, patronage=Russian Engineer Troops Daniil Aleksandrovich (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Даниил Александрович; 1261 – 4 March 1303) was the youngest son of

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (russian: Александр Ярославич Невский; ; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) served as Prince of Novgorod (1236–40, 1241–56 and 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–52) and Grand P ...

and forefather of all the Grand Dukes of Moscow.

Early life

Prince Daniel of Moscow was born at

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

, capital of the Great Vladimir-Suzdal principality, in 1261. He was the fourth and youngest son of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky—famous in the history of the Russian State and the Russian Orthodox Church — and his second wife, Princess Vassa. History of St. Daniel Monastery of Moscow
/ref> One of the most junior princes in the

House of Rurik The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

, Daniel is thought to have been named after his celebrated relative,

Daniel of Galicia Daniel of Galicia ( uk, Данило Романович (Галицький), Danylo Romanovych (Halytskyi); Old Ruthenian: Данило Романовичъ, ''Danylo Romanovyčъ''; pl, Daniel I Romanowicz Halicki; 1201 – 1264) was a King ...

Government

His father died when he was only two years old. Of his father's patrimonies, he received the least valuable,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. When he was a child, the tiny principality was being governed by (deputies), appointed by his paternal uncle, Grand Prince

Yaroslav III Yaroslav III Yaroslavich (1230–1271) (Russian: Ярослав Ярославич) was the first Prince of Tver and the tenth Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1264 to 1271. Yaroslav and his son Mikhail Yaroslavich presided over Tver's transfor ...

. Daniel has been credited with founding the first

monasteries, namely the Lord's Epiphany, and The Danilov Monestery (Saint Daniel Monestery): named in his honor, situated on the right bank of the

Moskva River The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...

at a distance of 5 miles from the

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

, and founded, by Daniel, as the first monastery wooden church of St. Daniel-Stylite no later than 1282."Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow", Orthodox Church in America
/ref> He also built the first stone church in the

in the 1280s, dedicated to the Great Martyr Demetrius. Daniel took part in his brothers'—

Dmitri of Pereslavl Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτριο ...

and

Andrey of Gorodets Andrey III Alexandrovich (ca. 1255 – 27 July 1304), a Russian prince, son of Alexander Nevsky, received from his father the town of Gorodets on the Volga. In 1276 he added Kostroma to his possessions and joined the struggle for the Grand Duchy ...

—struggle for the right to govern

and

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 ...

, respectively. After Dmitry's death in 1294, Daniel made an alliance with

Mikhail of Tver Mikhail Yaroslavich (russian: Михаил Ярославич) (1271 – 22 November 1318), also known as Michael of Tver, was a Prince of Tver (from 1285) who ruled as Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1304 until 1314 and again from 1315–1318. ...

and Ivan of Pereslavl against

of Novgorod. Daniel's participation in the struggle for Novgorod in 1296 indicated Moscow's increasing political influence. Constantine, the prince of

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...

, tried to capture the Moscow lands with the help of a Mongol force. Prince Daniel defeated it near

Pereslavl Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Yaroslavl ...

. This was a first victory over the Tatars, though not a tremendous victory, but it was noteworthy as a first push towards freedom. In 1301,"Clipping from the Laurentian Codex about the prince Daniile Alexandrovich Moskovsky", Informarus
/ref> he went to Ryazan with an army and imprisoned the ruler of the

Ryazan Principality The Grand Duchy of Ryazan (1078–1521) was a duchy with the capital in Old Ryazan (destroyed by the Mongol Empire in 1237), and then in Pereyaslavl Ryazansky, which later became the modern-day city of Ryazan. It originally split off from the Ch ...

"by some ruse", as the chronicle says, and destroyed a multitude of

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

. To secure his release, the prisoner ceded to Daniel his fortress of

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva River, Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Populati ...

. It was an important acquisition, as now Daniel controlled all the length of the

. In 1302 his childless nephew and ally, Ivan of Pereslavl, bequeathed to Daniel all his lands, including

Pereslavl-Zalessky Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Mosc ...

. During the Mongol occupation and internecine wars among the Rus' princes, Daniel created peace in Moscow without bloodshed. During 30 years of ruling Daniel participated in battles only once. According to legend, Daniel was popular and respected by his subjects for his meekness, humility and peacefulness.

Death and canonization

At the age of 42 on the 5th of March in 1303 St. Daniel died. Before his death he became a monk and, according to his will, was buried in the cemetery of the St. Daniel Monastery. This was a common cemetery and by being buried there he was demonstrating humility. He was

canonize Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

d by the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

in 1791 but only for local veneration. In the year 1330, the monastery was moved to Kremlin and the monastery was turned into a common parish. The cemetery became open to the public and his grave was lost. On August 30, 1652, many relics from Daniel of Moscow were found and were placed in a tomb in the Danilov Monastery in his honor.

Marriage and children

His wife was named Maria. They had at least six children: *

Yury of Moscow Yuriy Danilovich, also known as Georgiy Danilovich (Юрий Данилович in Russian) (1281 – 21 November 1325) was Prince of Moscow (1303–1325) and Grand Prince of Vladimir (from 1318). Yury was the oldest son of Daniel, the first p ...

(1281 – 21 September 1325). *Aleksandr Daniilovich (died Autumn 1308). *Boris Daniilovich, Prince of

Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. Popu ...

(died 1320). *Afanasy Daniilovich, Prince of

(died 1322). *Fedora Daniilovna. Married Yaroslav Romanovich, Prince of

(died 1299). *

Ivan I of Moscow Iván I Danilovich Kalitá (Russian: Ива́н I Данилович Калита́; 1 November 1288 – 31 March 1340 or 1341Basil Dmytryshyn, ''Medieval Russia:A source book, 850-1700'', (Academic International Press, 2000), 194.) was Grand D ...

(1288 – 31 March 1340).

References

External links