The Principality of Minsk was an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

principality of the

Duchy 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 ...

and centered on the city of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

(today in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

). It existed from its founding in 1101 until it was annexed by the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

in 1242, and only nominally until 1326.

Geography

The principality originally occupied territories around the

Drut ''Drut'' ( द्रुत; also called ''drut laya'') is the concluding section, in fast tempo (or ''laya''), between 160 and 320 beats per minute, of the performance of a vocal raga in Hindustani classical music. See also *Khyal *Vilambit *Ma ...

Svislach Svislach or Śvislač ( be, Свiслач, ; russian: Сви́слочь, Svisloch; pl, Świsłocz; yi, סיסלעוויטש or ''Sislevitch''; lt, Svisločius) is a town in the South-West of Grodno Region, Belarus, an administrative center o ...

and

Berezina The Berezina or Biarezina ( be, Бярэ́зіна; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is 613 km. The width of the river is 15-20 m, the ...

river basins. Besides the capital city of

, other population centers in the principality included

Barysaw Barysaw ( be, Барысаў, ) or Borisov (russian: Борисов, ) is a city in Belarus near the Berezina River in the Minsk Region 74 km north-east from Minsk. Its population is around 145,000. History Barysaw is first mentioned in t ...

Lahojsk Lahoysk ( be, Лаго́йск, Lahojsk, ; russian: link=no, Лого́йск, pl, Łohojsk) is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus and the administrative center of Lahoysk District. History First chronicled in 1078, Lahoysk was the centr ...

Zaslawye Zaslawye or Zaslaŭje ( be, Засла́ўе, ; russian: Засла́вль; pl, Zasław; lt, Zaslavlis) is a historical town in the Minsk Region of Belarus, 20 kilometres northwest of Minsk. In 2009 its population was 14,400. History Accor ...

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...

and the historical town of

Drutsk Druck or Drutsk ( be, Друцк, ; pl, Druck, russian: Друцк, also known as ''Дрютескъ'' (''Dryutesk'') or ''Дрюческъ'' (''Druchesk'') in the Middle Ages), is a historical town in Belarus, 40 kilometres (ca. 25 miles) west ...

History

The area around

was controlled by 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 ...

beginning from the 10th century. Following the death of

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 ...

in 1101, Polotsk was divided into six smaller principalities each to be inherited by one of his six surviving sons. Vseslav's second born son,

Gleb Vseslavich Gleb Vseslavich ( be, Глеб Усяславіч, russian: Глеб Всеславич) (died September 13, 1119) was the prince of Minsk between 1101 and 1119. During his reign Minsk was at war with Kiev and Polatsk. He started the Minsk branch ...

inherited the lands surrounding Minsk and started the Minsk branch of the

princes of Polotsk A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. Almost immediately following his father's death,

started a war against his brothers Davyd,

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 ...

and

Roman 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 ...

, prince of Drutsk to expand his territory. In 1106, he had partaken in a raid against the Baltic tribes in

Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...

. In 1116, he started a war with Vladimir II of the

Principality of Kiev , conventional_long_name = Inner Principality of Kiev , common_name = Kiev , status = Protectorate , status_text = part of the Grand Principality of Vladimir part of the ...

and burned the town of

Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...

to the ground. In retaliation, Vladimir marched towards Minsk and laid a two-month siege which was at first unsuccessful but Vladimir wanted to continue the siege following the winter season.

upon seeing the preparations for a long siege, sent peace envoys to the enemy camp and agreed to a peace treaty on the condition of good behavior on his part. Completely ignoring the peace treaty, Gleb resumed his hostilities and in 1117, attacked

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 ...

. In retaliation, Vladimir II sent his son Mstislav to Minsk with a large army. He besieged and took Minsk, and brought Gleb to

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 ...

as prisoner, where he died in 1119. Following the death of

, the principality of Minsk fell under Kievan influence. In 1146, Gleb's son, Rostislav Glebovich regained control of Minsk. Rostislav and his descendants would fight wars with the princes of

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 c ...

. This period saw the principality's relationship with the

grow, and in 1164, Rostislav's brother, Volodar Glebovich with the help of the Lithuanians, won an important battle against 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 ...

, which affirmed the principalities independence from Polotsk. In the 13th century, the influence of Lithuanian princes grew and the princes of Minsk were virtually vassals of the

. Minsk escaped the

Mongol Invasion of Rus The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernihiv (30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping de ...

in 1237–1239, however, in later years it was attacked by nomadic invaders from the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...

, who ravaged and vassalized many principalities to the south. Trying to avoid the

Tatar Yoke The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernihiv (30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping destr ...

, the Principality of Minsk sought the protection of their Lithuanian allies and in 1242, Minsk was peacefully annexed by the

. In 1249, a combined Minsk and Lithuanian army repelled a Tatar-Mongol invasion. The city of Minsk oversaw periods of growth and prosperity during Lithuanian reign and many local nobles enjoyed high ranking in the society of the Grand Duchy. For instance, in 1326, a treaty between

and the city 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 ...

was signed for Lithuanian Prince Gediminas by Vasily, the then ruler of Minsk. In 1413, when the

and the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

signed the

Union of Horodło The Union of Horodło or Pact of Horodło was a set of three acts signed in the town of Horodło on 2 October 1413. The first act was signed by Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland, and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The second and thir ...

, the Principality of Minsk ceased to exist and the city became the center of the newly created

Minsk Voivodeship , la, Palatinatus Minscensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1566Stanisław Kutrzeba: Historia ustroju Polski w zarysie, Tom drugi: Litwa. Lwów i Warszawa: 1921, s. 88. and later in Pol ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minsk, Principality of

Medieval Belarus Former subdivisions of Lithuania Former subdivisions of Belarus Former principalities Principalities of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania