Gleb Svyatoslavich ( 1052 – 30 May 1078) was Prince of Tmutarakan and

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 ...

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 ...

. He ruled Tmutarakan under the overall authority of his father Sviatoslav Iaroslavich,

Prince of Chernigov The Prince of Chernigov () was the ''kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' people, Rus' Principality of Chernigov, a lordship which lasted four centuries straddling what are now parts of Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation. List of ...

. He was twice expelled from his principality by one of his cousins Rostislav Vladimirovich. His father appointed him prince of Novgorod in 1067 or 1068. He suppressed a rebellion incited by a

volkhv A volkhv or volhv (Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e. shaman, gothi or mage) is a priest in ancient Slavic religions and contemporary Slavic Native Faith. Among the Rus' Volkhvs are at ...

against the bishop of the town. Later he was expelled from Novgorod and was killed by the

Chudes Chud or Chude (, , ) is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Baltic Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia and Northwestern Russia. It has also been used to refer to other Finno-Ugric peopl ...

. The ''

Russian Primary Chronicle The ''Primary Chronicle'', shortened from the common ''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (, commonly transcribed ''Povest' vremennykh let'' (PVL), ), is a chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been originally compile ...

'' writes that he "was kindly toward the poor and hospitable to strangers, zealous toward the church, warm in faith, peaceful, and fair in appearance".

Early life

Gleb was the eldest of four sons of Sviatoslav Iaroslavich,

by his first wife, Killikiya. According to historian Martin Dimnik, Gleb was born around 1049. He was named after his father's holy uncle,

Gleb Gleb (; ) or Hlib (, ) is a Slavic male given name derived from the Old Norse name ''Guðleifr'', which means "heir of god." According to another version, the name Gleb comes from the name Olaf. It is popular in Russia due to an early martyr, Saint ...

. His father appointed him to rule

Tmutarakan Tmutarakan (, ; ) was a medieval principality of Kievan Rus' and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov, between the late 10th and 11th centuries. Its site was the ancient Greek col ...

, an important port by the

Strait of Kerch The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and u ...

, but the year of his appointment is unknown.

Prince of Tmutarakan

According to the ''

'', Gleb's cousin Rostislav Vladimirovich "fled to Tmutorakan"''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (year 6572), p. 144. in 1064. He expelled Gleb from Tmutorakan and "occupied his principate for himself". Although Gleb was restored by his father in 1065, once Sviatoslav Iaroslavich had returned with his army to

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

, Rostislav invaded again and displaced Gleb from power once more. However, the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

katepano The ''katepánō'' (, ) was a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as ''capetanus/catepan'', and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the Italian "capitaneus" (which derives from the Latin word "caput", mean ...

'' or governor of Cherson poisoned Rostislav who died on 3 February 1067. According to the ''Life of Feodosy'', the citizens of Tmutorakan requested the monk Nikon the Great to persuade Sviatoslav Iaroslavich to again appoint Gleb as their prince. The saintly monk succeeded and Gleb returned to Tmutarakan. According to the inscription of the " Stone of Tmutarakan", Gleb had the width of the frozen Strait of Kerch measured in the winter of 1067-68.

Prince of Novgorod

Gleb was transferredaccording to historian Martin Dimnik, by his fatherfrom Tmutarakan to

in 1067 or 1068. A distant relative of his, Vseslav Briacheslavich lay siege to Novgorod "on October 23, the day of the

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

's brother,

St James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints *James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater *James, son of Alphaeu ...

, a Friday, at the sixth hour of the day",''The Chronicle of Novgorod'' (year AD 1068 AM 6576), p. 5. according to the '' Chronicle of Novgorod''. However, Gleb and the Novgorodians routed him on the brook Gzen near the town. Gleb's rule in Novgorod was confirmed when his father became the

Grand Prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes also Grand Duke) was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev (modern Kyiv) from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prin ...

in 1073. According to the Hypatian version of the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', Gleb visited his father in

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 witnessed the death of the saintly Abbot Feodosy of the Monastery of the Caves in 1074. He seems to have been on friendly terms with his cousin, Vladimir Monomach whose first son was born in his court at Novgorod. A late source

Vasily Tatishchev Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (sometimes spelt Tatischev; , ; 19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer in the Russian Empire. He is known as the author of a book on Russian history titled ''The His ...

's compilation of medieval chronicleswrites that Sviatoslav Iaroslavich appointed Gleb and Vladimir Monomach to command the Rus' troops sent to fight against the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

at Cherson upon the request of the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Michael VII Ducas, but the source's reliability is doubtful. The ''Russian Primary Source'' narrates that a " magician" (a volkhv)''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (year 6579), p. 154. arrived in Novgorod and stirred up the townsfolk against the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. The volkhv planned to murder the prelate but Gleb and his ''

druzhina A druzhina is the Slavonic word for a retinue in service of a chieftain, also called a ''knyaz'' (prince). Kievan Rus' ''Druzhina'' was flexible both as a term and as an institution. At its core, it referred to the prince's permanent perso ...

'' or retinue remained loyal to him. Gleb dared the volkhv who had stated that he could foretell the future to predict "what was about to happen that very day", according to the ''Russian Primary Chronicle''. The volkhv declared that he would "perform great miracles", but Gleb pulled out an axe and killed him. After the volkhv's death, his followers broke up. Gleb's father died on 27 December 1076. According to Novgorodian sources, the citizens of the town rose in revolt and dethroned Gleb in 1078. He fled beyond the lands beyond the river

Volkhov Volkhov () is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Volkhovsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the river Volkhov (river), Volkhov east of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersbu ...

, known as Zavoloch'e, where the

killed him on 30 May. His body was transferred to Chernigov where he was buried in the Holy Savior Cathedral on 23 July. No source makes mention of Gleb's marriage or his children, suggesting that he never married and died childless.

References

Sources

Primary sources

*''The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text'' (Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor) (1953). Medieval Academy of America. . *''The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016–1471'' (Translated from the Russian by Rober Michell and Nevill Forbes, with an introduction by C. Raymond Beazley, and an account of the text by A. A. Shakhmatov) (1914, 2011). BiblioLife.

Secondary sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gleb Svyatoslavich 1050s births 1078 deaths Princes of Novgorod Princes of Tmutarakan Sviatoslavichi family 11th-century princes from Kievan Rus' Military personnel killed in action