After Sviatoslav died in 1076, his eldest surviving son Oleg replaced him as senior prince of the Sviatoslavichi and prince of Chernigov.[85] By 1096, however, Sviatopolk and Monomakh had deprived him of the Chernigov lands. At a congress held at Liubech in 1097, the princes of Rus' penalised the dynasty of Chernigov because Oleg refused to campaign with them against the Polovtsy. They apparently demoted him from being sole prince of Chernigov to ruling it jointly with his brother David, and appointed the latter his political superior. The princes evidently also placed David's family ahead of Oleg's in political seniority so that David's sons would rule Chernigov ahead of Oleg's. Even more importantly, Sviatopolk and Monomakh demoted the entire dynasty of Chernigov by placing Monomakh ahead of the Sviatoslavichi on the ladder of succession. Accordingly, after Sviatopolk died, Monomakh and not Oleg would occupy Kiev. In promoting himself, Monomakh violated Iaroslav's so- called 'Testament'. Moreover, by changing the order of political seniority in the inner circle, Monomakh, as it turned out, debarred the Sviatoslavichi.
Table 5.1. The House of Iaroslav the Wise
Iaroslav the Wise d. 1054
| Sviatoslav d. 1076 |
| Vladimir d. 1052 |
| Vsevolod d. 1093 |
| Iziaslav d. 1078 |
David Iaroslav Vladimir
d. 1123 d. 1129 Monomakh
| Sviatopolk d. 1113 The House of Turov |
| Г |
| Oleg d. 1115 |
| The House of Chernigov |
| Rostislav d. 1067 |
The House of d 1125 Murom andRiazan'
| Viacheslav d. 1154 |
| Iaropolk d. 1139 |
Mstislav d. 1132 Mstislavichi
~l I
Iurii Andrei
| Volodar d. 1124 The House of Galicia |
| Vsevolod d. 1146 Senior Branch |
| Sviatoslav d. 1164 Junior Branch |
d. 1157 d. 1142 The House of Suzdalia
| Vladimir d. 1171 |
| I |
| Rostislav d. 1167 The House of Smolensk |
| I |
| Iziaslav d. 1154 The House of Volyn' |
| Sviatopolk d. 1154 |
Oleg and David would predecease him and their sons would become izgoi.
Monomakh's scheme did not stop at demoting the Sviatoslavichi. After Sviatopolk died he formed a pact with Oleg and David to debar Svi- atopolk's heirs from ruling Kiev. Thus, two families of the inner circle, the Sviatoslavichi of Chernigov and the Iziaslavichi of Turov, became izgoi. Consequently, the three-family system of succession to Kiev created by Iaroslav the Wise failed. Monomakh's descendants remained the only rightful claimants. But he had still other designs for his dynasty. He made a deal with the Kievans to accept the family of his eldest son, Mstislav, as their resident princes.[86] He set the scheme in motion by summoning Mstislav
from Novgorod, giving him Belgorod south-west of Kiev, and naming him co-ruler.[87]
Vladimir Monomakh's successors
Although Mstislav pre-empted the rights of the Iziaslavichi and the Svi- atoslavichi by replacing his father in Kiev on 19 May 1125, no prince disputed his action. The Iziaslavichi presented no challenger because they had become politically impotent. The Sviatoslavichi, however, had an eligible candidate in Iaroslav who had succeeded his brothers Oleg and David to Chernigov. According to the Liubech agreement, it seems, he was the rightful claimant. But Iaroslav lacked the leadership qualities for confronting Mstislav. Consequently, he and his sons also became izgoi.
Oleg's eldest son, Vsevolod, frustrated with Iaroslav's ineptitude, evicted his uncle from Chernigov in II27 and declared himself the political head of the dynasty. Mstislav of Kiev, his father-in-law, confirmed his seizure of power. Mstislav and Vsevolod compensated Iaroslav for his loss of Chernigov by giving him Murom and Riazan' as his patrimony. Significantly, in confirming Vsevolod's usurpation, Mstislav violated the lateral order of succession once again.[88] But in doing so, he helped Vsevolod to reclaim for the Ol'govichi their rightful seniority ahead of the Davidovichi. He abrogated the change in political seniority that the princes had dictated at Liubech.
In 1130, in keeping with Monomakh's policy of asserting his family's supremacy, Mstislav subjugated Polotsk by exiling its princes to Byzantium.[89]He was the last ruler ofKiev to impose his control over that dynasty. After his death, the princes of Polotsk would engage in internecine rivalries for some forty years. The chronicles give little information for the Polotsk land for the turn of the thirteenth century, but archaeological evidence suggests that it was a period of intense activity. The princes fought off the encroaching Knights of the Sword (Livonian Order) and the Lithuanians. It was also a period of prosperity. In 1229 the prince of Smolensk negotiated a trade agreement with Riga which also benefited Polotsk. Soon after, however, the town came under the sway of the Lithuanians.[90]
Mstislav's reign was extremely successful and none of his descendants would wield as much power. Indeed, some historians call him Mstislav 'the Great'.[91]Before his death he controlled Kiev, Pereiaslavl', Smolensk, Rostov, Suzdal', Novgorod, Polotsk, Turov and Vladimir-in-Volynia. Whereas his father had driven the troublesome Polovtsy to the River Don, in 1129 Mstislav drove them beyond the Volga.[92] He died on 15 April 1132.[93]
In keeping with the wishes of his father Monomakh and with the agreement that he and his brother Mstislav had made, Iaropolk, the next in seniority, succeeded Mstislav. But conflicts arose immediately between his brothers, Monomakh's sons (the Monomashichi) and his nephews, Mstislav's sons (the Mstislavichi). Monomakh had intended the Mstislavichi to occupy the patrimonial town of Pereiaslavl' which they could use as a stepping-stone to Kiev after Iaropolk, who had no sons, died. Accordingly, Monomakh had debarred his younger sons: Viacheslav, Iurii, and Andrei. They, however, argued that they had a prior claim to their nephews according to the system of genealogical seniority advocated by Iaroslav the Wise. They won Iaropolk's support and forced the Mstislavichi to seek help from their brother-in-law Vsevolod in Chernigov. The two sides waged war for the remainder of the decade. At the time of Iaropolk's death on 18 February 1139, it appeared that the Monomashichi had won the day. Viacheslav of Turov succeeded him.[94]
87
For a detailed examination of the Liubech agreement and for Monomakh's pact with the Kievans, see Martin Dimnik,
88
89
90
On Polotsk, see L. V Alekseev,
91
John Fennell,
1983), pp. 10,119.