Prince which sought not only unity, but also complete freedom in ordering the forces and the resources of the land. The single rule of Moscow led to Muscovite autocracy.
The name Moscow first appears in a chronicle under the year 1147, when Iurii Dolgorukii, a prince of Suzdal mentioned in the preceding chapter, sent an invitation to his ally Prince Sviatoslav of the eastern Ukrainian principality of Novgorod-Seversk: 'Come to me, brother, to Moscow.' And in Moscow, Iurii feasted Sviatoslav. Under the year 1156, the chronicler notes that Grand Prince Iurii Dolgorukii 'laid the foundations of the town of Moscow,' meaning - as on other such occasions - that he built the city wall. Moscow as a town is mentioned next under 1177 when Gleb,
Prince of Riazan, 'came upon Moscow and burned the entire town and the villages.' It would seem, then, that Moscow originated as a princely village or settlement prior to 1147, and that about the middle of the twelfth century it became a walled center, that is, a town. Moscow was located in Suzdal territory, close to the borders of the principalities of Novgorod-Seversk and Riazan.
We know little of the early Muscovite princes, who changed frequently and apparently considered their small and insignificant appanage merely as a stepping stone to a better position, although one might mention at least one Vladimir who was one of the younger sons of Vsevolod III and probably the first prince of Moscow in the early thirteenth century, and another Vladimir who perished when Moscow was destroyed by the Mongols in 1237. It was with Daniel, the youngest son of Alexander Nevskii, who became the ruler of Moscow in the second half of the thirteenth century that Moscow acquired a separate family of princes who stayed in their appanage and devoted themselves to its development. Daniel concentrated his efforts both on building up his small principality and on extending it along the flow of the Moscow river, of which he controlled originally only the middle course. Daniel succeeded in seizing the mouth of the river and its lower course from one of the Riazan princes; he also had the good fortune of inheriting an appanage from a childless ruler.
Daniel's son Iurii, or George, who succeeded him in 1303, attacked another neighbor, the prince of Mozhaisk, and by annexing his territory finally established Muscovite control over the entire flow of the Moscow river. After that he turned to a much more ambitious undertaking: a struggle with Grand Prince Michael of Tver for leadership in Russia. The rivalry between Moscow and Tver was to continue for almost two centuries, determined in large part which principality would unite the Russian people, and also added much drama and violence to the appanage period. In 1317 or 1318 Iurii married a sister of the khan of the Golden Horde, the bride having become Orthodox, and received from the khan the appointment as grand prince. During the resulting campaign against Tver, the Muscovite army suffered a crushing defeat, and, although Iurii escaped, his wife fell prisoner. When she died in captivity, Iurii accused Michael of poisoning her. The Tver prince had to appear at the court of the Golden Horde, where he was judged, condemned, and executed. In consequence, Iurii was reaffirmed in 1319 as grand prince. Yet by 1322 the khan had made Michael's eldest son, Dmitrii, grand prince. Iurii accepted this decision,
but apparently continued his intrigues, traveling in 1324 to the Golden Horde. There, in 1325, he was met and dispatched on the spot by Dmitrii, who was in turn killed by the Mongols. Dmitrii's younger brother, Alexander of Tver, became grand prince. However, he too soon ran into trouble with the Mongols. In 1327 a punitive Mongol expedition, aided by Muscovite troops, devastated Tver, although Alexander escaped to Pskov and eventually to Lithuania. In 1337 Alexander was allowed to return as prince of Tver, but in 1338 he was ordered to appear at the court of the Golden Horde and was there executed.
Following the devastation of Tver and Alexander's flight, Iurii's younger brother Ivan Kalita, Prince of Moscow, obtained the position of grand prince, which he held from 1328, or according to another opinion from 1332, until his death in 1341. Ivan Kalita means 'John the Moneybag,' and Ivan I remains the prototype of provident Moscow princes with their financial and administrative talents. Always careful to cultivate the Golden Horde, he not only retained the office of grand prince, but also received the commission of gathering tribute for the khan from other Russian princes. He used his increasing revenue to purchase more land: both entire appanages from bankrupt rulers and separate villages. The princedom of Vladimir, which he held as grand prince, he simply added to his own principality, keeping the capital in Moscow. He ransomed Russian prisoners from the Mongols to settle them on Muscovite lands. All in all, Ivan Kalita managed to increase the territory of his princedom severalfold.
It was also in Ivan Kalita's reign that Moscow became the religious capital of Russia. After the collapse of Kiev, and in line with the general breakup of unity in the land, no ecclesiastical center immediately emerged to replace Kiev, 'the cradle of Christianity in Russia.' In 1326 the head of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Peter, died while staying in Moscow. He came to be worshipped as a saint and canonized, his shrine bringing a measure of sanctity to Moscow. Moreover, in 1328 Ivan Kalita persuaded Peter's successor, Theognost, to settle in Moscow. From that time on, the metropolitans 'of Kiev and all Russia' - a title which they retained until the mid-fifteenth century - added immeasurably to the importance and prestige of the upstart principality and its rulers. Indeed, the presence of the metropolitan not only made Moscow the spiritual center of Russia, but, as we shall see, it also proved time and again to be helpful to the princedom in diverse material matters.
Following the passing of Ivan Kalita in 1341, his son Simeon, surnamed the Proud, was confirmed as grand prince by the khan of the Golden Horde. Simeon's appellation, his references to himself as prince 'of all Russia,' and his entire bearing indicated the new significance of Moscow. In addition to emphasizing his authority over other Russian rulers, Simeon the Proud
continued his predecessor's work of enlarging the Muscovite domain proper. He died in 1353 at the age of thirty-six, apparently of the plague which had been devastating most of Europe. In his testament Simeon the Proud urged his heirs to obey a remarkable Russian cleric, Alexis, who was to become one of the most celebrated Muscovite metropolitans.
Alexis, in fact, proceeded to play a leading role in the affairs of the Muscovite state both during the reign of Simeon the Proud's weak brother and successor, Ivan the Meek, which lasted from 1353 to 1359, and during the minority of Ivan's son Grand Prince Dmitrii. Besides overseeing the management of affairs in Moscow and treating with other Russian princes, the metropolitan traveled repeatedly to the Golden Horde to deal with the Mongols. Alexis's wise leadership of Church and State contributed to his enshrinement as one of the leading figures in the Muscovite pantheon of saints. During Ivan II's reign, beginning with 1357, civil strife erupted in the Golden Horde: no fewer than twenty rulers were to change in bloody struggle in the next twenty years. Yet, if Mongol power declined, that of Lithuania, led by Olgerd, grew; and the Moscow princes had to turn increasing attention to the defense of their western frontier.
Ivan the Meek's death resulted in a contest for the office of grand prince, with Prince Dmitrii of Suzdal and Ivan's nine-year-old son Dmitrii as the protagonists. In a sense, the new crisis represented a revival of old Kievan political strife between 'uncles'' and 'nephews': Dmitrii of Suzdal, who, as well as Dmitrii of Moscow, was descended directly from Vsevolod III, was a generation older than the Muscovite prince and claimed seniority over him. Rapidly changing Mongol authorities endorsed both candidates. The rally of the people of Moscow behind their boy-ruler and the principle of direct succession from father to son carried the day: Dmitrii of Suzdal abandoned his headquarters in Vladimir without a fight, and Ivan the Meek's son became firmly established as the Russian grand prince. The Kievan system of succession failed to find sufficient support in the northeast.
Grand Prince Dmitrii, known as Dmitrii Donskoi, that is, of the Don, after his celebrated victory over the Mongols near that river, reigned in Moscow for three decades until his death in 1389. The early part of his reign, with Metropolitan Alexis playing a major role in the government, saw a continuing growth of Muscovite territory, while in Moscow itself in 1367 stone walls replaced wooden walls in the Kremlin. It also witnessed a bitter struggle against Tver supported by Lithuania. Indeed Prince Michael of Tver obtained from the Golden Horde the title of grand prince and, together with the Lithuanians, tried to destroy his Muscovite rival. Twice, in 1368 and 1372, Olgerd of Lithuania reached Moscow and devastated its environs, although he could not capture the fortified town itself. Dmitrii managed to blunt the Lithuanian offensive and make peace
