The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities including the largest such as Kiev and Chernigov. The Mongol siege and sack of Kiev in 1240 is generally held to mark the end of Kievan Rus' as a distinct, singular polity. Many other Rus' principalities and urban centres in the northwest and southwest escaped destruction or suffered little to no damage from the Mongol invasion, including Galicia-Volhynia, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, and probably Rostov and Uglich.
Vladimir-Suzdal, formally known as the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal or Grand Principality of Vladimir (1157–1331), also as Suzdalia or Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', was one of the major principalities emerging from Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century, centered in Vladimir-on-Klyazma. With time the principality grew into a grand principality divided into several smaller principalities. After being conquered by the Mongol Empire, the principality became a self-governed state headed by its own nobility. A governorship of the principality, however, was prescribed by a jarlig issued from the Golden Horde to a Rurikid sovereign.
Vladimir II Monomakh was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1113 to 1125. He is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is celebrated on May 6.
Yuri I Vladimirovich, commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm, was a Monomakhovichi prince of Rostov and Suzdal, acquiring the name Suzdalia during his reign. Noted for successfully curbing the privileges of the landowning boyar class in Rostov-Suzdal and his ambitious building programme, Yuri transformed this principality into the independent power that would evolve into early modern Muscovy. Yuri Dolgorukiy was the founder of the Yurievichi dynasty, a branch of the Monomakhovichi.
Mstislav I Vladimirovich Monomakh, also known as Mstislav the Great, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1125 until his death in 1132. After his death, the state began to quickly disintegrate into rival principalities.
Vsevolod IV Svyatoslavich the Red or Vsevolod Chermnyi was Grand Prince of Kiev. He was also Prince of Chernigov (1204–1206/1208) and Belgorod Kievsky (1205). His baptismal name was Daniil.
Gytha of Wessex was one of several daughters of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, and his consort, Edith the Fair. Through marriage to Vladimir II Monomakh, Gytha became a princess of Kievan Rus'.
Oleg Svyatoslavich ; c. 1052 – 1 August 1115) was a Rus Sviatoslavichi prince whose equivocal adventures ignited political unrest in Kievan Rus' at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. He reigned as Prince of Chernigov from 1097 to 1115, and was the progenitor of the Olgovichi family.
The inner Principality of Kiev was a medieval East Slavic state, situated in central regions of modern Ukraine around the city of Kiev.
The Council of Liubech was one of the best documented princely meetings in Kievan Rus' that took place in Liubech on October 19, 1097. The council ended the Chernihiv war of succession (1093–1097) between Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Vladimir II Monomakh and Oleg I of Chernigov who fought for the heritage of his father Sviatoslav II of Kiev.
The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the year 862. The Rurikids were the ruling dynasty of Kievan Rus' and its principalities following its disintegration.
Yaropolk III Yaroslavich was a Kievan Rus' prince. He was prince of Novgorod (1197).
The Principality of Turov, later called the Principality of Turov and Pinsk, also known as Turovian Rus', was a medieval principality of Kievan Rus' from the 10th century on the territory of modern-day Belarus and northern Ukraine. The princes of Turov often served as grand princes early in 10th and 11th centuries. Its capital was Turov (Turaŭ), and other important cities included Pinsk, Mazyr, Slutsk, Lutsk, Brest, and Volodymyr.
The Principality of Volhynia was a western Kievan Rus' principality founded by the Rurikid prince Vsevolod in 987 centered in the region of Volhynia, straddling the borders of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland. From 1069 to 1118, it belonged to Izyaslavichi who primarily ruled from Turov. After losing Turov to Monomakhovichi in 1105, the descendants of Iziaslav Yaroslavovich for a few years continued to rule in Volhynia. From 1154 to 1199, the Principality was referred to as the Principality of Volodymyr when the Principality of Lutsk (1154–1228) was separated.
The House of Shakhovskoy is the name of a princely Russian and Ukrainian family descending from the Rurik Dynasty, and as such, one of the oldest noble families of the Russian Empire. Most members of the family fled the Russian Empire in 1917 during the Russian Revolution.
Throughout the early Middle Ages, the Rurikid knyazes of the Kievan Rus' used unique symbols to denote property rights over various items. They are depicted on punches, seals, and coins of the Rurikids. In contrast to Western European heraldry, where coats of arms belonged to entire families, or were inherited without changes by firstborn sons, Rurikid symbols were personal, with every knyaz devising an emblem of their own for themselves.
The Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' was a metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected on the territory of Kievan Rus'. It existed between 988 AD and 1596 AD. Canonically, it was under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The episcopal seat (cathedra) was located in the city of Kiev.
The Kievan Chronicle or Kyivan Chronicle is a chronicle of Kievan Rus'. It was written around 1200 in Vydubychi Monastery as a continuation of the Primary Chronicle. It is known from two manuscripts: a copy in the Hypatian Codex, and a copy in the Khlebnikov Codex ; in both codices, it is sandwiched between the Primary Chronicle and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle. It covers the period from 1118, where the Primary Chronicle ends, until about 1200, although scholars disagree where exactly the Kievan Chronicle ends and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle begins.
The sack of Kiev took place on 8–12 March 1169 when a coalition of 11 princes, assembled by prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal, attacked the Kievan Rus' capital city of Kiev during the 1167–1169 Kievan succession crisis. The conflict, caused by the death of grand prince Rostislav I of Kiev, was between rival branches of the Monomakhovichi clan: the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia on the one hand, and the Rostislavichi of Smolensk, the Yurievichi, and the Olgovichi of Chernigov on the other. Prince Mstislav II of Kiev sought to defend Kiev against the Rostislavichi–Yurievichi–Olgovichi coalition.
