrovich, one cannot ignore the fact that he has always been a deeply religious person.
Internecine wars
The Russian land was then often shaken by internecine wars. Despite the peacefulness that the Moscow prince, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, was famous for, he was forced to take part in them. Most of the conflicts in which he participated ended in peace and did not reach bloodshed.
In 1281 the war beganbetween the elder brothers Danila - Dmitry and Andrey. Both princes wanted to find support in the Horde. Andrei asked for help from Tuda-Mengu, the legitimate khan, and Dmitry tried to enlist the support of Nogai, the main rival of Tuda-Mengu. At different times, Daniel supported one brother, then another. His only interest in this conflict was the maximum security of Moscow and the prevention of another defeat.
In 1282, the Moscow prince stepped on the side of Andrei. According to the chronicle, he, together with the Novgorodians, Muscovites and Tverites, went to war against Prince Dmitry to Pereyaslavl. Upon learning of this, Dmitry went to meet them. He stopped at Dmitrov, but the opponents did not reach the city for five miles. There, the troops of both sides stood for five days, communicating through messengers. Ultimately, they decided to reconcile. Soon the eldest sons of Alexander Nevsky also reconciled. The biography of Daniil of Moscow in the future will be closely connected with one of them - Dmitry.
Friendship with Tver
In 1287, the three brothers of Alexandrovich together went to war against Mikhail Alexandrovich, the newly-made prince of Tver. Approaching Kashin, they stayed there for nine days. The army of princes devastated the city, burned the neighboring Ksnyatin and from there decided to advance to Tver. Prince Mikhailo of Tver sent his messengers to meet them, the brothers answered. After short negotiations, the parties decided that the war was useless to them. In the future, the son of Alexander Nevsky, Daniel, will either be friends with Tver, or compete again. Who is it withrelations will grow stronger, so it is with his older brother, Prince Dmitry Alexandrovich. It is worth noting that thanks to his friendship with Dmitry, and later his son Ivan, Danil of Moscow will receive serious political benefits.
End truce
In 1293, the shaky truce between Princes Andrei and Dmitry broke down. Once again, Andrei went to the Horde to the newly minted Khan Tokt to ask him for help. As a result, a huge army of Tatars went to Russia, led by the brother of the khan, Tudan. Accompanied by the Tatars were many Russian princes. Upon learning of the Tatar invasion, Dmitry decided to flee. The inhabitants of Pereyaslavl also fled. At that time, the Tatars conquered and defeated Vladimir, Suzdal, Yuryev-Polsky and some other cities. Moscow was also not spared the trouble. Having deceived Daniel, the Tatars entered the city and inflicted irreparable harm on him. As a result, they took Moscow completely, along with villages and volosts.
Dmitry's death
In 1294, Prince Dmitry died. Pereyaslavl passed to his son Ivan, with whom Daniil Mikhail of Tverskoy maintained good relations. In 1296, during the congress of princes, which took place in Vladimir, another conflict arose between the brothers. The fact is that Andrei Gorodetsky, who was now the Grand Duke, decided, together with some other princes, to capture Pereyaslavl. Daniel and Michael prevented him.
Acting now by conviction, now by force and passionately believing in his cause, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky was able to strengthen his principality and expand its boundaries. For a short period, he even managedestablish itself in Veliky Novgorod. There, his young son Ivan became the prince, who in the future will be called Ivan Kalita.
Change of priorities
In 1300, at the next congress of princes in Dmitrov, Daniil of Moscow confirmed the agreement with the princes Andrei Ivan. However, at the same time, his alliance with Mikhail Tversky had to be broken. In subsequent years, there will be fierce enmity between the sons of Danil and the prince of Tver. In the same year, Daniel fought with Prince Konstantin of Ryazan. Then the army of the Moscow prince defeated many Tatars who came to the defense of Ryazan, and even managed to capture Konstantin. According to the widespread assumption of historians, it was as a result of the campaign against Ryazan that Kolomna, located near the confluence of the Moscow River with the Oka, was annexed to the Moscow Principality.
Expansion of territory
In 1302 Prince Ivan of Pereyaslav died, who was Danil of Moscow's nephew. The God-loving, meek and quiet Ivan Dmitrievich did not have time to have children, so he bequeathed his principality to Daniil Alexandrovich, whom he loved more than anyone. At that time, Pereyaslavl was considered one of the main cities in the north-east of Russia. His accession immediately strengthened Moscow several times over. Chronicles and "Life" of Prince Danil emphasize with special attention that Pereyaslavl was annexed to Moscow in an absolutely legal way.
Prince Andrey also tried to encroach on the reign of Pereyaslavl. Upon learning of Ivan's decision regarding the succession to the throne, Daniil, the son of Alexander Nevsky, did not hesitate andimmediately sent his son Yuri to Pereyaslavl. When he arrived in the city, he saw that the governors of Prince Andrei had already begun to manage there. Apparently, they appeared in the city immediately after the death of Ivan Dmitrievich. Yuri drove the uninvited guests away. Fortunately, everything was resolved peacefully. In the autumn of 1302, Prince Andrei again went to the Horde in the hope of enlisting support in a campaign against his brother. But another war was not destined to take place.
Death of Prince Daniel
March 5, 1303 Moscow Prince Daniel, son of Alexander Nevsky, died. Before his death, he took monastic vows. Regarding the burial place of the Grand Duke, the sources differ. According to some reports, the prince was buried in the Church of the Archangel Michael, on the site of which the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin now stands. And according to others - in the Danilovsky Monastery, which the prince himself founded.
Monastery
Even during the reign, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky founded a monastery in the south of Moscow in honor of St. Daniel the Stylite - his heavenly patron. This monastery was the first of the known history of Moscow monasteries. The "Life" of the saint says that, pleasingly ruling in the Moscow region, Prince Daniel built a monastery beyond the Moscow River and named it in honor of his angel Daniel the Stylite.
The fate of the monastery turned out in an amazing way: 27 years after the death of the prince, his son Ivan Kalita moved the monastery, together with the archimandrite, to his princely court in the Kremlin and built a church under him inthe name of the Transfiguration of the Savior. So the Spassky Monastery was founded. As the "Life" of Daniil of Moscow tells, after many years, due to the negligence of the Spassky archimandrites, the Danilovsky monastery became so impoverished that even the trace of it was smoothed out. Only one church remained - the church of Daniel the Stylite. And the place where she stood was called the village of Danilovskoye. Everyone soon forgot about the monastery. Under the reign of Grand Duke Ivan the Third, the Spassky Monastery was again moved outside the Kremlin, across the Moskva River, to Mount Krutitsy. This monastery still stands there and is called Novospassky.
Miracles
On the site of the ancient Danilov Monastery, miracles happened more than once, confirming the holiness of its founder. Let's get acquainted with the description of some of them.
Once, Prince Ivan Vasilyevich (aka Ivan the Third), while in the ancient Danilovsky Monastery, drove past the place where the relics of Prince Daniel rested. At this moment, a horse stumbled at a noble young man from the princely regiment. The young man lagged behind the others and remained alone in that place. Suddenly a stranger appeared to him. So that the prince’s companion would not be afraid, the stranger said to him: “Do not be afraid of me, I am a Christian, master of this place, my name is Daniel of Moscow. By God's will, I am placed here. Then Danil asked the young man to convey a message from him to the prince with the following words: “You console yourself in every possible way, but why did you betray me into oblivion?” After that, the appearance of the prince disappeared. The young man immediately caught up with the Grand Duke and told him everything to the smallest detail. Since then, Ivan Vasilievich orderedsing memorial services and conduct divine services, and also distributed alms for the departed souls of his relatives.
Many years later, the son of Ivan the Third, Prince Vasily Ivanovich, drove past the same place with many close associates, among whom was Prince Ivan Shuisky. When the latter stepped on a stone, under which the relics of Daniel of Moscow were buried, in order to sit on his horse, a peasant who happened here prevented him. He asked him not to desecrate the stone under which Prince Daniel lies. Prince Ivan scornfully replied: “Are there many princes here?”, And finished what he had planned. Suddenly the horse reared up, fell to the ground and died. The prince was dragged out from under the horse with great difficulty. He repented and commanded to serve a prayer service for his sin. Soon Ivan recovered.
During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, a merchant from Kolomna sailed to Moscow in the same boat with his young son and the Tatars. On the way, the young man became very ill, so that his father no longer believed in his recovery. When the boat approached the church in which the relics of Prince Daniel rested, the merchant and his son approached the tomb of the saint. Ordering the priest to sing a prayer service, the merchant began to pray to God with great faith, calling on Prince Daniel to help. Suddenly, his son, as if awakened from a dream, recovered and gained strength. Since then, the merchant believed in Saint Daniel with all his heart and annually came to his tomb to perform prayers there.
Alexander Nevsky - named son of Batu
Another interesting fact that, of course, affected the lives of children AlexanderNevsky, is his named brotherhood with Prince Sartak. The information that Alexander Nevsky is the son of Batu is perceived by historians as contradictory. One thing is known for sure - Alexander Nevsky made the decision to serve the Golden Horde and the named brotherhood with Tsarevich Sartak purely in the interests of the state. At that time, consanguinity was little valued: the princes competed with each other for inheritances and did not disdain betrayal. But the named relationship was unshakably revered as a shrine. Therefore, taking such a step, Alexander Nevsky, the son of Batu Khan Sartak and the Khan himself acted purely in political interests.
