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DMITRII IVANOVICH DONSKOI (1350-1389)

 
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He was the son of Ivan II Ivanovich and Ivan's second wife, Aleksandra, born in 1350 while his uncle, Simeon the Proud, was the ruling Grand Prince. Dmitrii married about in 1367 to Evdokia, daughter of Dmitrii Konstantinovich, grand prince of Nizhnigorod. His sons were Daniil, crown prince of Moscow, who died as a child; Vasilii I, grand prince of Moscow; Yuri, appanage prince of Galich; Simyeon, crown prince of Moscow; Andrei, appanage prince of Mozhaisk; Petr, appanage prince of Uglich; Ivan; crown prince of Moscow; and Konstantin, prince of Uglich. His daughters were Sofia (who married Fedor Ol'govich, princess of Ryazan), Maria; Anastasia, who married Ivan Vsyevolodovich, appanage prince of Kholm; and Anna.
In 1353 Simeon died together with his surviving sons and his brother, Andrei of Serpukhov. This left the inheritance open without multiple divisions not only to Dmitrii's father, Ivan II, but also to himself. Ivan divided his possessions between Dmitrii, his brother, Ivan, and his cousin, Vladimir Andreevich of Serpukhov. But Ivan Ivanovich also died young returning his possessions back to Dmitrii.
Dmitrii was only nine when his father died. The Orthodox Metropolitan Aleksei served as regent for the young princes. He married Evdokia daughter of prince Dmitrii Konstantinovich of Suzdal and grand prince of Nizhnigorod in 1366 with whom he had twelve children. His sons included Daniil, prince of Moscow; Vasilii, grand prince of Moscow; Yurii, appanage prince of Galich; Semyon, prince of Moscow; Andrei, appanage prince of Mozhaisk; Petr, appanage prince of Uglich; Ivan prince of Moscow; Konstantin, appanage prince of Uglich. He died relatively young in 1389 under suspicious circumstances. His daughters included Sofia, Maria, Anastasia and Anna. He once again divided the principality among his five sons and Vladimir Andreevich, setting up the scene for the subsequent civil war between his son, Yurii Dmitriyevich, and his grandson, Vasilii II. The family is shown on this chart.

Summary of reign:

Dmitrii came to the throne in 1359 when Moscow's leading position among the Russian cities had been gained by his grandfather, but was not yet secure. He had to fight not only Tver, but also Suzdal, Nizhnii Novgorod, and Ryazan within the immediate neighborhood. The overwhelming power of the Tatars remained a central factor and the rapidly growing power of Lithuania threatened to draw Novgorod and Pskov away from the Muscovite orbit. Dmitrii received and relied on extensive assistance from the church. He took an active part in seeing to it that his candidate would become the Metropolitan. Having the Metropolitan of the entire Russian church reside in Moscow was itself a continual source of ideological and economic support for the city. In addition, Dmitrii obtained political support from using interdicts proclaimed by church authorities against his rivals.

Dmitrii took more direct control of policy in 1367. He continued the tradition of outmaneuvering other claimants to the Tatar yarlik to secure support and devote Muscovite resources to the battle against Lithuanian expansion. Despite his stunning victory over the Tatars under Mamai in 1380 at Kulikovo field he still retained the all important yarlik from the rival khan.

Dmitrii followed the traditions and policies of his forbearers. He continued to attract people to settle in sparsely populated regions in his domains. He also granted land to service people outside his personal domain. The Muscovite armies had a provincial and territorial base. This Dmitrii sought to strengthen so it would not rely so heavily on the system of dependent servitors. The city militia was not very important and even had difficulty in defending Moscow itself. The army was composed of the separate armies of the princes who would agree to participate in any particular campaign. Each of these independent armies was organized into the polki according to standard practice. Dmitrii sought to integrate them by joining the like polki from each subordinate army together to make the corresponding polk of the total army.
Dmitrii was barely able to hold on to the western frontier against the rapidly increasing power of Lithuania, but he was more successful in pushing the eastern frontiers of the Grand Principality of Vladimir down the Volga River into the Mordvin lands. He used whatever opportunities he had from internal dissention in the Golden Horde to withhold tribute and conduct an independent policy, but he was also realistic in submitting to the Tatars when it was clear that he lacked the power to do otherwise.
Dmitrii wrote in his final will that his son, Vasilii I, should be succeeded as Grand Prince by his brother, Yuri, rather than by any future son. This gave Yurii a strong basis for conducting civil war against his nephew after Vasilii I died.

Chronology

1357-1381
This is a period of internal conflict in the Golden Horde during which there are at least 25 khans. Dmitrii Ivanovich makes use of this turmoil to strengthen Moscow.
1362
Muscovite armies drive Dmitrii Konstantinovich of Suzdal out of Vladimir and Pereiaslavl.
1363
Muscovite armies drive the Suzdal forces from Vladimir again and set up a supporting prince in Rostov.
1364
Muscovite armies force Nizhnii Novgorod to take Dmitrii Konstantinovich as prince. Ivan Ivanovich dies leaving his territories to Dmitrii.
1365
Grand Prince Oleg Ivanovich of Riazan brings troops from Prinsk, Kozel'sk and Riazan to defeat a Tatar raid.
1366
Muscovite armies support Nizhnii Novgorod expansion eastward along Volga River against Mordvinian and Bolgar regions.
1367
Ol'gerd of Lithuania supports Tver against Moscow.
1367-1382
Dmitrii Ivanovich and Vladimir Andreivich build first stone walls for Moscow kremlin in time to resist sieges by Lithuanians.
1367
Dmitrii Ivanovich sends troops to support Novgorod and Pskov against Livonia and places his local official in charge in Novgorod. He also starts attacks against Smolensk and Briansk and he supports Vasilii Mikhailovich of Kashin against Mikhail for control of Tver.
1368
Ol'gerd conducts surprise attack and siege of Moscow without success.
1370
Dmitrii with assistance from Riazan attacks Briansk and Tver and forces Mikhail to flee to Lithuania. Ol'gerd brings Lithuanians and troops from Smolensk to besiege Moscow again, for eight days. Dmitrii commands the defense of the city while Vladimir Andreevich and the princes of Riazan led by Vladimir Yaroslavich of Prinsk lead field armies against the Lithuanians.
1371
Mikhail attacks Kostroma and seizes several towns including Uglich. Dmitrii is busy with troops fighting Oleg Ivanovich of Riazan to install his cousin, Vladimir Yaroslavich as prince. Oleg regains the town with the aid of Tatar chieftain Murz Salakhmir.
1372
Mikhail in alliance with Lithuania captures Dmitrov and urges the Lithuanians to attack Periaslavl. Ol'gerd musters his army to attack Moscow. Dmitrii sends a large army that defeats the Lithuanian advance guard at Liubutsk and then forces Ol'gerd to sue for peace. Both Oleg and Vladimir of Riazan support Dmitrii's campaign. Dmitrii Konstantinovich of Suzdal constructs stone kremlin at Nizhnii Novgorod.
1373
Mikhail returns the towns and booty in exchange for his son, held by Dmitrii. The Tatars under Mamai raid Riazan, forcing Oleg to seek support from Moscow. Vladimir Andreivich brings his troops from duty in Novgorod to defend the Oka River.
1374
Ivan V. Veliamninov (the son of the last commander of the Moscow militia deposed by Dmitrii)and a Moscow merchant, Nekomat, defect to Tver.
1375
Nekomat obtains title to the Grand Principality of Vladimir for Mikhail. Dmitrii then brings a large army of troops from Moscow, Vladimir-Suzdal, Briansk, Kashin, and the Oka river valley to attack Tver. Ol'gerd fails to support Mikhail and the Tatars also do not intervene. Mikhail agrees to a treaty subordinating himself to Dmitrii, but does not live up to it. Oleg of Riazan acts as mediator in this agreement to obtain support against Tatars.
1376
Dmitrii attacks Rzhev to retaliate against Ol'gerd's attacks on Smolensk.
1377
Dmitrii conquers Bolgar on the Volga and obtains tribute. The combined Muscovite - Suzdalian army is defeated on the P'iana River by Tatars and Mordvinians who then sack Nizhnii Novgorod. At the same time the Tatars raid Oleg's capital at Pereiaslavl Riazanskii.
1377
Dmitrii returns to devastate Mordvinian lands.
1378
Tatars raid Riazan and then Dmitrii defeats Tatar army of Mamai on the Vozha River. The Riazan prince Daniil of Pronsk participates with Dmitrii. Mamai (a Tatar temnik) used these years to strengthen his control of the western part of the Golden Horde.
1378
Ol'gerd's brother, Keistut, opposes Ol'gerd's son, Iagailo, for Lithuanian throne. Dmitrii sends army to Briansk in support.
1379
Iagailo negotiates with Mamai against Moscow, but is blocked from supporting by pressure from Keistut and the Teutonic Knights. Oleg of Riazan tries to play Tatars against Muscovites, but Tatars devastate Riazan anyway and drive Oleg across the Oka River, forcing him to abandon Dmitrii. Tver and Nizhnii Novgorod also remain neutral, but Novgorod sends troops in support.Dmitrii musters his forces against the Tatar threat.
1380
Mamai marches north up the Don river valley. Dmitrii crosses the Don and meets him at Kulikovo Field. (The chronicles give 80,000 casualties on both sides.)

Battle of Kulikovo Field (See battles)

The victorious Russian army is plundered by Lithuanians (or Riazantsi) on the way home.
1381
Dmitrii sends his governor to Riazan driving Oleg out. Oleg agrees to subordinate himself and Riazan to Moscow. Toqtamish reunites Golden Horde after killing Mamai. Dmitrii sends gifts. Dmitrii concludes treaty with Keistut.
1382
Toqtamish favors Iagailo who drives Keistut out of Vilna and kills him. Toqtamish takes Russian vessels on Volga River and attacks Riazan and Nizhnii Novgorod. Dmitrii hurriedly assembles troops but retreats to Kostroma. His family flees Moscow. The townspeople organize their own defense with leadership from a Lithuanian prince Ostei. Toqtamish with assistance from Dmitrii Konstantinovich of Suzdal tricks defenders into opening gates. The Tatars sack and burn the city killing abut 24,000. Toqtamish does not attack Dmitrii's army at Kostroma and Vladimir Andreevich defeats a Tatar detachment at Volokolamsk. Oleg attempts to divert the Tatars away from Riazan territory during this campaign, but fails with the result that his lands are devastated by both the Tatars and the pursuing Muscovites. Toqtamish returns to Sarai leaving Moscow in ruins and its prince greatly weakened. He demands the eldest sons as hostages from all the princes.
1382
Dmitrii again attacks Riazan.
1383
Dmitrii places heavy taxes on Novgorod to pay the heavy Tatar tribute. Oleg attacks Kostroma while Dmitrii is busy with Novgorod. Oleg defends successfully against retaliation launched by Vladimir Andreevich. Iagailo decides to marry Polish Queen, Jadwiga, rather than Dmitrii's daughter and convert Lithuania to Catholicism rather than Orthodoxy.
1386
Dmitrii's son, Vasilii, escapes from being hostage at Sarai to Moldavia and then Lithuania.
1387
Dmitrii makes peace with Riazan. Dmitrii's daughter, Sofia, marries Oleg's son Fedor of Riazan. Dmitrii sends large army against Novgorod
1388
Dmitrii assists sons of Dmitrii Konstantinovich of Suzdal to take Nizhnii Novgorod. Rodoslav of Riazan escapes from Sarai and Tatars raid territory. Dmitrii arrests Vladimir Andreevich and his boyars to force them to recognize Vasilii as senior.
1389
Dmitrii dies. His son, Vasilii I, becomes grand prince of Moscow. Another Tatar raid against Riazan.
1390
Tatar raid against Riazan.
1394
Oleg of Riazan decisively defeats Tatars. Oleg begins conflict with Vitovt of Lithuania. Both sides conduct campaigns against the other.
1395-98
Continuing war between Riazan supported by Tatars and Lithuania
1399
Tatar leader Edigei defeats Vitovt at Vorskla River.
1401
Oleg with allies from Prinsk and Murom attacks Smolensk
1402
Oleg sends his son, Rodoslav, to capture Briansk, but he is captured. Oleg dies, ending Riazan's last effort to gain supremacy. Fedor Ol'gevich signs treaty with his brother-in-law, Vasilii I of Moscow, subordinating Fedor to the equal status with Vasilii's eldest brother Yurii. Fedor's daughter married Ivan Vladimirovich, son of the Prince of Serpukhov

 
     

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