Leo I of Galicia (; – c. 1301) was

King of Ruthenia King of Ruthenia, King of Rus', King of Galicia and Lodomeria, Lord and Heir of Ruthenian Lands (Latin: ''Rex Rusiae'', ''Rex Ruthenorum'', ''Rex Galiciae et Lodomeriae'', ''Terrae Russiae Dominus et Heres''; ) was a title of Kingdom of Galicia� ...

, Prince of

Belz Belz (, ; ; ) is a small city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine, located near the border with Poland between the Solokiya River (a tributary of the Bug River) and the Richytsia stream. Belz hosts the administration of Belz urban hromada, one of ...

(1245–1264),

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

, Galicia (1264–1269), and

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, ...

(1271–1301). He was a son of King

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 ...

and his first wife, Anna Mstislavna Smolenskaia (daughter of

Mstislav Mstislavich Mstislav Mstislavich, also called the Daring, the Bold or the Able (died ), was a prince of Tmutarakan and Chernigov, one of the princes from Kievan Rus' in the decades preceding the Mongol invasions. Biography Mstislav Mstislavich was the so ...

the Bold). As his father, Lev was a member of the senior branch of

Vladimir II Monomakh Vladimir II Monomakh (; Christian name: ''Vasily''; 26 May 1053 – 19 May 1125) was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1113 to 1125. He is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is celebrated on May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics), May 6 ...

descendants.

Early life

As a child, Leo took part in the Battle of Jarosław, in which his father defeated the coalition of prince

Rostislav Mikhailovich Rostislav Mikhailovich (, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Ростислав Михайлович) (after 1210 / c. 1225 – 1262) was a Rurikid prince and a dignitary in the Kingdom of Hungary. He was Novgorod R ...

, a pretender to Galician throne, and returned control over Halych. In 1247, Leo married Constance, the daughter of

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...

. In 1252 he supported his younger brother Roman Danylovich in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

during the fight over the Austrian succession of the

Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria fr ...

dynasty. Later that year he led Galician troops against the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

near Bakota. In the following years Leo helped Daniel to fight against the

Yotvingians Yotvingians, also called Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians, were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prussians. The linguist Petras Būtėnas asserts that they were closest to the Lithuanians. The Yotvingians contributed ...

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

and forces of the Golden Horde. In 1262 Leo took part in the meeting of his father and other Rus' princes with Polish duke

Bolesław V the Chaste Bolesław V the Chaste (; 21 June 1226 – 7 December 1279) was Duke of Sandomierz in Lesser Poland from 1232 and High Duke of Poland from 1243 until his death, as the last male representative of the Lesser Polish branch of Piasts. Birth and n ...

in Ternawa.

Reign

After inheriting the Galician throne upon the death of Daniel in 1264, Leo moved the principality's

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

from

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

to the newly founded city of

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, which had been named after him by his father. Unlike his predecessor, who pursued a western political course, Leo worked closely with the

Mongol 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 of M ...

s and together with them invaded Poland. However, although his troops plundered territory as far west as

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, sending many captives and much booty back to Galicia, Leo did not ultimately gain much Polish territory. He cultivated a particularly close alliance with the Tatar

Nogai Khan Nogai, or Noğay ( Kypchak and Turki: نوغای; also spelled Nogay, Nogaj, Nohai, Nokhai, Noqai, Ngoche, Noche, Kara Nokhai, and Isa Nogai; died 1299/1300) was a general and kingmaker of the Golden Horde. His great grandfather was Jochi, son o ...

. He also attempted, unsuccessfully, to establish his family's rule over

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Soon after his younger brother

Shvarn Shvarn or Shvarno (; ; ; – ) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1267 to 1269. He was also the prince of Kholm from 1264 to 1269. An influential leader, he became involved in internal struggles of power within the neighboring Grand Duchy of Lit ...

ascended to the Lithuanian throne in 1267, Leo organized the murder of

Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...

Vaišvilkas Vaišvilkas or Vaišelga (also spelled ''Vaišvila'', ''Vojszalak'', ''Vojšalk'', ''Vaišalgas''; died 18 April 1267) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1264 until his death in 1267. He was a son of Mindaugas, the first and only Christian Ki ...

. Following Shvarn's loss of the throne in 1269, Leo entered into conflict with Lithuania. In 1271-1272 he took part in the Polish succession war on the side of Bolesław the Chaste together with his brother Mstislav, Prince of

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

, and later joined his cousin

Volodymyr Vasylkovych Vladimir Vasilkovich () was a son of Vasilko Romanovich. He succeeded his father as the prince of Volhynia when the latter died in 1269, and was famous for numerous constructions and reconstructions of town fortifications in Volhynia. In the 12 ...

in a campaign against the Jotvingians, which ended with the latter suing for peace. In 1274–1276, Leo fought a war against the new Lithuanian ruler —

Traidenis Traidenis (; ; died 1282) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from around late 1267 to 1268 until 1282. He is the second most prominent grand duke of Lithuania in the 13th century after Mindaugas. His reign ended a seven-year ...

— but was defeated. Lithuania annexed the territory of Black Ruthenia with its city of

Navahrudak Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

. In 1279, Leo allied himself with King

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Wenceslaus II Přemyslid (; ; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1305), and King of Poland (1296–130 ...

and invaded Poland. His attempt to capture

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

in 1280 ended in failure. That same year, however, Leo defeated the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

and temporarily annexed part of

Carpathian Ruthenia Transcarpathia (, ) is a historical region on the border between Central and Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast. From the Hungarian Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, conquest of the Carpathian Basin ...

, including the town of

Mukachevo Mukachevo (, ; , ; see name section) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated in the valley of the Latorica River and serves as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion. The city is a rail terminus and highway junct ...

. In 1285 Leo allied himself with the Lithuanians against the Polish duke Bolesław, who was plundering his principality. However, he refused to personally join the Lithuanian troops and prevented his sone Yuri from taking part in the campaign, fearing

revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

for the murder of Vaišvilkas. In 1287 Leo joined the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

khan Khan may refer to: * 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 various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...

Talabuga in his campaign against Poland, which led to great devastation in

Volodymyr Volodymyr (, ; ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ''Volodiměr'', which in other Slavic languages became Vladimi ...

and its vicinity. In 1289 he personally visited his ally Wenceslaus in

Opava Opava (; , ) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Opava (river), Opava River. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia and was a historical capital of Czech Sile ...

and returned to Lviv with lavish gifts, as well as rich booty captured from the Poles. At the time of Leo's death in 1301, the state of Galicia-Volhynia was at the height of its power.

Legacy

Leo is seen as an important figure in Rus' history due to his development of Lviv, the capital of Galicia, of which he was long reputed to be the founder (although historical chronicles attribute its foundation to his father, King Daniel). Leo also laid the ground for the foundation of the Orthodox

Metropolis of Halych The Metropolis of Halych was a metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was erected on the territory of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia in 1303 by Patriarch Athanasius I of Constantinople. The ...

, which was established in 1303 under the rule of his son Yuri Lvovych. The prince's popularity in Galicia is demonstrated by numerous falsified acts which were issued from his name in the centuries following his death.

Marriage and children

Lev I married Constance of Hungary, daughter of

and

Maria Laskarina Maria Laskarina (, , 1206 – 24 June or 16 July 1270) was a Greek Queen consort of Hungary by marriage to King Béla IV of Hungary. She was the daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Komnena Angelina. Life She was a younger sister of Irene ...

. They had three children: * Yuri I of Halych–Volhynia (24 April 1252/1257 – 18 March 1308). *Svyatoslava Lvovna of Halych–Volhynia (died 1302), a nun *

Anastasia Lvovna of Halych–Volhynia Anastasia Lvovna of Halych–Volhynia () (?-1335), was a Duchess of Dobrzyń by marriage to Siemowit of Dobrzyń, (r. 1288–1293, 1295–1303 and 1305–1312). She served as Regent of Dobrzyń with her brother-in-law Władysław I Łokietek dur ...

(died 12 March 1335), who married

Siemowit of Dobrzyń Siemowit of Dobrzyń (pl: ''Siemowit dobrzyński''; c. 1262/67 – 1312), was a Polish prince member of the House of Piast, Duke of Brześć Kujawski during 1267–1288, Duke of Dobrzyń during 1288–1293, 1295–1303 and 1305–1312, during 1293 ...

References

External links