Principality of Tver
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Principality of Tver Тверское княжество | |||||||||
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1246–1485 | |||||||||
Status | Principality | ||||||||
Capital | Tver 57°00′N 36°00′E / 57.000°N 36.000°E | ||||||||
Common languages | Russian | ||||||||
Religion | Russian Orthodoxy | ||||||||
Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||
Prince | |||||||||
• 1247–1271 | Yaroslav | ||||||||
• 1461–1485 | Mikhail III | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
• Established | 1246 | ||||||||
• Annexed by Muscovy | 1485 | ||||||||
Area | |||||||||
• Total | 28,450 km2 (10,980 sq mi) | ||||||||
Currency | Coins of own coinage | ||||||||
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The Principality of Tver (
History
Origins
In the 1230s or the 1240s,
Emergence as a great power
In 1285, Mikhail of Tver, a son of Yaroslav of Tver, succeeded his father and became the Prince of Tver. In 1305 he became the Grand Prince of Vladimir as well, however, Özbeg Khan of the Golden Horde decided that Tver became too strong, and supported Moscow against Tver. This led to a military campaign led by Yuri Danilovic of Moscow against Mikhail, supported by Özbeg in 1317. Mikhail met Yuri's army at a small village called Bortenevo, where he was victorious. In the same encounter, Özbeg's sister and Yuri's wife, Konchaka, was captured by Mikhail and made prisoner of war. Konchaka later died in captivity in Tver, where Yuri was able to blame Mikhail for the death of the khan's sister. Mikhail was summoned to the Golden Horde and tried there in 1318, where he faced a month of imprisonment and torture before being executed. His son and successor, Dmitry of Tver, was executed in the Golden Horde in 1326, and another son and also a prince of Tver, Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver, was executed there in 1339 as well together with his son Fyodor. In 1327, there was an anti-Tatar uprising in the Principality of Tver, which was suppressed. The city of Tver was burned down, and the principality lost a considerable part of its population. Tver never recovered from that, and eventually Moscow, which managed to remain on good terms with Tatars, absorbed all surrounding principalities and eventually became the capital of Russia.[5] In the 14th century, some parts of the principality were temporarily given away as appanage. This created the whole system of principalities dependent on Tver. These included Kashin, Kholm, and Zubtsov. Some of them became independent to the point that they conducted war with Tver.[5]
Rivalry with Moscow during the Great Troubles
During the
However, no troops of Tver were sent to reinforce Dmitry Donskoy's anti-Mamai coalition at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.[8][10] The symbolic victory had little practical effect, as Tokhtamysh defeated and killed Mamai at the Battle of the Kalka River in 1381, causing Dmitry Donskoy to flee and leaving the Muscovites to their fate when Tokhamysh besieged and sacked Moscow in 1382.[11] In the face of this violent repression, the princes of Tver, Nizhny Novgorod and others immediately submitted to Tokhtamysh.[12] Dmitry of Moscow did so as well, minting coins after 1382 stating proudly "Grand Prince Dimitry Ivanovich" on one side, but submissively "Sultan Tokhtamysh: Long may he live" on the other.[12] Thus, Moscow was still not able to command Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, the Novgorod Republic or Ryazan in the aftermath of Kulikovo and the sack of Moscow.[13]
Lithuanian vassalage
In the early 15th century, the power of the Golden Horde was waning, while Lithuania rapidly gained strength.[14] Initially pushed back in 1399 at the Battle of the Vorskla River when he sought to expand Lithuanian control over the Pskov and Novgorod republics,[15] Vytautas (Vitovt) gained direct control over Smolensk (1404), indirect control over certain Novgorodian holdings (1408, 1428), an alliance with Boris of Tver (1427) and Ryazan (1430), and considerable influence over the Muscovite court as Vasily I's father-in-law between 1406 and 1430.[16] When the Muscovite War of Succession (1425–1453) broke out, the principalities of Tver, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Ryazan, Novgorod and Pskov were all still independent of Moscow, and usually in alliance with Lithuania against Moscow, which however did have more territory and resources than the other northeastern Rus' principalities by 1425.[17] Halperin (1977) observed that the Muscovite War of Succession weakened Muscovy so much that its old rival, the Principality of Tver, once again felt strong enough to challenge its sole claim to represent the "Rus' Land" (русская земля). Although the Word of Praise (pokhval'noe slovo) to Boris of Tver never claimed the myth of the Rus' Land exclusively for itself instead, it did suggest that the "Tverian Land" (Тферськая земля) and "Muscovite Land" (Московская земля) were equals within a larger "Rus' Land", and went as far as having foreigners say that grand prince Boris Aleksandrovich of Tver was 'the greatest prince of the Rus' Land'.[18]
Muscovite annexation
In the subsequent 1425–1533 period, the Daniilovichi nevertheless managed to gain the economic and military overhand, switch the order of dynastic succession from the chaotic horizontal to vertical inheritance, reincorporate all Suzdalian appanages, and during wars with Lithuania even annex Ryazan, Novgorod, Pskov, and Smolensk into the Muscovite realm.[19] In the 1470s, Mikhail III of Tver had to sign a number of treaties with Moscow (ruled by Ivan III of Russia) which essentially discriminated against Tver. When Mikhail II tried to compensate for the treaties by seeking an alliance with Lithuania, the army of Ivan III swiftly conquered Tver in 1485. The principality was then annexed by Muscovy.[20][5] Tver was given to his son Ivan the Young as an appanage.[21]
List of princes
See also
- Tver as the Third Rome
- Tver Uprising of 1327
- Novgorod Republic
- Principality of Beloozero
- Principality of Moscow
- Principality of Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal
- Principality of Ryazan
- Principality of Smolensk
- Principality of Yaroslavl
- Vladimir-Suzdal
References
- ^ Introduction into the Latin epigraphy (Введение в латинскую эпиграфику).
- ISBN 978-1526631749.
- ISBN 978-90-04-35214-8.
- ^ a b "Tver". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Тверское_княжество. Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
- ^ a b c Halperin 1987, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 234.
- ^ a b Halperin 1987, pp. 73–75.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 235.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 236.
- ^ Halperin 1987, p. 74–75.
- ^ a b Martin 2007, p. 237.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 238.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 239.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 240.
- ^ Martin 2007, pp. 240–241.
- ^ Martin 2007, pp. 253–254, 262.
- JSTOR 27669454. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ Martin 2007, pp. 262–263.
- ^ Martin 2007, p. 281.
- ISBN 978-1-108-47934-9.
Bibliography
- Halperin, Charles J. (1987). Russia and the Golden Horde: The Mongol Impact on Medieval Russian History. p. 222. ISBN 9781850430575. (e-book).
- Martin, Janet (2007). Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-36800-4.