Yuriy Danilovich, also known as Georgiy Danilovich (Юрий Данилович in

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 ...

) (1281 – 21 November 1325) was Prince of Moscow (1303–1325) and

Grand Prince of Vladimir The grand duke of Vladimir was the ruler of a principality during the era of Kievan Rus' and after its collapse. It ruled territory approximately bounded by three rivers, the Volga, the Oka and the Northern Dvina. From 1157 to 1238 its capital was ...

(from 1318). Yury was the oldest son of Daniel, the first prince of Moscow. His first official action was to defend

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 ...

against Grand Duke Andrew III. Upon Andrew's death the next year, Yury had to contend 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 ...

with Mikhail of Tver. While the Tverian army besieged Pereslavl and Moscow itself, Mikhail went to 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 ...

, where the Khan elevated him to the supreme position among Russian princes. In the meantime, Yury arranged the murder of Prince Konstantin 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 Cens ...

. This unlucky ruler had been captured by Yury's father back in 1302 and had been incarcerated in Moscow since then. While Ryazan was shocked by such a barbarity, Yury annexed the key Ryazanian fortress of

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the first time in 1177, Ko ...

to Moscow Duchy. He also captured

Mozhaisk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. ( rus, Можа́йск, p=mɐˈʐajsk) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to th ...

, which formerly belonged to the princes of

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 ...

. By 1314, Yury secured backing from the

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, ...

and formed an

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

with Novgorod against Tver. Now, he felt strong enough to challenge Mikhail of Tver in the Horde. In 1315, Yury went to the

and, after spending two years there, constructed an alliance with

Uzbeg Khan The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak m ...

. Upon Yury's marriage to the khan's sister Konchaka, Uzbeg Khan deposed Mikhail and nominated Yury as the Grand Duke of Vladimir. Back in Russia with a large force of Mongols, Yury approached

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 ...

. However, Yuri's army was defeated and his brother Boris and his wife were taken prisoners. Thereupon he fled to Novgorod and sued for peace. At that time his wife, still held in Tver as a hostage, died unexpectedly. Yury availed himself of the confusion that followed and announced to the khan that she had been poisoned on Mikhail's order. The khan summoned both princes to Sarai and, after a trial, had Mikhail executed. Yury returned to Russia, hated by other princes and populace alike, in 1319. He was now entrusted with the task of gathering all-Russian tribute to the Horde. But Mikhail's son and successor, Dmitry the Terrible Eyes, still opposed him. In 1322, Dmitry, seeking revenge for his father's murder, went to Sarai and persuaded the khan that Yury had appropriated a large portion of the tribute due to the Horde. Yury was summoned to the Horde for a trial but, before any formal investigation, was killed by Dmitry. Eight months later, Dmitry was also executed in the Horde.John Fennell, "Princely Executions in the Horde 1308-1339," ''Forschungen zur Osteuropaischen Geschichte'' 38 (1988), 9-19. Shortly before his death, Yury led the army of Novgorod to fight the Swedes and founded a fort in the mouth of the Neva River. Upon signing the Treaty of Orekhovo in 1323, Yury continued eastward and conquered Velikiy Ustyug the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yury Of Moscow 1281 births 1325 deaths 14th-century Grand Princes of Moscow 14th-century murdered monarchs 13th-century princes in Kievan Rus' 14th-century Russian princes Grand Princes of Vladimir Murdered Russian monarchs Rurik dynasty Rurikids Eastern Orthodox monarchs

See also

References