Ivan I of Moscow
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Ivan I Danilovich Kalita (Ива́н I Дани́лович Калита́ in Russian) (1288 – March 31, 1340, Moscow), Prince of Moscow (from 1325), Grand Prince of Vladimir (from 1328), son of Daniil Aleksandrovich (Prince of Moscow).
After the death of his elder brother Yuri III , Ivan inherited Moscow principality. Ivan participated for the struggle to get the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir which could be obtained with the approval of a khan in the Golden Horde. The main rivals of princes of Moscow in this struggle were princes of Tver - Mikhail , Dmitry the Terrible Eyes , Alexander II who obtained the title of Grand prince of Vladimir and were deprived of it. All of them were murdered in the Golden Horde. In 1328 Ivan Kalita received the approval of khan Muhammad Ozbeg to become Grand price of Vladimir with the right to collect taxes from all Russian lands.
According to Russian historian Kluchevsky the rise of Moscow under Ivan I Kalita was determined by 3 factors. The first one was that Moscow principality turned out to be in the middle of other Russian principalities thus it was protected from any invasions from the East and the West. Comparing with its neighbors, Ryazan principality or Smolensk principality, Moscow was devastated less often than others. The relative safety of Moscow region resulted in the second factor of the rise of Moscow –influx of working and paying taxes people who were tired of constant raids and were actively relocating to Moscow from other Russian regions. The third factor was a trade rout from Novgorod to the Volga river.
Ivan Kalita intentionally pursued the policy of relocation of people to his principality by an invitation of people from other places, by purchase of Russian people captured by Mongols during their raids. He managed to eliminate all the thieves in his lands insuring the safety of traveling merchants. Internal peace and order together with the absence of Mongolian raids to Moscow principality was mentioned in Russian chronicles as “great peace, silence and relief of Russian land”
Ivan made Moscow very wealthy by maintaining his loyalty to the Horde (hence, the nickname Kalita, or moneybag). He used this wealth to give loans to neighbouring Russian principalities. These cities gradually fell deeper and deeper into debt, a condition that would allow Ivan's successors to annex them. The people called Ivan the ‘gatherer of the Russian lands’. He bought lands around Moscow, and very often the poor owners sold their lands willingly, some of them kept the right to rule in their lands on behalf of Ivan Kalita. In one way ot another a numver of cities and villages joined Moscow principality- Uglich in 1323, principality of Belozero in 1328-1338, principality of Galich in 1340. Ivan's greatest success, however, was convincing the Khan in Saray that his son Simeon The Proud should succeed him as Grand Prince of Vladimir, from then on the important position almost always belonged to the ruling house of Moscow. The Head of the Russian Church - Metropolitan Peter, whose authority was extremely high, moved from Vladimir to Moscow to Prince Ivan Kalita.
Under Ivan Kalita, Moscow was actively growing, and his residence on the Borovitsky hill became the main part of the city. Erection of either wooden or white-stone constructions was started in the Kremlin. A number of churches were built in 1326-1327 the Assumption Cathedral, in 1329 the Church of Ivan the Ladder, in 1330, Cathedral of the Saviour on the Bor (Forest), and in 1333 – the Cathedral of Archangel Michael, where Ivan Kalita and his descendants were buried. 1339-1340, Ivan Kalita erected a new, bigger oaken fortress on the Borovitsky hill.
In Ivan’s will for the first time “the golden cap” was mentioned, identified with the well-known Monomakh’s crown, the main crown of Russian sovereigns.
[edit] Sources
- V.O.Kluchevsky. The course of Russian history. Lecture #21
- Janet Martin, Medieval Russia 980-1584
[edit] Links
| Preceded by Yuri | Grand Prince of Moscow 1325–1340 | Succeeded by Simeon |
| Preceded by Alexander of Tver | Grand Prince of Vladmir 1328–1340 | Succeeded by Simeon of Moscow |
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