Monomakh's Cap (), also called the Golden Cap (), is a chief relic of the Muscovite Grand Princes and

Russian Tsars Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

. It is a symbol-crown of the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

autocracy Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with demo ...

, and is the oldest of the crowns currently exhibited at the Imperial treasury section of the

Kremlin Armoury The Kremlin ArmouryOfficially called the "Armoury Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armoury Palace", the "Moscow Armoury", the "Armoury Museum", and the "Moscow Armoury Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. () is one of ...

. Monomakh's Cap is an early 14th-century

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

filigree Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork. In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, m ...

skullcap composed of eight sectors, elaborately ornamented with a scrolled gold overlay, inlaid with

precious stone Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * ''Precious'' (Conrad Sewell album), 2023 * ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * ''Precious'' (Ours album), 20 ...

s (

ruby Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...

and

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

) and pearls, and trimmed with

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

. The cap is surmounted by a simple gold cross with pearls at each of the extremities.

Origin

The main hypothesis sees the Cap as originating in ancient Moscow. One alternative account classifies it as of Central Asian origin (from the

ethnological Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropology, so ...

or cultural point of view); this has led some modern scholars to view the crown as a gift from

Uzbeg Khan The Uzbeks () are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak minorities, and also form minority ...

of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( 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 division of ...

() to his brother-in-law, Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan Kalita () during Mongol- Tatar yoke era after the

Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Principality of Ryazan, Ryazan, Principality of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl, Principality of Pereyaslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimi ...

of 1223-1241.

Boris Uspensky Boris Aleksandrovich Uspensky (; 12 July 1927 – 28 September 2005), was a Soviet and Russian poster and graphics painter. Biography Boris Uspensky was born in Moscow. He studied in the Moscow Surikov State Academic Institute of Fine Arts, ...

(1996) in particular argues that the Tatar headgear was originally used in coronation ceremonies to signify the Muscovite ruler's subordination to the khan. Uspensky, Boris. ''Assorted Works'', vol. 1. Moscow, 1996. pp. 89–90, 107–11. According to Sergey Solovyov (1879) "after the death of Ivan Kalita all Russian princes traveled to the Horde... and the Khan announced the eldest son of Kalita, Simeon, the Grand Prince of Vladimir". After Muscovy overcame the period of feudal fragmentation, and Ivan III of Moscow and Vladimir () asserted his position as successor to the Roman emperors, there arose a legend that the cap had been presented by the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Constantine IX Monomachus () to his grandson Vladimir Monomakh, the traditional founder in 1108 of the city of Vladimir and patrilineal ancestor of Ivan III. In the early part of the 16th century '' The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir'' elaborated the legend, which reinforced the 15th-century claims for the "Moscow as the Third Rome" political theory. The crown became known as "Monomakh's Cap", the term first recorded in a Muscovite document from 1518. However the fact that Constantine IX Monomachus died 50 years before the coronation of Vladimir Monomakh makes the attribution a mere legend. The first version of the orient origin of the Cap (Uzbeg Khan) was suggested by George Vernadsky. Vernadsky was pointing to an interesting fact that according to

Paul Pelliot Paul Eugène Pelliot (28 May 187826 October 1945) was a French sinologist and Orientalist best known for his explorations of Central Asia and the Silk Road regions, and for his acquisition of many important Tibetan Empire-era manuscripts and ...

Özbäg can be interpreted as a freeman (''maître de sa personne''). Professor M. G. Kramarovsky, who worked at the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

and was specifically interested in the origin of the cap, remarks that according to the technology of the headgear, the cap originated in the 14th or 15th century - either in the Volga cities or in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, where the school of Golden Horde

had developed. According to (1858-1931), possibly the cap was initially topped with the similar cross of the

Jani Beg Jani Beg ( Persian: جانی بیگ, Turki/ Kypchak: جانی بک; died 1357), also known as Janibek Khan, was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 until his death in 1357. He succeeded his father Öz Beg Khan. Reign With the support of his mo ...

crown, however account of the German ambassador of the

Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the Italienzug, journey to Rome was blocked by the Republic of Venic ...

Sigismund von Herberstein Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein; 23 August 1486 – 28 March 1566) was a Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his exten ...

(known for his

Notes on Muscovite Affairs ''Notes on Muscovite Affairs'' (''Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii'') (1549) was a Latin book by Baron Sigismund von Herberstein on the geography, history and customs of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The book was the main early source of knowledge a ...

, published in 1549) does not support that view. After

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

had himself crowned the first Russian Tsar with this headgear in 1547, the Polish king asked Ivan to explain the meaning of his new title. To that Ivan replied that whoever is crowned with Monomakh's Cap is traditionally called a tsar, because it was a gift from a tsar (i.e., Constantine IX) who had sent the Metropolitan of

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

to Kiev to crown Vladimir Monomakh with this cap. Ivan was presumably not aware that at the time of Constantine IX Monomachus' death, Vladimir Monomakh was only two years old and he was not the Kievan sovereign yet. The Monomakh Cap was last used in the dual coronation of Ivan V and

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

in 1682, though it was carried in the coronation procession thereafter. After Peter I (Peter the Great) assumed the title of

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

in 1721, was fashioned and used in the coronation of the empress-consort Catherine in 1724.

References

External links

Macro Photography
The Crown of Monomakh

pictures and description
The Crown of Monomakh at kreml.ru

based on the article "Crowns of Ruthenian Tsars – landmarks of Tatar Culture". magazine "Idel" #3/4, 1996. {{crowns 14th-century artifacts Tsardom of Russia Individual crowns Russian clothing Russian monarchy Tourist attractions in Moscow National symbols of Russia Medieval crowns Regalia of Russia Grand Principality of Moscow Autocracy

Origin

See also

References

External links