Vasili (died 1345) was the ruling prince of the
principality of Yaroslavl
The Principality of Yaroslavl (russian: Ярославское княжество, Yaroslavskoye knyazhestvo) was a List of early East Slavic states, Rus' principality with its capital in the city of Yaroslavl. It existed from 1218 until 1463 ( ...
from 1321 to 1345. Some sources refer to him as Vasili Davidovich, others as Vasili Mikhailovich. He was nicknamed "Horrible Eyes" (
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 ...
: Грозные Очи, "Groznye Ochi").
Vasili ruled the principality of Yaroslavl at a time when
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 ...
was expanding and seeking supremacy over other principalities in northeastern Russia. He succeeded Duke David, who was made a saint of 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 ...
.
Ancestry
Genealogical sources give conflicting accounts of his paternity, so the
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
is not clearly known. However, it is clear that he was a direct male-line descendant of Saint
Theodore the Black
Duke Theodore Rostislavich nicknamed Theodore the Black (c. 1230s – 1298), Феодор Ростиславич Чёрный (Чёрмный) or Fyodor the Black in Russian ( Fyodor or Fedor being the Russian version of Theodore), is a saint o ...
, Duke of Mozhajsk (d. 1298). He was either his grandson or great-grandson, but not his son.
Some standard works, including Schwennicke's ''
Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for thos ...
'' volume II, identify Vasili as a son or grandson of
Mikhail Fedorovich (born in the 1260s; died in the 1280s), the eldest son of Saint Theodore the Black. However, some Russian genealogies say that he was a son of his predecessor, Duke
David Fedorovich (the saint), a younger son of Saint Theodore the Black.
Life
In or around the 1330s, Duke Vasili married Evdokia, a daughter of
Ivan Kalita
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 Du ...
, Grand Prince of Moscow. However, the new son-in-law did not acknowledge the overlordship of Moscow, but instead willfully called himself the Grand Prince of Yaroslavl.
Ivan Kalita's priority at that time was to break the power 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 ...
, which was a serious contender to Moscow. In 1339,
Ozbeg Khan summoned to 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 ...
two princes who opposed Ivan Kalita's demands:
Alexander Mikhailovich of Tver and Vasili of Yaroslavl. Ivan Kalita feared that joint action by these princes would cause trouble for him. Prince
Romanchuk Romanchuk is a surname common to Belarus and Ukraine. Other forms of the surname are Ramanchuk or Ramančuk ( be, Раманчук), Romańczuk, Romančuk, Romanchik, and Romantschuk.
People Romanchuk
* Alexander Romanchuk (born 1959), Russian ...
of Belozero was a third there. A detachment of 500 men were sent to seize Vasili, but he escaped with his men and reached the Horde safely. In the end, though, Kalita's opponents failed to shake Khan Uzbek's confidence in the Moscow ruler.
In 1340 Ivan Kalita died, and Princes Alexander of Tver, Vasili of Yaroslavl and Konstantin of
Suzdal
Suzdal ( rus, Суздаль, p=ˈsuzdəlʲ) is a town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located on the Kamenka River, north of the city of Vladimir. Vladimir is the admin ...
laid claim to overlordship over his title and position. They asked the Horde to decide between them and to make an appointment. Ultimately, however, the khan chose Ivan Kalita's son Simon. Vasili had to accept and to recognize the primacy of the new Moscow prince. In the same year he, like all the other princes nearby, took part in the march of Muscovite troops to
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 g ...
.
Vasili died in the winter of 1345 and was buried in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Yaroslavl Monastery of Our Saviour. From his marriage with Evdokia Ivanovna of Moscow he had three sons:
Vasili Vasilievich
Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy (Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to:
*Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425
*Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fro ...
, prince of Yaroslavl;
Hleb Vasilievich Hleb may refer to:
*Alexander Hleb (born 1981), Belarusian footballer
*Vyacheslav Hleb (born 1983), Belarusian footballer
*Hleb Harbuz Hleb may refer to:
*Alexander Hleb (born 1981), Belarusian footballer
* Vyacheslav Hleb (born 1983), Belarusian ...
and
Roman Vasilievich
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
(who became the Duke of Romanov). After the death of Vasili, the principality of Yaroslavl disintegrated into small principalities and completely succumbed to the power of Moscow.
Sources
* Titov, Andrei Alexandrovich
Ярославский уезд. Историко-археологическое, этнографическое и статистическое описание("Jaroslavsky county. Historical and archaeological, ethnographic and statistical description"). Moscow. Русские типографии, 1883.
* Vasil Davidovich on Rodovid.
* Ekzempljarsky AV, "Vasili Davidovich Terrible", ''Collegiate Dictionary'', Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 tons and 4 additional). - SPb.: 1890-1907.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasili, Prince of Yaroslavl
People from Yaroslavl
Rurik dynasty
14th-century Russian princes
1345 deaths
Year of birth unknown