1255.[48]
Between I238 and I300, according to V. A. Kuchkin, eight new principalities were carved out of the north-eastern Russian territories to make a total of fourteen.[49] Some of these principalities became inherited domains, possessed by the descendants of the princes who had received them in these distributions. Thus, Tver' became the realm of the dynastic branch descending from Iaroslav Iaroslavich; Moscow similarly became the possession of the heirs of Daniil Aleksandrovich. Other principalities did not become separate, hereditary principalities. Kostroma, for example, was considered a distinct principality by the I250s and ruled by Prince Vasilii Iaroslavich, who also became grand prince of Vladimir in 1272. When he died in 1277, however, Kostroma ceased to be a separate apanage.[50]
The indefinite status of some principalities gave the princes of Moscow an opportunity to obtain permanent possession of them. The process began in the late thirteenth century, before the princes of Moscow made a bid for the throne of Vladimir. The status of the principality of Pereiaslavl'-Zalesskii, as noted above, was a matter of contention. It had been ruled by Prince Dmitrii Aleksandrovich, who had also been Prince of Vladimir. Despite the challenges from his brother Andrei for the Vladimir throne, Dmitrii had retained his authority in Pereiaslavl'-Zalesskii. When he died in 1294, his son Ivan succeeded him there. But Andrei did not recognise it as the patrimonial principality of Dmitrii and his sons and claimed it as a possession of the grand principality. The dispute persisted for a decade. Although Andrei repeatedly appealed to
Khan Tokhta for assistance, Princes Mikhail of Tver' and Daniil of Moscow successfully secured the town for Ivan Dmitr'evich at princely conferences assembled in 1296 and 1300 and militarily defended his position. When Ivan Dmitr'evich died in 1302, Daniil's forces prevented Grand Prince Andrei from taking control of the town. After Daniil also died in 1303, the town accepted his son Iurii as its prince. Pereiaslavl'-Zalesskii remained a possession of the house of Moscow until Iurii's brother, Ivan I Kalita, died in 1341. It was then once again regarded as a component of the grand principality, which by then was ruled by the princes of Moscow.60
Daniil and his son Iurii also added Serpukhov, Kolomna and Mozhaisk to their domain. They thereby not only tripled its size, but also gained control over the entire length of the Moskva (Moscow) River and the section of the Oka River extending from Kolomna to Serpukhov.61 Although Iurii was unable to establish his authority in Kostroma in 1304, the principality became subject to the Moscow princes after they gained the throne of Vladimir, to which Kostroma was attached.62 By acquiring these principalities, the Moscow princes increased the size of their own domain and gained control over the strategic and economic assets they contained. By taking possession of territories associated with the Vladimir throne, they also symbolically strengthened their claim to that position.
Prince Ivan I Kalita was credited by his grandson Dmitrii Donskoi with purchasing more principalities, specifically Beloozero and Uglich, which were subdivisions of the Rostov principality, and Galich.63 There is some evidence suggesting that Ivan sent his officials to oversee Rostov as well.64 Although some scholars doubt that Ivan actually purchased these territories, he did arrange marriages of his daughters to princes of Beloozero, Iaroslavl' and Rostov and thereby established personal seniority, at least, over three major lines within the Rostov branch of the dynasty.65 Kalita's heirs added territories north-east of Moscow (Iur'ev Pol'skii) and west of the city (the districts of Vereia and Borovsk) to their domain as well.
60 Cherepnin, Obrazovanie, pp. 459-60; Vernadsky, Mongols, pp. 193-4; Fennell, Crisis, pp. 151-2.
61 Fennell, Emergence, pp. 50-1; Crummey, The Formation of Muscovy, p. 35; Cherepnin, Obrazovanie, pp. 459-60; Vernadsky, Mongols, p. 193.
62 Fennell, Crisis, pp. 127-8; Fennell, Emergence, pp. 62,112.
63 WladimirVodoff, 'Aproposdes "achats" (kupli) d'Ivan Ier de Moscou', Journal des Savants (1974): 95-6; A. I. Kopanev, 'O "kupliakh" Ivana Kality', IZ 20 (1946): 24-37; Fennell, Emergence, pp. 177, 182-4, 191-3; Crummey The Formation of Muscovy, p. 49; Borisov 'Moskovskie kniaz'ia', 35; Cherepnin, Obrazovanie, pp. 510-11.
64 Ibid., p. 509.
65 Vodoff,A propos des "achats"', 109, 123; Kopanev, 'O kupliakh', 27; Fennell, Emergence, pp. 177, 180-4,193, 245; Cherepnin, Obrazovanie, p. 509.
In addition to their concerns with north-eastern Russia the grand princes of Vladimir consistently sought to maintain their position as prince of Novgorod. One of the first acts undertaken by Prince Iaroslav Vsevolodich upon assuming the position of grand prince of Vladimir in the midst of the crisis caused by the Mongol invasion was to send his son, Aleksandr Nevskii, to Novgorod. Nevskii undertook a vigorous defence of Novgorod and its neighbour Pskov against Lithuania, which had absorbed Polotsk and was encroaching upon Smolensk. Nevskii defeated Lithuania in 1245 and again in 1248.[51]
But Novgorod was not the hereditary domain of the Vsevolodichi or any other branch of the Riurikid dynasty. Although it had been accepting the princes of Vladimir from the early thirteenth century, it had a long history of selecting and ejecting princes. Thus, when it became dissatisfied with Grand Prince Iaroslav Iaroslavich and tried to evict him as its prince in 1270, it invited another prince, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich, to take his place. Dmitrii declined at that time.[52] But after Iaroslav died (1271 / 2), he did take the Novgorodian throne in defiance of his uncle Vasilii Iaroslavich, who had become grand prince of Vladimir and was obliged to wage war to secure the Novgorodian throne for
himself.[53]
By the fourteenth century, however, Novgorod's continuing efforts to control the appointment of its princes and to limit their authority enabled the princes of Moscow to extend their influence over it. In 1304, Novgorod opposed Mikhail Iaroslavich of Tver' when he became grand prince and sent his governors to represent his authority there. Although Mikhail successfully imposed his rule on Novgorod by 1307, the relationship was an uneasy one. In 1312, the year before he presented himself to the new khan Uzbek, Mikhail was once again engaged in hostilities with Novgorod, which he commercially blockaded in order to force its submission.
Novgorod's discontent with Mikhail provided Prince Iurii Daniilovich of Moscow with an opportunity, which he skilfully exploited. As a result Novgorod became involved in the rivalry between the Tver' and Moscow princes that lasted through the first three decades of the fourteenth century. While Mikhail was attending Uzbek, Novgorod invited Iurii to become its prince. Mikhail returned and, supported by a Tatar military force, was engaged in a lengthy process of forcing Novgorod to submit to him when Uzbek appointed Iurii grand prince. Even when Mikhail defeated Iurii's army in 1317, Iurii retreated to Novgorod. During the four years he served as grand prince, Iurii continued to devote himself to Novgorod and spent a major portion of his time there rather than in north-eastern Russia. His preoccupation with Novgorod gave his new rival, Dmitrii Mikhailovich, grounds to appeal to Uzbek to reverse himself once again and return the grand princely throne to the prince of Tver'. Dmitrii's plea was guaranteed a favourable response when his brother Aleksandr robbed Iurii of the treasure he had collected in Novgorod and was delivering to the khan (1322). Following that episode, Iurii again returned to Novgorod. He spent the years i323 and i324 serving its interests. He built a fortress at Orekhov on Lake Ladoga, concluded a treaty between Novgorod and the Swedes and led an expedition against Ustiug, which had blocked Novgorodians' transit to and from their north-eastern possessions. When he finally returned to the horde with a new treasure in 1325, he was killed by Prince Dmitrii.[54]
49
Kuchkin,
50
Kuchkin,
51