Iván I Danilovich Kalitá (
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 ...
: Ива́н I Данилович Калита́; 1 November 1288 – 31 March 1340 or 1341
[Basil Dmytryshyn, ''Medieval Russia:A source book, 850-1700'', (Academic International Press, 2000), 194.]) was
Grand Duke of
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 ...
from 1325 and
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 ...
from 1332.
[Basil Dmytryshyn, ''Medieval Russia:A source book, 850-1700'', 190.]
Biography
Ivan was the son of the Prince of Moscow
Daniil Aleksandrovich.
After the death of his elder brother
Yury
Yury, Yuri, Youri, Yurii, Yuriy, Yurij, Iurii or Iouri is the Slavic (russian: Юрий, Yuriy, or uk, Юрій, Yuriy, or bg, Юрий, Jurij, or be, Юры, Jury) form of the masculine given name George; it is derived directly from the Gree ...
, Ivan inherited the
Principality of Moscow
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
. Ivan participated in the struggle to get the title of Grand Duke of
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 ...
which could be obtained with the approval of a
khan of the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
. The main rivals of the princes of Moscow in this struggle were the princes of
Tver
Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population:
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
–
Mikhail,
Dmitry the Terrible Eyes, and
Alexander II, all of whom obtained the title of Grand Duke of Vladimir and were deprived of it. All of them were murdered in the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
. In 1328 Ivan Kalita received the approval of khan
Muhammad Ozbeg to become the Grand Duke of Vladimir with the right to collect taxes from all Russian lands.
According to the Russian historian
Kluchevsky
Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky (russian: Василий Осипович Ключевский; in Voskresnskoye Village, Penza Governorate, Russia – , Moscow) was a leading Russian Imperial historian of the late imperial period. Also, he addres ...
, the rise of Moscow under Ivan I Kalita was determined by three factors. The first one was that the Moscow principality was situated in the middle of other Russian principalities; thus, it was protected from any invasions from the East and from the West. Compared to its neighbors,
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 ...
principality and
Tver
Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population:
Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
principality, Moscow was less often devastated. The relative safety of the Moscow region resulted in the second factor of the rise of Moscow – an influx of working and tax-paying people who were tired of constant raids and who actively relocated to Moscow from other Russian regions. The third factor was a trade route from
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 ...
to the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
river.
According to Baumer
Öz Beg Khan
Öz is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Doğan Öz (1934–1978), Turkish prosecutor assassinated during his investigation of the Turkish deep state.
* Emanuel Öz (born 1979), Swedish politician
* Mehmet Öz
Meh ...
took a fateful decision when he abandoned the former policy of divide and rule by making the new grand prince responsible for collecting and passing on all the tribute and taxes from all the Russian cities. Ivan delivered these exactions punctually, so further strengthening his position of privilege. In this way he laid the foundations for Moscow's future as a regional great power.
Ivan Kalita intentionally pursued the policy of relocation of people to his principality by an invitation of people from other places and by purchase of Russian people captured by
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
s during their raids. He managed to eliminate all the thieves in his lands, thus ensuring the safety of traveling merchants. Internal peace and order together with the absence of Mongolian raids to the Moscow principality was mentioned in Russian chronicles as “great peace, silence, and relief of Russian land.
Ivan made Moscow very wealthy by maintaining his loyalty to the Horde (hence, the nickname ''Kalita'', or the
Moneybag). He used this wealth to give loans to neighbouring Russian principalities. These cities gradually fell deeper and deeper into debt, a condition that would eventually allow Ivan's successors to annex them. The people called Ivan the ‘gatherer of the Russian lands’. He bought lands around Moscow, and very often the poor owners sold their lands willingly. Some of them kept the right to rule in their lands on behalf of Ivan Kalita. In one way or another a number of cities and villages joined the Moscow principality –
Uglich
Uglich ( rus, У́глич, p=ˈuɡlʲɪtɕ) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River. Population:
History
The city was first documented in 1148 as ''Ugliche Pole'' (''Corner Field''). The town's name is though ...
in 1323, the principality of
Belozero in 1328–1338, and the principality of
Galich in 1340. Ivan's greatest success, however, was convincing the Khan in
Sarai that his son,
Simeon The Proud
Simeon Ivanovich Gordiy (the Proud) (Семён Иванович Гордый in Russian) (7 September 1317 – 27 April 1353) was Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir. Simeon continued his father's policies aimed to increase the power ...
, should succeed him as the Grand Duke of Vladimir and from then on this position almost always belonged to the ruling house of Moscow. The Head of the Russian Church –
Metropolitan Peter
Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus (russian: Пётр; c. 1260 – 20 December 1326) was the Russian metropolitan who moved his see from Vladimir to Moscow in 1325. Later he was proclaimed a patron saint of Moscow. In spite of the move, ...
, whose authority was extremely high, moved from Vladimir to Moscow to Prince Ivan Kalita.
Following a
Lithuanian raid on the town of
Torzhok
Torzhok (russian: Торжо́к) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The town is famous for its folk craft of ...
in 1335 (as part of the
Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars
The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars (also known as Russo-Lithuanian Wars, or just either Muscovite Wars or Lithuanian Wars)The conflicts are referred to as 'Muscovite wars' ( pl, wojny moskiewskie) in Polish historiography and as 'Lithuanian wars' in ...
), Ivan retaliated by burning the towns of Osechen and Riasna.
Ivan died in Moscow, 31 March 1340 or 1341.
He was buried 1 April in the
Church of the Archangel Michael.
Ivan had built the church and was also the first person to be buried there.
Family
Ivan Kalita was married twice. His first wife was called
Elena
Elena may refer to:
People
* Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician
* Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet
Geography
* Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
, and nothing is known exactly about her origin. There is a hypothesis that she was the daughter of the
prince of Smolensk The Prince of Smolensk was the ''kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' Principality of Smolensk, a lordship based on the city of Smolensk. It passed between different groups of descendants of Grand Prince Iaroslav I of Kiev until 1125, when ...
,
Alexander Glebovich.
[''Averyanov K.'' Principality of Moscow under Ivan Kalita (Accession of Koloman. Acquisition of Mozhaisk). - M., p. 36, 1994.]
From marriage were born:
*
Simeon Ivanovich (7 November 1316 – 27 April 1353), future ''
Grand Duke of Moscow
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mo ...
;''
*Daniel Ivanovich (11 December 1319/20–1328);
*Fefinia Ivanovna (died young);
*Maria Ivanovna (died 2 June 1365), married to ''Prince Konstantin of
Rostov
Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:
While t ...
'' in 1328.;
*
Ivan Ivanovich (30 March 1326 – 13 November 1359), future ''
Grand Duke of Moscow
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mo ...
;''
*Andrei Ivanovich (4 August 1327 – 6 June 1353), ''Prince of
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 ...
;''
*Evdokia Ivanovna (1314 – 1342), married to ''Vasili Mikhailovich,
Prince of Iaroslavl.'' They were the ancestors of the
Princes of Shakhovskoy, possibly the most senior remaining branch of the
Rurikids;
*Feodosia Ivanovna (died 1389), married to ''Fyodor Romanovich,
Prince of Belozersky'' .
Princess Elena died on 1 March, 1331. A year later, Ivan married again, although only the given name of his second wife is known - ''Ulyana'' . There is a hypothesis that she was a daughter of Fyodor Davydovich Galitsky, who received half of her father's principality as a dowry. According to A. V. Eksemplyarsky, this second marriage produced one daughter; while V.A. Kuchkin suggested there were two daughters: Maria and Theodosia, who appear in the prince's will as "young children". One of them was alive in 1359; nothing more is known about the other. Ulyana survived her husband and died between 1366 and 1372.
Legacy
Under Ivan Kalita, Moscow was actively growing, and his residence on the
Borovitsky hill became the main part of the city. Erection of either wooden or white-stone constructions was started in the Kremlin. A number of churches were built: in 1326–1327 the
Assumption Cathedral, in 1329 the
Church of Ivan of the Ladder (
John Climacus
John Climacus ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος; la, Ioannes Climacus), also known as John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites, was a 6th–7th-century Christian monk at the monastery on Mount Sinai. He is rev ...
), in 1330 the Cathedral of the Saviour on the Bor (Forest), and in 1333 the
Cathedral of Archangel Michael, where Ivan Kalita and his descendants were buried. Between 1339 and 1340, Ivan Kalita erected a new, bigger oaken fortress on the Borovitsky hill.
In Ivan’s will “the golden cap” was mentioned for the first time; this cap is identified with the well-known
Monomakh’s crown, the main crown of Russian sovereigns.
See also
*
Rulers of Russia family tree
The following is a family tree of the monarchs of Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationall ...
Notes
Sources
*V. O. Kluchevsky. ''The course of Russian history''. Lecture #21
*Janet Martin, ''Medieval Russia 980–1584''
External links
The Moscow Kremlin*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivan 01 of Moscow
1288 births
1340s deaths
Year of death uncertain
13th-century princes in Kievan Rus'
14th-century Russian princes
14th-century Grand Princes of Moscow
Grand Princes of Vladimir
Grand Princes of Moscow
Rurik dynasty
Yurievichi family
Eastern Orthodox monarchs