Izyaslav (russian: Изяслав, be, Ізяслаў) was the son of

Vladimir I of Kiev Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

and

Rogneda of Polotsk Rogneda of Polotsk (962–1002) is the Slavic name for Ragnheiðr, a Princess consort of Rus'. She was the daughter of Ragnvald (Slavic: Rogvolod) who came from Scandinavia and established himself at Polotsk in the mid-10th century. Life It ...

. When his father converted to Christianity in 988, he had to divorce all his previous wives, including Rogneda. She and her son Izyaslav were exiled back to the lands of Polotsk – first to Iziaslav, and later to Polotsk. Following Norse tradition, Izyaslav was sent with his mother to rule her homeland. There is also a legend that Rogneda tried to get Izyaslav to slay his father. Despite possibly going against the will of his father, Izyaslav was able to continue his rule in

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...

. He was first to make Polotsk autonomous from the

Grand Duke of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes grand duke) was the title of the ruler of Kiev and the ruler of Kievan Rus' from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prince of Vladimir and ...

passing his title to his descendants after his death. His principality carried a wide degree of autonomy that later was passed on to his descendants. His glory was commemorated after an established city that was named after him. Izyaslav died at the young age of about 23, in 1001, surviving his mother but predeceasing his father Vladimir of Kiev, thus excluding his descendants from ever succeeding the Kievan throne, according to the so-called "

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 ...

". The name of Izyaslav's spouse is unknown. He had two sons:

Bryachislav of Polotsk Bryachislav Izyaslavich ( be, Брачыслаў Ізяславіч, russian: Брячислав Изяславич) (c. 997 – 1044) was the prince of Polotsk between 1001 and 1044. His name, possibly, may have been of something in approximatio ...

and Vseslav. Both were certainly minor at the time of his father's death. Vseslav died, still in childhood, in 1003, while Bryachislav survived to continue the Polotsk dynasty and to challenge the authority of his uncle

Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was als ...

. His direct progeny ruled

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 ...

until 1222.

References

External links

Litopys (Chronicles)
Princes of Polotsk 10th-century princes in Kievan Rus' 11th-century princes in Kievan Rus' Eastern Orthodox monarchs People from Polotsk Izyaslavichi family (Polotsk) Children of Vladimir the Great {{Ukrainian-history-stub