Ivan Olshanski or Olshansky (died in or after 1402) was a member of the Lithuanian princely

Alšėniškiai The House of Alšėniškiai (, ) was a Lithuanian by origin Ruthenianized and predominantly Eastern Orthodox princely family of Hipocentaur coat of arms. Their patrimony was the Duchy of Alšėnai, which included the castles of Rokantiškės a ...

(Holshansky) family. Historians only know his father's name, Algimantas. Ivan was a faithful companion of

Vytautas the Great Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites. In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

. They both were married to daughters of Sudimantas of

Eišiškės Eišiškės (, , /Eishishki, /Eishyshki, /Eyshishok/Eishishok) is a city in southeastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. It is situated on a small group of hills, surrounded by marshy valley of Verseka and Dumblė Rivers. The rivers divid ...

. Ivan's daughter

Juliana Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, whi ...

became the third wife of Vytautas in 1418. His granddaughter Sophia became the fourth wife of King Władysław Jagiełło in 1424. His patrimony consisted of Halshany,

Iwye Iwye is a town in Grodno region, Belarus. It is the administrative center of Iwye district. , Iwye has a population of 6,906. Iwye was historically a multicultural settlement with a Jewish majority, but nearly all of the town's Jews were kille ...

, Hlusk, Porechye and others.

Biography

Ivan first appears as one of Jogaila's boyars during the truce between Lithuanian princes and the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Order in 1379. Then he was present during the signing of a

treaty of Dovydiškės The Treaty of Dovydiškės (; ), Daudiske, or Daudisken was a secret treaty signed on 31 May 1380 between Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Winrich von Kniprode, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. The treaty was directed against ...

in 1380. When Vytautas escaped to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in 1382, Ivan followed him and Jogaila confiscated his

Principality of Alšėnai A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...

. However, as Vytautas and Jogaila reconciled few years later, Ivan gifted Jogaila with a golden belt and received his principality back. Ivan followed Vytautas when he escaped to the knights once again in 1390 during the Lithuanian Civil War. In late 1390, Ivan escorted Sophia, the only child of Vytautas, to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

via Marienburg, Danzig and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

, where she married

Vasily I of Moscow Vasily I Dmitriyevich (; 30 December 137127 February 1425) was Grand Prince of Vladimir and Moscow from 1389. He was the heir of Dmitry Donskoy, who reigned from 1359 to 1389. He entered an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1392 a ...

. After Vytautas gained a powerful ally in the east, Jogaila agreed to make peace and Treaty of Astravas was signed in 1392. Ivan became the right hand of Vytautas, and after

Skirgaila Skirgaila, also known as Ivan/Iwan ( or 1354 – 11 January 1397; baptized 1383/1384 as ''Casimir''), was a regent of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania for his brother Jogaila from 1386 to 1392. He was the son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuan ...

s death, he ruled

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

as governor. Knowing the influence Ivan had in the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

demanded that Ivan Holshansky ratified treaties, for example the

Treaty of Salynas The Treaty of Salynas (, ) was a peace treaty signed on 12 October 1398 by Vytautas the Great, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Konrad von Jungingen, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. It was signed on an islet of the Neman River, probab ...

of 1398. He and his sons signed the

Pact of Vilnius and Radom The Pact of Vilnius and Radom (, ) was a set of three acts passed in Vilnius, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and confirmed by the Crown Council in Radom, Kingdom of Poland in 1401. The union amended the earlier act of the Union of Krewo (1385) and con ...

in 1401. On 12 February 1401 in

Merkinė Merkinė (also known by #Etymology, several other names) is a small town in Alytus County, which is located at the confluence of the Neman and Merkys rivers. The town belongs to the Varėna District Municipality and is located about 26 kilometers ...

he swore allegiance to Jogaila (''King Władysław''), and the Polish Crown in the event of the death of Grand Duke Vytautas. On each of these occasions he appears without the title of the ruler of Kiev, so it is possible that his reign there was short and ended already before 1398. The allegiance to king Władysław was the last documented mention of him, and it is believed that he died in the same year or shortly after.

Religion

He was a Ruthenianized Orthodox Christian. At his baptism he took the name Boris. His father Algimantas () was baptised in the Orthodox faith under the name of Michael, during his rite of

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

he received the name of Euthymius.

Family

Ivan's wife was Agrypina, daughter of Prince of

Smolensk Smolensk 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 cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

Sviatoslav Ivanovich, possible sister of Anna, wife of Grand Duke Vytautas. They had four sons: Andrew, Semen, Aleksander and Michael, and daughter Uliana, married first to Prince of

Karachev Karachev () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Karachevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: History First chronicled in 1146, it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principal ...

later to Grand Duke Vytautas.

Mentions in document

* 1379: ''Iwan Augemunten son'' * 1390: ''herczog Iwan von Galschan Ongemundes son'' * 1398: ''Iwanen Awmunten son'' * 1398: ''dux Ywan de Gloschaw'' * 1401: ''dux Yvanus Olgimuntis cum filiis suis videlicet Andrea et Semeone et ceteris'' * 1401: ''knjazь Iwan Olkimontowicz'' (latinisation of the original ruthenian text)Akta unji Polski z Litwą, 1385-1791
doc. XLI, p. 42,

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * 1400s deaths

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

Year of birth unknown {{Belarus-hist-stub