Mstislav of Chernigov
Encyclopedia
Mstislav of Chernigov was the earliest attested ruler of Chernigov (Chernihiv
). He was Vladimir the Great
's son, probably by Rogneda of Polotsk
, although his exact position in the family
has been disputed. It is not clear, for instance, whether Yaroslav the Wise was his younger or elder brother. Some historians such as Simon Franklin and Jonathan Shepard hypothesize that he is identical with Sfengus
.
He was about 10 years old (born c. 978), when his father baptised himself and his family. On this event, Mstislav received the Christian name of Constantine, alluding to the first Byzantine emperor, and was dispatched to rule Tmutarakan
on the Black Sea
. His relations with the Empire
were cordial for the most part. In 1016, he subdued the last Crimea
n strongholds of the Khazar
, led by Georgius Tzul
. This campaign, conducted in conjunction with Byzantine forces, helped the Greeks to reassert their control of the Crimea
. Mstislav demonstrated his military prowess again in 1022, when he subjugated one of the Circassian tribe Kassogs and killed their leader Rededya in a single combat (duel). He took Rededyas wife and two sons, gaiving the last Slavic names of Yuriy and Roman.
Two years later, while Yaroslav the Wise was away from Kiev
, Mstislav led the Khazars and his other subjects against the capital of Kievan Rus'
. When the Kiev
ans refused to lend their support to his cause, he routed their army near Listven. Thereupon Kievan Rus' was partitioned between Mstislav and his brother, with Yaroslav remaining to rule the western territories, and Mstislav choosing Chernigov as his capital. In 1031 both brothers were involved in the Galician campaign. Later the same year, Mstislav's fleet, joined by the Alans
, routed the Shervanshah's army near Baku
and sailed up the Kura River
, thence proceeding to Armenia
.
Upon Mstislav's sudden death in a hunting accident (1036), his vast realm passed to Yaroslav. In the words of the Primary Chronicle
, "his body was deposited in the Holy Saviour's church, which he had laid to, as its walls were already high enough for a mounted horseman to reach the top with his outstretched hand". This cathedral remains the only extant monument of Mstislav's reign.
The name of Mstislav's spouse is known to have been Maria or Anastasia, and they had a son, named Eustaphius, who predeceased his father. Some scholars have identified this prince with "a Russian king's son", who married Canute the Great
's sister Aestrid (according to Adam of Bremen
's scholia). Upon returning home from Russia, Aestrid was briefly married to Robert the Devil.
In the later 17th century, when the Velvet Book
was being compiled by the Russian aristocracy, the Lopukhins
, Ushakovs
, and several other noble families, seeking for illustrious pedigrees, asserted their descent from Mstislav's postulated son Roman, who was allegedly married to Rededya's daughter. This fable has been repeated in numerous genealogical compilations of later date. Other version states that Mstislav had a daughter Tatyana who married Rededya's son Roman.
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
). He was Vladimir the Great
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
's son, probably by Rogneda of Polotsk
Rogneda of Polotsk
Rogneda of Polotsk is the Slavic name for Ragnhild, whose father Ragnvald came from overseas and established himself at Polatsk in the mid-10th century....
, although his exact position in the family
Family life and children of Vladimir I
Until his baptism, Vladimir I of Kiev was described by Thietmar of Merseburg as a great profligate . He had a few hundred concubines in Kiev and in the country residence of Berestovo. He also had official pagan wives, the most famous being Rogneda of Polotsk...
has been disputed. It is not clear, for instance, whether Yaroslav the Wise was his younger or elder brother. Some historians such as Simon Franklin and Jonathan Shepard hypothesize that he is identical with Sfengus
Sfengus
According to John Skylitzes, Sfengus or Sphengos was a brother of Knyaz Vladimir I of Kiev. Sfengus was a leader in the joint Byzantine-Kievan campaign to depose Georgius Tzul, the last recorded khagan of the Khazars....
.
He was about 10 years old (born c. 978), when his father baptised himself and his family. On this event, Mstislav received the Christian name of Constantine, alluding to the first Byzantine emperor, and was dispatched to rule Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan was a Mediaeval Russian principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Its site was the ancient Greek colony of Hermonassa . It was situated on the Taman peninsula, in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia,...
on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. His relations with the Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
were cordial for the most part. In 1016, he subdued the last Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
n strongholds of the Khazar
Khazars
The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...
, led by Georgius Tzul
Georgius Tzul
Georgius Tzul was a Khazar warlord against whom the Byzantine Empire and Mstislav of Tmutarakan launched a joint expedition in 1016....
. This campaign, conducted in conjunction with Byzantine forces, helped the Greeks to reassert their control of the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. Mstislav demonstrated his military prowess again in 1022, when he subjugated one of the Circassian tribe Kassogs and killed their leader Rededya in a single combat (duel). He took Rededyas wife and two sons, gaiving the last Slavic names of Yuriy and Roman.
Two years later, while Yaroslav the Wise was away from Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Mstislav led the Khazars and his other subjects against the capital of Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
. When the Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
ans refused to lend their support to his cause, he routed their army near Listven. Thereupon Kievan Rus' was partitioned between Mstislav and his brother, with Yaroslav remaining to rule the western territories, and Mstislav choosing Chernigov as his capital. In 1031 both brothers were involved in the Galician campaign. Later the same year, Mstislav's fleet, joined by the Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
, routed the Shervanshah's army near Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
and sailed up the Kura River
Kura River
Kura is a river, also known from the Greek as the Cyrus in the Caucasus Mountains. Starting in north-eastern Turkey, it flows through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras River as a right tributary, and enters the Caspian Sea...
, thence proceeding to Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
.
Upon Mstislav's sudden death in a hunting accident (1036), his vast realm passed to Yaroslav. In the words of the Primary Chronicle
Primary Chronicle
The Primary Chronicle , Ruthenian Primary Chronicle or Russian Primary Chronicle, is a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113.- Three editions :...
, "his body was deposited in the Holy Saviour's church, which he had laid to, as its walls were already high enough for a mounted horseman to reach the top with his outstretched hand". This cathedral remains the only extant monument of Mstislav's reign.
The name of Mstislav's spouse is known to have been Maria or Anastasia, and they had a son, named Eustaphius, who predeceased his father. Some scholars have identified this prince with "a Russian king's son", who married Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
's sister Aestrid (according to Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
's scholia). Upon returning home from Russia, Aestrid was briefly married to Robert the Devil.
In the later 17th century, when the Velvet Book
Velvet Book
The Velvet Book is an official compilation of genealogies of Russia's most illustrious families. The book is bound in red velvet, hence the name...
was being compiled by the Russian aristocracy, the Lopukhins
Eudoxia Lopukhina
Tsarina Evdokiya Feodorovna Lopukhina was the first wife of Peter I of Russia. They married in 1689 but divorced in 1698...
, Ushakovs
Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov
Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov was the most illustrious Russian naval commander and admiral of the 18th century.- Life and naval career :...
, and several other noble families, seeking for illustrious pedigrees, asserted their descent from Mstislav's postulated son Roman, who was allegedly married to Rededya's daughter. This fable has been repeated in numerous genealogical compilations of later date. Other version states that Mstislav had a daughter Tatyana who married Rededya's son Roman.