Everything about Dmitri Donskoi totally explained
Saint
Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy or
Dimitri of the Don (
October 12,
1350, Moscow –
May 19,
1389, Moscow), son of
Ivan II Krasnyi, reigned as the
Prince of Moscow from
1359 and Grand Prince of
Vladimir from
1363 to his death. He was the first prince of
Moscow to openly challenge
Tatar authority in Russia. His moniker Donskoy (for example, "of the
Don") alludes to his great victory against the Tatars in the
Battle of Kulikovo (1380) which took place on the Don River.
Early reign
Dmitry ascended the throne of
Principality of Moscow at the age of 9. During his minority, the government was actually run by
Metropolitan Alexis of Russia. In
1360 the highest dignity among Russian princes, that of Grand Prince of
Vladimir, was transferred by a
Khan of the
Golden Horde upon
Dmitri Konstantinovich of
Nizhny Novgorod. In
1363, when that prince had been deposed, Dmitri Ivanovich was finally crowned at Vladimir. Three years later, he made peace with Dmitri Konstantinovich and married his daughter
Eudoxia. In
1376, their joined armies ravaged
Volga Bulgaria.
The most important event during the early years of Dmitri's reign was construction of the first stone
Moscow Kremlin, completed in
1367. The new fortress allowed the city to withstand two sieges by
Algirdas of
Lithuania, in
1368 and
1370. In
1375, Dmitri managed to settle his conflict with
Tver in his favour. Other princes of Northern Russia also acknowledged his authority and contributed their troops to his impending struggle against the Horde. By the end of his reign, Dmitri more than doubled territory of Moscow principality.
Struggle against the Horde
Dmitri's thirty-year reign saw the beginning of the end for
Mongol domination of parts of what is now Russia. The
Golden Horde was severely weakened by civil war and dynastic rivalries. Dmitri took advantage of this lapse in Mongol authority to openly challenge the Tatars.
While he kept the Khan's patent to collect taxes for all of Russia, Dmitri is also famous for leading the first Russian military victory over the Mongols.
Mamai, a Mongol general and claimant to the throne, tried to punish Dmitri for attempting to increase his power. In
1378 Mamai sent a Mongol army, but it was defeated by Dmitri's forces in the
Battle of Vozha River Two years later Mamai personally led a large force against Moscow. Dmitri met and defeated it at the
Battle of Kulikovo.
The defeated Mamai was presently dethroned by a rival Mongol general,
Tokhtamysh. That khan reasserted Mongol rule over parts of what now is Russia and overran Moscow for Dmitri's resistance to Mamai. Dmitri, however, pledged his loyalty to Tokhtamysh and to the Golden Horde and was reinstated as Mongol principal tax collector and Grand Duke of Vladimir. Upon his death in
1389, Dmitri was the first Grand Duke to bequeath his titles to his son
Vasili without consulting the Khan.
Marriage and children
He was married to
Eudoxia of Nizhny Novgorod. She was a daughter of
Dmitry of Suzdal and Vasilisa of
Rostov. They had at least twelve children:
- Daniil Dmitrievich (c. 1370 - 15 September, 1379).
- Vasily I of Moscow (30 September, 1371 - 27 February, 1425).
- Sofia Dmitrievna. Married Fyodor Olegovich, Prince of Ryazan (reigned 1402-1427).
- Yury Dmitrievich, Duke of Zvenigorod and Galich (26 November, 1374 - 5 June, 1434). Claimed the throne of Moscow against his nephew Vasily II of Moscow.
- Maria Dmitrievna (d. 15 May, 1399). Married Lengvenis.
- Anastasia Dmitrievna. Married Ivan Vsevolodich, Prince of Kholm.
- Simeon Dmitrievich (d. 11 September, 1379).
- Ivan Dmitrievich (d. 1393).
- Andrei Dmitrievich, Prince of Mozhaysk (14 August, 1382 - 9 July, 1432).
- Piotr Dmitrievich, Prince of Dmitrov (29 July, 1385 - 10 August, 1428).
- Anna Dmitrievna (born 8 January, 1387). Married Yuri Patrikievich. Her husband was a son of Patrikej, Prince of Starodub and his wife Helena. His paternal grandfather was Narimantas. The marriage solidified his role as a Boyar attached to Moscow.
- Konstantin Dmitrievich, Prince of Pskov (14 May/15 May, 1389 - 1433).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Dmitri Donskoi'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://dmitri_donskoi.totallyexplained.com">Dmitri Donskoi Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
