Vsevolod III, Grand Prince of Vladimir
Encyclopedia
Vsevolod III Yuryevich, or Vsevolod the Big Nest (1154–1212), was the Grand Prince
of Vladimir
during whose long reign (1177–1212) the city reached the zenith of its glory.
to commemorate the site of his birth. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin
was the first to speculate that Vsevolod's mother Helene was a Greek
princess, for after her husband's death she took Vsevolod with her to Constantinople
.
It was at the chivalric court of the Komnenoi that he spent his youth. On his return from the Byzantine Empire
to Rus in 1170, Vsevolod supposedly visited Tbilisi
, as a local chronicle records that that year the Georgian
king entertained his nephew from Constantinople and married him to his relative, an Ossetia
n princess.
an throne and taken prisoner by two Smolensk
princes who captured the town. Ransomed a year later, he took his brother Mikhalko
's side in his struggle against the powerful boyar
s of Rostov
and Suzdal
. Upon Mikhalko's death, Vsevolod succeeded him in Vladimir
. He promptly subjugated the boyars and systematically raided the Volga peoples, notably Volga Bulgaria
. He installed his puppets on the throne of Novgorod and married his daughters to princes of Chernigov and Kiev
.
Vsevolod showed little mercy to those who disobeyed his word. In 1180 and 1187, he punished the princes of Ryazan
by ousting them from their lands. In 1207, he burnt to the ground both Ryazan and Belgorod
. His military fame spread quickly. The Tale of Igor's Campaign
, thought to be written during Vsevolod's reign, addresses him thus: Great prince Vsevolod! Don't you think of flying here from afar to safeguard the paternal golden throne of Kiev? For you can with your oars scatter in drops the Volga, and with your helmets scoop dry the Don.
But Kievan matters concerned Vsevolod little in the latter part of his reign. He concentrated on making his own capital, Vladimir
. His Ossetian
wife, Maria Shvarnovna
, who devoted herself to the works of piety and founded several convents, was glorified by the Russian church
as a saint. By her Vsevolod had no fewer than fourteen children, thus earning for himself the sobriquet
Big Nest. Four of them—Konstantin
, George
, Yaroslav and Sviatoslav
—succeeded him as Grand Dukes of Vladimir. He died on April 12, 1212 and was buried at the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir
.
, whose origins are disputed. She has been variously identified as Ossetian
, Alan
and Moravia
n. They had at least fourteen children:
Maria died in 1205 or 1206. Vsevolod married Liubov Vasilkovna in 1209. She was a daughter of Vasilko Bryacheslavich, Prince of Vitebsk
. They had no known children.
Grand Prince
The title grand prince or great prince ranked in honour below emperor and tsar and above a sovereign prince .Grand duke is the usual and established, though not literal, translation of these terms in English and Romance languages, which do not normally use separate words for a "prince" who reigns...
of Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
during whose long reign (1177–1212) the city reached the zenith of its glory.
Family
Vsevolod was the tenth or eleventh son of Yuri Dolgoruky, who founded the town DmitrovDmitrov
Dmitrov is a town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow on the Yakhroma River and the Moscow Canal. Population: -History:...
to commemorate the site of his birth. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin
Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin was a Russian writer, poet, historian, and critic. He is best remembered for his History of the Russian State, a 12-volume national history.- Early life :...
was the first to speculate that Vsevolod's mother Helene was a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
princess, for after her husband's death she took Vsevolod with her to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
It was at the chivalric court of the Komnenoi that he spent his youth. On his return from the Byzantine 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...
to Rus in 1170, Vsevolod supposedly visited Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, as a local chronicle records that that year the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
king entertained his nephew from Constantinople and married him to his relative, an Ossetia
Ossetia
Ossetia Ossetic: Ир, Ирыстон Ir, Iryston; Russian: Осетия, Osetiya; Georgian: ოსეთი, Oset'i) is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the Indo-European...
n princess.
Reign
In 1173, Vsevolod was briefly installed on the KievKiev
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....
an throne and taken prisoner by two Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
princes who captured the town. Ransomed a year later, he took his brother Mikhalko
Mikhail of Vladimir
Mikhalko Yuryevich , Prince of Torchesk , Vladimir and Suzdal and Grand Prince of Kiev ....
's side in his struggle against the powerful boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
s of Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
and Suzdal
Suzdal
Suzdal is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated northeast of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population: -History:...
. Upon Mikhalko's death, Vsevolod succeeded him in Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
. He promptly subjugated the boyars and systematically raided the Volga peoples, notably Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria
Volga Bulgaria, or Volga–Kama Bolghar, is a historic Bulgar state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now Russia.-Origin:...
. He installed his puppets on the throne of Novgorod and married his daughters to princes of Chernigov and 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....
.
Vsevolod showed little mercy to those who disobeyed his word. In 1180 and 1187, he punished the princes of Ryazan
Ryazan
Ryazan is a city and the administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Oka River southeast of Moscow. Population: The strategic bomber base Dyagilevo is just west of the city, and the air base of Alexandrovo is to the southeast as is the Ryazan Turlatovo Airport...
by ousting them from their lands. In 1207, he burnt to the ground both Ryazan and Belgorod
Belgorod Kievsky
Bilhorod Kyivsky was a city-castle of Kievan Rus' on the right bank of Irpin River. The city was quite prominent in the 10th-12th centuries but ceased to exist after 1240 destruction of Kiev by the Mongols. Currently there is a small village of Bilohorodka, Kiev Oblast near the location of the...
. His military fame spread quickly. The Tale of Igor's Campaign
The Tale of Igor's Campaign
The Tale of Igor's Campaign is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language.The title is occasionally translated as The Song of Igor's Campaign, The Lay of Igor's Campaign, and The Lay of...
, thought to be written during Vsevolod's reign, addresses him thus: Great prince Vsevolod! Don't you think of flying here from afar to safeguard the paternal golden throne of Kiev? For you can with your oars scatter in drops the Volga, and with your helmets scoop dry the Don.
But Kievan matters concerned Vsevolod little in the latter part of his reign. He concentrated on making his own capital, Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
. His Ossetian
Ossetians
The Ossetians are an Iranic ethnic group of the Caucasus Mountains, eponymous of the region known as Ossetia.They speak Ossetic, an Iranian language of the Eastern branch, with most also fluent in Russian as a second language....
wife, Maria Shvarnovna
Maria Shvarnovna
Maria Shvarnovna was the first wife of Vsevolod III "Big Nest", and gave birth to twelve children Four of her sons, Konstantin, George, Yaroslav and Sviatoslav, succeeded their father as Grand Princes of Vladimir, and Yaroslav went on to become Grand Prince of Kiev around the time of the Mongol...
, who devoted herself to the works of piety and founded several convents, was glorified by the Russian church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
as a saint. By her Vsevolod had no fewer than fourteen children, thus earning for himself the sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
Big Nest. Four of them—Konstantin
Konstantin of Rostov
Konstantin Vsevolodovich was the eldest son of Vsevolod the Big Nest and Maria Shvarnovna.In 1206 and 1207, he was the prince of Novgorod. In 1207, his father sent him to rule the towns of Rostov and Yaroslavl...
, George
Yuri II
Yuri II , also known as George II of Vladimir or Georgy II Vsevolodovich , was the fourth Grand Prince of Vladimir who presided over Vladimir-Suzdal at the time of the Mongol invasion of Russia.He was the third and best-loved son of Vsevolod III and Maria Shvarnovna.He first...
, Yaroslav and Sviatoslav
Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir
Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal ....
—succeeded him as Grand Dukes of Vladimir. He died on April 12, 1212 and was buried at the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir
Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir
Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir used to be a mother church of medieval Russia in the 13th and 14th centuries...
.
Marriage and children
Vsevolod married first MariaMaria Shvarnovna
Maria Shvarnovna was the first wife of Vsevolod III "Big Nest", and gave birth to twelve children Four of her sons, Konstantin, George, Yaroslav and Sviatoslav, succeeded their father as Grand Princes of Vladimir, and Yaroslav went on to become Grand Prince of Kiev around the time of the Mongol...
, whose origins are disputed. She has been variously identified as Ossetian
Ossetian
Ossetian may refer to:* The Ossetian language* A member of the Ossetian people* A person from the region of Ossetia...
, Alan
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 —...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
n. They had at least fourteen children:
- Sbislava Vsevolodovna (born 26 October 1178).
- Vseslava Vsevolodovna. Married Rostislav YaroslavichRostislav YaroslavichRostislav Yaroslavich was a Rus' prince . His baptismal name was Ivan...
, Prince of SnovSnov RiverSnov River is a river in Bryansk Oblast in Russia and Chernihiv Oblast in Ukraine, right tributary of the Desna River . The length of the river is 253 km. The area of its drainage basin is 8,700 km². The Snov freezes up in November - late January and stays icebound until March - early April....
. He was a son of Yaroslav II VsevolodovichYaroslav II VsevolodovichYaroslav II Vsevolodovich was a Rus’ prince . He was prince of Ropesk , of Starodub , and of Chernigov...
, Prince of Chernigov. His paternal grandfather was Vsevolod II of KievVsevolod II of KievVsevolod II Olgovich was the Prince of Chernigov and Grand Prince of Kiev , son of Oleg Svyatoslavich, Prince of Chernigov....
. - Verchoslava Vsevolodovna. Married Rostislav II of KievRostislav II of KievRostyslav Rurykovych , Prince of Torchesk , Grand Prince of Kiev , Prince of Vyshhorod , Prince of Halych . Son of Rurik Rostislavich.-References:...
. - Konstantin of RostovKonstantin of RostovKonstantin Vsevolodovich was the eldest son of Vsevolod the Big Nest and Maria Shvarnovna.In 1206 and 1207, he was the prince of Novgorod. In 1207, his father sent him to rule the towns of Rostov and Yaroslavl...
(18 May 1186 – 2 February 1218). - Boris Vsevolodovich. (c. 1187–1238).
- Gleb Vsevolodovich (d. 29 September 1189).
- Yuri II of Vladimir (1189 – 4 March 1238).
- Yaroslav II of VladimirYaroslav II of VladimirYaroslav II , Christian name Theodor was the Grand Prince of Vladimir who helped to restore his country and capital after the Mongol invasion of Russia.-Prince of Pereyaslav:...
(8 February 1191 – 30 September 1246). - Helena Vsevolodovna (d. 1204).
- Vladimir Vsevolodovich, Prince of Yuryev-PolskyYuryev-PolskyYuryev-Polsky is an old town and the administrative center of Yuryev-Polsky District of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located in the upper reaches of the Koloksha River, northwest of Vladimir. Population: 23,000 ....
(25 October 1194 – 6 January 1229). - Sviatoslav III of Vladimir (27 March 1196 – 3 February 1252).
- Ivan Vsevolodovich, Prince of StarodubStarodub-on-the-KlyazmaStarodub-on-the-Klyazma was a prominent urban centre of Russian Opolye from the 12th until the 14th century. Like so many towns in the vicinity, it was named by migrating population for a southern city they came from, in this case, for Starodub in Severia. The town was located on the bank of the...
(28 November 1197 – after 1247). - Pelagea Vsevolodovna.
- Anna Vsevolodovna. Married Vladimir, Prince of BelgorodBelgorod KievskyBilhorod Kyivsky was a city-castle of Kievan Rus' on the right bank of Irpin River. The city was quite prominent in the 10th-12th centuries but ceased to exist after 1240 destruction of Kiev by the Mongols. Currently there is a small village of Bilohorodka, Kiev Oblast near the location of the...
(d. 1239).
Maria died in 1205 or 1206. Vsevolod married Liubov Vasilkovna in 1209. She was a daughter of Vasilko Bryacheslavich, Prince of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
. They had no known children.