The Council of Liubech was one of the best documented princely meetings in

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

that took place in

Liubech Liubech ( uk, Любеч, russian: Любеч, pl, Lubecz) is an urban-type settlement, previously a small ancient town (first mentioned in 882) connected with many important events in the Principality of Chernigov since the times of Kievan Rus'. ...

(today in

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast ( uk, Черні́гівська о́бласть, translit=Chernihivska oblast; also referred to as Chernihivshchyna, uk, Черні́гівщина, translit=Chernihivshchyna) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. T ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) in 1097. The council ended the (1093–1097) between Svyatopolk II Izyaslavych of Kyiv, Volodymyr II Monomakh of Pereyaslavl and Oleh Svyatoslavych of Chernihiv who fought for the heritage of his father Svyatoslavych II of Kyiv. As a result, each prince within Kievan Rus’ was given his principality as patrimonial domain. The council, initiated by Volodymyr II Monomakh, brought together Svyatopolk II Izyaslavych,

Vasylko Rostyslavych Vasylko Rostyslavych, ''Vasilko Rostislavich'' (, born around 1066, died in 1124) was a Rus' prince and member of the Rurik dynasty. He was the first Prince of Terebovl' from 1092. His Byzantine-style blinding was very unusual among the Rurik ...

, Davyd Svyatoslavych, Oleh Svyatoslavych, and other Rus' princes. It aimed to stop the Chernihiv war of succession, to pacify the people, and to present a unified front against the

Polovtsy The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sough ...

(

Cumans The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...

). It resulted in the division of

among the princes, letting their immediate families inherit them. This broke a

rota system The rota (or rotation) system or the lestvitsa system (from the Old Church Slavonic word for "ladder" or "staircase") was a system of collateral succession practiced (though imperfectly) in Kievan Rus', later appanages, and early the Grand Duchy ...

(''lestvichnoe pravo'') that had been followed in Kievan Rus' for two centuries. The Council assigned/confirmed the principalities as follows: * Sviatopolk II received

Kyiv 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 ...

, Turov, Pinsk, and the title of the Grand Prince. *

Vladimir II Monomakh Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Мономахъ, ''Volodiměrŭ Monomakhŭ''; uk, Володимир Мономах, translit=Volodymyr Monomakh; russian: Владимир Мономах; Christian name: ''Vasiliy'' ...

received Pereyaslavl, the Rostov-Suzdal lands,

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

, and Beloozero. His son Mstislav received

Great 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 o ...

. *

Oleg Oleg (russian: Олег), Oleh ( uk, Олег), or Aleh ( be, Алег) is an East Slavic given name. The name is very common in Russia, Ukraine and Belаrus. It derives from the Old Norse ''Helgi'' ( Helge), meaning "holy", "sacred", or "bless ...

, Davyd, and Yaroslav, both sons of

Sviatoslav II of Kiev Sviatoslav II Iaroslavich or Sviatoslav II Yaroslavich ( orv, Ст҃ославь Ӕрославичь; Russian and Ukrainian: Святослав Ярославич; 1027 – 27 December 1076) was Grand Prince of Kiev between 1073 and 1076 ...

(Grand Prince of Kyiv, 1073–1076), received Chernigiv,

Tmutarakan Tmutarakan ( rus, Тмутарака́нь, p=tmʊtərɐˈkanʲ, ; uk, Тмуторокань, Tmutorokan) was a medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Se ...

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 ...

, and

Murom Murom ( rus, Муром, p=ˈmurəm; Old Norse: ''Moramar'') is a historical city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls along the left bank of the Oka River. Population: History In the 9th century AD, the city marked the easternmost settle ...

. Of the remaining

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 ...

princes: * David Igorevich received

Volodymyr Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, Volodýmyr, , orv, Володимѣръ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ...

. * Volodar Rostislavich – Peremyshl. *

Vasilko Rostislavich Vasylko Rostyslavych, ''Vasilko Rostislavich'' (, born around 1066, died in 1124) was a Rus' prince and member of the Rurik dynasty. He was the first Prince of Terebovl' from 1092. His Byzantine-style blinding was very unusual among the Rurik ...

–

Terebovl Terebovlia ( uk, Теребовля, pl, Trembowla, yi, טרעבעוולע, Trembovla) is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is an ancient settlement that traces its roots to the settlement of Tere ...

. This change effectively established a

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

in Kievan Rus'. It stopped the struggle for

Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative ...

, but was not observed perfectly. After the death of Sviatopolk in 1113, the citizens of Kyiv revolted and summoned Monomakh to the throne. Nevertheless, the new dispensation allowed other principalities to consolidate their power and to develop as powerful regional centers: most notably Galicia-Volhynia and

Vladimir-Suzdal Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...

. Another session followed in (near

) on 10 August 1100, known as the

Council of Uvetichi The Council of Uvetichi consisted of two meetings of the senior generation of princes of Kievan Rus'. It took place in August 1100, and it had a twofold purpose: to bring about a reconciliation among the princes and to pass judgment on Prince Davy ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{Cite book , last1=Martin , first1=Janet , date=1995 , title=Medieval Russia, 980–1584 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRCc3TtL9bIC , location=Cambridge , publisher=Cambridge University Press , pages=450 , isbn=9780521368322 , access-date=24 August 2022
Power crisis in Ruthenia

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...

. 20 October 2015
Council of Liubech
at the Handbook on History of Ukraine 11th century in Kievan Rus' 1097 in Europe

See also

References

Bibliography