Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy was surrounded by legends even before his birth. Both the life and death of this man are mentioned both in historical chronicles and in the biographies of the saints. December 5 is the day of memory of this great martyr. And in the calendar there is a separate page en titled "Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver."
Short biography
The birth of the prince was preceded by a beautiful legend about the meeting of his father, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, with his mother Xenia. According to legend, once the prince was hunting near Tver, near the village. Edimonovo. He went into a church on the banks of the river and saw how his combatant Grigory was getting married to the beautiful Xenia. The prince was so captivated by the beauty of Xenia that he decided to marry her himself. Saddened, Gregory became a monk and founded a monastery on the banks of the river. Tvertsy.
The newlyweds did not live happily for long. According to the traditions of that time, Yaroslav Yaroslavich went to the Golden Horde for a label to reign, and on the way back he fell ill and died. He never saw his son, who was born at the end of 1271.
First years of life
The DowagerThe princess named her son Mikhail. After the death of two eldest sons of Yaroslav Yaroslavich, it was he who became the hereditary ruler of the Tver principality. He received confirmation of the right to reign at the age of 11, after the death of his uncle Svyatoslav. But in fact, power was concentrated in the hands of Princess Xenia and the boyars. When Mikhail was 15 years old, Lithuanian raids on Tver became more frequent. Thanks to the friendly policy of neighboring principalities, it was possible to consolidate efforts and push the invaders far to the west. After that, significant funds were allocated to strengthen Zubtsov, the extreme outpost of the Tver principality.
Mikhail of Tverskoy did not forget about the strengthening of Orthodoxy in his native lands. On the advice of Dowager Princess Xenia, the Church of the Transfiguration was built on the site of the ancient Church of Cosmas and Damian.
The rich decoration of the temple was entirely paid for from the prince's treasury. Much later, for his holiness and reverent attitude to Orthodox values, the prince was listed in the calendar and there he was called "the holy noble prince Mikhail of Tver."
First trials
The Tver principality in those days was formally considered independent of Moscow, but, thanks to close family ties, Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tverskoy could claim the throne of the Grand Duke. This circumstance was very disadvantageous for the sons of Alexander Nevsky - Dmitry and Andrei, who for a long time disputed the throne of Moscow. After Dmitry's short-term victory, Andrei gathered an army, won the Tatars over to his side, and in 1293 invaded Russian lands. The rebellious prince took and robbed 14 cities, sparing neither Vladimir nor Moscow, after which he was about to go to the Tver lands.
At that time, Mikhail of Tverskoy was in the Horde, where he was very graciously received by the Khan. In the absence of the prince, the Tverichi swore to keep the defense to the last warrior. Large reinforcements also came to Tver from other principalities that had suffered as a result of Andrey's raid. Having learned about the impending danger, Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tverskoy was going home. On his way, the enemies set up an ambush, which the prince, thanks to a lucky chance, did not fall into. The inhabitants of Tver, having learned about the return of Michael, went out to meet him with a procession. But the Tatars, seeing that Mikhail had returned to Tver, refused to storm it. The city survived.
Marriage of Mikhail Tverskoy
According to the stories of the chroniclers, Mikhail of Tverskoy would have been tall, distinguished by abstinence and did not tolerate drunkenness. Both the boyars and ordinary people loved him. With the lord of all Tver land, many neighboring princes sought to intermarry, marrying their daughters and sisters to the prince. In those days, they married early, and Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy, at the age of twenty-two, married Princess Anna. The girl was the daughter of the Rostov prince Dimitri. Marriage initially promised to be happy, but evil fate constantly tested the happiness of the newlyweds. Late at night in 1298, a strong fire broke out in the chambers of the prince. Miraculously, the young wife and Mikhail Tverskoy himself were saved. The biography of the prince claims that after this incident he became very ill, and all his property was destroyed.
Civil strife
1304 was the date of the death of Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich. The main contender for the throne was Mikhail Tverskoy as the eldest in the family. But his great-nephew, Grigory Danilovich, began to challenge his inheritance rights. According to the customs of that time, the princes had to go to the Horde in order to receive a label for reigning there. Anna begged her husband to refuse the Grand Duke's label, but he acted in his own way.
At the same time as Mikhail, Gregory also went there. When the princes passed through Vladimir, they were met by the holy Metropolitan Maxim. He begged Gregory not to challenge Michael's rights. Maxim vouched that Grigory would receive any city from Mikhail if he accepted his seniority, but the Moscow prince claimed that he was going to the Horde on his own business and did not intend to claim the reign.
Meeting in the Horde
Two applicants met at the headquarters of the Tatar Khan, and their rivalry flared up with renewed vigor. The Turkish murzas took advantage of the civil strife and promised a label to the one who would bring more gifts. Both George and Michael were forced to spend more and more, seeking the favor of the khan's representatives and recruiting supporters among those close to the khan. Such a policy devastated the treasury of Michael, laid a heavy burden on the forced people. In the end, he bypassed Gregory and received the coveted label.
The Great Confrontation
In 1305, Michael returned to Russian lands andsolemnly took the Moscow throne. But agreement with Gregory was never reached: the relatives fought each other more than once, and the confrontation continued.
At the beginning of 1313, power in the Horde changed, and a young Tatar named Uzbek became Khan. According to his religious beliefs, Uzbek was a Muslim and actively planted a new faith in Russian lands.
At the same time, Prince Grigory did not forget his resignation. Constantly being near the young khan, he gradually achieved his complete confidence. Gregory even married the sister of Khan Konchaka, who after baptism was given the name Agafya. Having become related to Uzbek, the Moscow prince persuaded him to his side and ensured that the grand ducal label was rewritten to him. And now it was Gregory who was supposed to sit on the throne of Moscow.
Invasion
Together with Gregory, the ambassadors of the Khan, led by Kavgady, who was part of the narrow circle of the most trusted persons of the ruler of the Horde, were supposed to go to Russia. Upon learning of this, Mikhail of Tverskoy meekly renounced the reign of Moscow and returned to his native Tver principality.
But Gregory did not forget the offense and did not want to resolve the issue amicably. Gathering a large army, he moved to Tver. On his way, he incinerated cities and villages, burned fields, killed and enslaved men, and gave women and girls to reproach. Having completely devastated the Tver lands on one side of the Volga, he saved up forces for the invasion of the territory beyond the Volga. The scale of the disaster was so great that Mikhail of Tverskoy gathered the boyars and the bishop and turned to them for advice. Bishop and boyars unanimously stood upto defend their native land and advised the prince to fight the treacherous nephew.
Battle of the village Borteneve
Opponents clashed at the end of December 1317 near Tver, in the small village of Bortenev. As a result of a bloody battle, the troops of the Moscow prince were defeated and fled. George retreated to Torzhok, and from there fled to Veliky Novgorod. His wife Agafya-Konchaka, his brother Boris and many other tribesmen were taken prisoner. With victory and great joy, Michael returned to his native Tver. His armor was slashed, but he himself was not wounded. Michael served a prayer service in honor of his victory and brought generous gifts to the church. After the defeat, Gregory gathered a new army of Pskovians and Novgorodians, but bloodshed was avoided. The princes made peace.
The new world was not long. The wife of the Moscow prince Agafya, who was in the position of a noble captive in Tver, died unexpectedly. Rumors spread that she had been poisoned. George went to the Horde, and he managed to convince the khan of the violent death of his sister. As a guarantor of his innocence, Mikhail gave his son Konstantin as a hostage, but this did not help. The enraged Uzbek ordered Mikhail to report urgently to the Horde.
Death of the Prince
Michael of Tverskoy went to Khan Uzbek with a hard heart. He knew that, most likely, he would never come back. Arriving in the Horde, the prince, appearing before the khan, denied all accusations and requested a trial. The Uzbek did not dare to personally kill the prince and gave him to his assistantKavgady. On November 22, 1318, after an unjust trial, Mikhail of Tverskoy died in his own tent, torn to pieces by a crowd of ill-wishers led by Kavgady.
Michael's wife, Anna, begged George to give her husband's body for burial. Tverichi met the coffin with the body of Mikhail on the banks of the Volga. The body of the Prince of Tver was buried with a large crowd of people in the Transfiguration Monastery.
After martyrdom, the prince defended his lands from the wrath of the Tatars and George. For piety and defense of Orthodoxy, he was canonized as a saint. According to the Orthodox canon, Saint Michael of Tver became the patron of the Tver land. His icons are in the churches of Russian cities and villages, and he himself is considered the protector of the Russian land and the patron of the Orthodox. Monuments to Mikhail Tverskoy are located in his native land.
Currently, the most significant of them stands on Sovetskaya Square in the city of Tver.
