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Simeon Bekbulatovich (russian: Симеон Бекбулатович; born Sain-Bulat, russian: Саин-Булат; died 5 January 1616) was a Russian statesman of Tatar origin, descendant of
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
, who briefly served as a figurehead ruler of Russia. He was born to a
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
family and served the
Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
of the
Khanate of Qasim Qasim Khanate or Kingdom of Qasim or Khanate of Qasım ( tt-Cyrl, Касыйм ханлыгы/Касыйм патшалыгы; russian: Касимовское ханство/Касимовское царство, ''Kasimovskoye khanstvo/Kasimo ...
before converting to Christianity and becoming an aide to Ivan IV of Russia. He participated in the Livonian War as a commander of the main regiment (''bol'shoi polk'') of the Russian army. In 1575, Ivan pretended to abdicate and named Simeon Velikiy knyaz (often translated as "Grand duke" ) of All Rus', but remained de facto in power and returned to his throne a year later. Subsequently, Simeon became Velikiy knyaz of
Tver' Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
and Torzhok (1576–1585). He went blind (or was blinded) in 1595 and was allegedly tonsured as a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
monk under the monastic name Stefan in 1606.


Biography

The first mention of Simeon in the sources is a reference to a certain Sail-Bulat in the Supplement to the Nikon Chronicle under 1561 as being in the entourage of his aunt, Princess Kochenei, when she married Ivan IV. Our earliest evidence that he was khan of Qasim comes from a statement that the Russian ambassador to Constantinople, Ivan Novosil'tsev, said to the Ottoman Sultan
Selim II Selim II ( Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى ''Selīm-i sānī'', tr, II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( tr, Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunk ( tr, Sarhoş Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire ...
to that effect in 1570.''Puteshestviia russkikh poslov XVI-XVII vv.'', edited by D. S. Likhachev (Moscow: Akademiia nauk SSSR, 1954), 77. Novosil'tsev left Moscow on January 24, 1570, so Sain Bulat had to be khan by then. In 1575 (either September or October), Ivan IV appointed Simeon as Grand Prince of All Rus' and styled himself merely as "Ivan of Moscow". Historians have a number of opinions concerning why Ivan did this. According to the most popular theory by contemporary diplomat Giles Fletcher, the Elder, Ivan aimed to confiscate the land that belonged to monasteries without attracting the ire of the Church. Simeon issued the decrees of confiscation instead of Ivan, while Ivan pretended to disagree. During his one-year "rule" in the
Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...
, Simeon married Anastasia Mstislavskaya, the great-great-granddaughter of Ivan III. In 1576, Simeon stepped down as Grand Prince of All Rus' and was appointed Grand Prince of
Tver' Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
and Torzhok. In 1585, Tsar Fedor Ivanovich removed his title as Grand Prince of Tver' and Torzhok and confined him to his estate at Kushalov. In 1595, Simeon went blind. According to Jacques Margeret, Simeon blamed Spanish wine that
Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
sent him for his birthday. When Boris was elected Tsar in 1598, he required those at the court to sign a loyalty oath, which prohibited them from recognizing Simeon as tsar or corresponding with him. False Dmitry I required Simeon to be tonsured at the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, where he took the monastic name Stefan on April 3, 1606. When Vasilii Shuiskii was elected tsar, he ordered the elder Stefan taken to the Solovki Monastery on May 29, 1606. In 1612, as the result of a decree issued by Prince D. M. Pozharskii and "on the advice of all the land" ( zemskii sobor), Stefan was returned to the Kirilo-Belozersk Monastery. Under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, he returned to Moscow and resided in the Simonov Monastery until he died in 1616. He was buried in the Simonov Monastery next to his wife, who had died June 7, 1607, after having been veiled as the nun Alexandra.


Ancestry


References


Further reading

* , - {{Authority control 16th-century births 1616 deaths 16th-century Russian monarchs Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Islam Eastern Orthodox monarchs Russian tsars Year of birth missing 16th-century monarchs in Europe 16th-century Russian people 17th-century Russian people Blind people from Russia Tatar people Borjigin People of the Livonian War Blind royalty and nobility