Sviatoslav Olgovich (died February 14, 1164) was

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 ...

(1136–1138); Novgorod-Seversk (1139);

Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...

(1141–1154); and

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 ...

(1154–1164).

Biography

Early life

Sviatoslav was the son of Oleg Sviatoslavich, the

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 ...

, and an unnamed daughter of Aepa, a

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 " ...

prince. In 1108, Sviatoslav married a Cuman princess, daughter of Aepa son of Girgen, with whom he had a daughter and a son, Oleg II Svyatoslavich. In 1136 Svyatoslav married a second time, to the daughter of the

posadnik A posadnik (, ) was a representative of the prince in some towns during the times of Kievan Rus', and later the highest-ranking official (mayor) in Novgorod (from 1136) and Pskov (from 1308). In the early 12th century, Novgorod won the right to ...

of Novgorod, probably named Ekaterina or Catherine, who bore their son

Igor Sviatoslavich Igor Svyatoslavich (3 April 1151 – ), nicknamed the Brave, was Prince of Novgorod-Seversk (1180–1198) and Prince of Chernigov (1198–1201/1202). Life The son of Sviatoslav Olgovich, prince of Chernigov, in 1169 Igor took part in the war agai ...

, famous from ''

The Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' or ''The Tale of Ihor's Campaign'' () is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campaign of Igor'', ''The Song of Igor's Campaign'' ...

''.

War with the Davidovichi

After the death of their older brother Vsevolod II in 1146, Sviatoslav and his brother Igor were driven out of Kiev by Iziaslav Mstislavich. Sviatoslav escaped, but Igor was captured and eventually killed in 1147. Sviatoslav fled to Chernigov but was ordered to relinquish his city, Novgorod-Seversk, to his cousins, Iziaslav Davidovich and Vladimir Davidovich. With the assistance of his ally, Yuri Dolgoruki, and his father-in-law, Aepa Khan, Sviatoslav began a war against his cousins, but was forced to flee to

Karachev Karachev () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Karachevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: History First chronicled in 1146, it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principal ...

. There on January 16, 1147, Sviatoslav defeated the Davidovichi brothers.

Death and succession

Upon his death in 1164, his widow Catherine briefly ruled as princess regnant of Chernigov. The reign of Ekaterina or Catherine of Chernigov lasted for a few days, during which she kept her husband's death a secret while she summoned her (step-?)son Oleg to come to Chernigov quickly, and told the city's leading men not inform her brother-in-law Sviatoslav Vsevolodich, who was the rightful heir to the Chernigovian throne. Nevertheless, the bishop of Chernigov betrayed the trust of princess (''kniaginia'') Catherine immediately, and sent Sviatoslav Vsevolodich a letter, writing that "the kniaginia rules edit'in cahoots with the children and she has many goods." Sviatoslav Vsevolodich soon arrived and made a deal with Oleg, by which the former became prince of Chernigov and the latter prince of Novgorod-Seversk. Princess Catherine is not heard of again until two years later, when she reportedly died on 12 April 1166.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Primary sources

* ''

Kievan Chronicle The ''Kievan Chronicle'' or ''Kyivan Chronicle'' is a chronicle of Kievan Rus'. It was written around 1200 in Vydubychi Monastery as a continuation of the ''Primary Chronicle''. It is known from two manuscripts: a copy in the '' Hypatian Codex'' ...

'' ( 1200) ** (Church Slavonic critical edition) ** (modern English translation)

Literature

* Dimnik, Martin. ''The Dynasty of Chernigov, 1146-1246'', 2000 * * 1164 deaths 12th-century princes from Kievan Rus' Olgovichi family Year of birth unknown {{East-Slavic-hist-stub