Mstislav Mstislavich, also called the Daring, the Bold or the Able (died ), was a

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

of Tmutarakan and Chernigov, one of the princes from

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

in the decades preceding the Mongol invasions.

Biography

Mstislav Mstislavich was the son of Mstislav Rostislavich ("the Brave") of

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

by a princess of

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

; his grandfather was Rostislav I of Kiev. In 1193 and 1203, Mstislav was commended for his bravery in the Kipchak wars, bringing him fame all over Kievan Rus'. At that time, he married Maria, a daughter of the Kipchak Khan Kotyan. In 1209, he was mentioned as a ruler of

Toropets Toropets () is a town and the administrative center of Toropetsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located where the Toropa River enters Lake Solomennoye. Population: History In 1074, when the town was first mentioned in chronicles, Torop ...

. A year later, he came and took the

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

ian throne, seizing Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich's men (Sviatoslav himself was detained in the archbishop's compound in Novgorod). On his way to Novgorod, Mstislav delivered the key town of

Torzhok Torzhok () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 highway (Russia), M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The ...

from a siege laid to it by Vsevolod III of Vladimir. He led two successful Novgorodian campaigns against the Chudes in 1212 and 1214. In 1215, he expelled Vsevolod IV from

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and elevated his uncle Mstislav Romanovich to the throne. In 1216, Mstislav mustered a large coalition of princes of Rus' which defeated

Vladimir-Suzdal The Principality of Suzdal, from 1157 the Grand Principality of Vladimir, commonly known as Vladimir-Suzdal, or simply Suzdalia, was a medieval principality that was established during the disintegration of Kievan Rus'. In historiography, the ...

in the Battle of Lipitsa. After that, he installed his ally Konstantin of Rostov as

Grand Prince of Vladimir The Prince of Vladimir, from 1186 Grand Prince of Vladimir (), also translated as Grand Duke of Vladimir, was the title of the monarch of Vladimir-Suzdal. The title was passed to the prince of Moscow in 1389. Overview The monarch of Vladimir-Su ...

and married his own daughter to Yaroslav of Suzdal, who had fortified himself in Torzhok. In the meantime, his other enemies had him deposed in Novgorod, and Mstislav had to abandon northern Rus' for Galicia. In 1219, he concluded peace with his chief rival,

Daniel of Galicia Daniel Romanovich (1201–1264) was Prince of Galicia (1205–1207; 1211–1212; 1230–1232; 1233–1234; 1238–1264), Prince of Volhynia, Volhynia (1205–1208; 1215–1238), Grand Prince of Kiev (1240), and King of Ruthenia (1253–1264). B ...

, who thereupon married Mstislav's daughter Anna. In 1223, Mstislav joined a coalition of perhaps 18 princes, which, along with

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

(Polovtsian) allies, pursued the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

from the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

for nine days and joined battle with them at the Kalka River. While three princes were captured and later killed at the battle site, and six more were killed in headlong pursuit back to the Dnieper River, Mstislav is the only prince specifically named among the nine or so who escaped. He managed to escape by cutting loose the boats on the Dnieper River so he could not be pursued.A. N. Nasonov, ed., ''Novgorodskaia pervaia letopis: starshego i mladshego'' izvodov (Moscow and Leningrad: AN SSSR, 1950), 63, 267; John Fennell, ''The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304'' (London and New York: Longman,1983), 66-68. During the interventions carried out by Leszek the White in the Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia he took part in the Polish-Hungarian-Ruthenian War of 1219—1221, but suffered defeat in the Polish-Ruthenian War (1224), where

Leszek the White Leszek the White (; c. 1184/85 – 24 November 1227) was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland in the years 1194–1198, 1199, 1206–1210, and 1211–1227. During the early stages of his reign, his uncle Duke Mieszko III the Old and ...

's forces defeated him in battle. Mstislav reigned in Galicia until 1227, when

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

intrigues constrained him to leave the city to his son-in-law, Andrew of Hungary. Thereupon he retired to Torchesk, where he died in 1228.

Family

He was the maternal grandfather of Prince Alexander Nevsky,

Prince of Novgorod The Prince of Novgorod () was the title of the ruler of Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in present-day Russia. From 1136, it was the title of the figurehead leader of the Novgorod Republic. The position was originally an appointed one until the late ...

, Grand Prince of Kiev and

. He also was the maternal grandfather of prince Leo I of Galicia, who became Grand Prince of Kiev. He married a daughter of Kotyan and had issue: * Rostislava, wife of Yaroslav II of Vladimir. * Anna, wife of

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mstislavich, Mstislav 12th-century births 1220s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Rostislavichi family (Smolensk) Princes of Novgorod Princes of Galicia 12th-century princes from Kievan Rus' 13th-century princes from Kievan Rus' Eastern Orthodox monarchs