The Rostislavichi of Smolensk were one of the four dominant princely clans of
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 12th and 13th century. They were one of many branches of the
House of Rurik
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...
.
History
They are named after
Rostislav I Mstislavich of Kiev (died 1167),
prince of Smolensk
The Prince of Smolensk was the '' kniaz'', the ruler or sub-ruler, of the Rus' Principality of Smolensk, a lordship based on the city of Smolensk. It passed between different groups of descendants of Grand Prince Iaroslav I of Kiev until 1125, wh ...
() and intermittently
prince of Kiev (modern
Kyiv
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, ...
) since 1154. They were closely related to the
Iziaslavichi of Volhynia, which descended from Rostislav's brother
Iziaslav II Mstislavich of Kiev. The Rostislavichi would reign in their main patrimony, the
Principality of Smolensk
The Principality of Smolensk (eventually Grand Principality of Smolensk) was a Ruthenian lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The princip ...
, from 1126 to 1404, intermittently as Grand Princes of Kiev, in Novgorod, in Pereyaslavl, in Polotsk, and Galicia. While the
Vsevolodichi ceased claiming the Kievan throne after the 1272 death of
Yaroslav of Tver
Yaroslav III Yaroslavich (; 1230–1271) was the first Prince of Tver from 1247, and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1263 until his death in 1271. All the later princes of Tver descended from him.
Yaroslav and his son Mikhail presided over Tver's ...
, the Rostislavichi, Iziaslavichi and
Olgovichi kept vying for it. In the 14th and early 15th century, the Rostislavichi clan lost its prominence when it was defeated and subsumed into the
Ruthenian nobility
The Ruthenian nobility (; ; ) originated in the territories of Kievan Rus' and Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, Galicia–Volhynia, which were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and later the Russian Emp ...
of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
.
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
* {{cite book , last1=Raffensperger , first1=Christian , last2=Ostrowski , first2=Donald , authorlink2=Donald Ostrowski , title=The Ruling Families of Rus: Clan, Family and Kingdom , publisher=Reaktion Books , location=London , date=2023 , pages=309 , isbn=978-1-78914-745-2 (e-book)