Bryachislav Izyaslavich ( be, Брачыслаў Ізяславіч, russian: Брячислав Изяславич) (c. 997 – 1044) was the

prince of Polotsk The Princes of Polotsk ruled the Principality of Polotsk within the realm of Kievan Rus or within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the mid ninth century to 1307. Rogvold, a non-Rurikid Varangian, was the first Prince of Polotsk. When Vladimir t ...

between 1001 and 1044. His name, possibly, may have been of something in approximation to Vratislav or Wroclaw. He was son of Izyaslav Vladimirovich. During his reign Polotsk was at war with Kiev and Novgorod. In 1015 he inherited the city of

Lutsk Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...

after the death of his grandfather

Vladimir I of Kiev Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

. Bryachislav Izyaslavich was born in Polotsk. Either upon his father's death in 1001 or his minor brother Vseslav's in 1003, he inherited the

Principality of Polotsk The Principality of Polotsk ( be, По́лацкае кня́ства, ''Polackaje kniastva''; la, Polocensis Ducatus), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality of the Early East Slavs. The origin and ...

, himself being a child at this time (his grandparents married about 978). Under his rule, Polotsk attempted to distance itself from

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. Tensions were exacerbated by the fact that, under the East Slavic house law, since Izyaslav predeceased his father and never reigned in Kiev, his descendants from the House of Polotsk forfeited their dynastic rights to the Kievan throne being classified as

izgoi Izgoi is a term that is found in medieval Kievan Rus'. In primary documents, it indicated orphans who were protected by the church. In historiographic writing on the period, the term was meant as a prince in Kievan Rus' who was excluded from succe ...

(outcast). In 1020 Bryachislav managed to sack

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

, but on his way back he was confronted by an army of his uncle,

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was als ...

. Bryachislav suffered a defeat during the battle on the Sudoma River and fled, leaving behind his Novgorodian prisoners and loot. Yaroslav chased him down and forced him to sign a peace agreement in 1021, granting him only two cities of Usvyat and

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

. Despite this peace agreement, the hostilities between Bryachislav and Yaroslav continued for years. Eventually he extended the territory of his principality and established the city of

Braslaw Braslaw or Braslav ( be, Браслаў, Braslaŭ; russian: Браслав, Braslav) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus, an administrative center of the Braslaw District. History The town was first mentioned in 1065 as a castle in the b ...

. The name of his spouse or

consort __NOTOC__ Consort may refer to: Music * "The Consort" (Rufus Wainwright song), from the 2000 album ''Poses'' * Consort of instruments, term for instrumental ensembles * Consort song (musical), a characteristic English song form, late 16th–earl ...

is unknown and he had at least one son,

Vseslav of Polotsk Vseslav of Polotsk or Vseslav Bryachislavich ( 1029 – 24 April 1101), also known as ''Vseslav the Sorcerer'' or ''Vseslav the Seer'', was the most famous ruler of Polotsk and was briefly Grand Prince of Kiev in 1068–1069. Together with Rostis ...

, who was the ancestor of all the following Polotsk princes and the only one of them to rule in Kiev. Bryachislav died in Polatsk in 1044.

The Saga of Eymund

The Saga of Eymund (written in the 13th century) draws a different picture in the relationship between Polotsk and Kiev. It states that after the victory over Sviatopolk Yaroslav demanded from Bryachislav to yield some of his territories. The last one refused and drew his troops to the border of his realm. To wage a war Yaroslav sent

Ingegerd Ingegerd (Old Norse ''Ingigerðr, Ingigærðr'') is a Scandinavian feminine given name, from the theonym ''Ing'' combined with the element ''garðr '' "enclosure, protection". The name Inger is a short form. In Finnish the equivalence of Ingegerd ...

who was taken hostage by Bryachislav and acted as a mediator in the negotiations between Yaroslav and Bryachislav. The conditions of the mentioned negotiations were following: Bryachislav accepts

, Yaroslav was left with

while being recognized as the ''konung of

Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or is the Old Norse term used in medieval times for the states of Kievan Rus. As the Varangians dealt mainly with Northern Kievan Rus' lands, their sagas regard the city of (, Veliky Novgorod) as the capi ...

'', while Eymund the mercenary was awarded Polotsk. After a short while Bryachislav died and Yaroslav attained all of his territories. Numerous historians (O.Senkovsky and M.Sverdlov) reason the fact of Bryachislav gaining the rights on Kiev and Eymund on Polotsk by both being appointed by the ''konung of

''. 990s births 1044 deaths People from Polotsk Princes of Polotsk Izyaslavichi family (Polotsk) {{europe-noble-stub