Dmitri Donskoy
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Dmitri Ivanovich Donskoi ( Russian Дмитрий Иванович Донской; * October 12, 1350 - May 19, 1389 ) was Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir from 1359 to 1389 . Due to his victory over the Golden Horde in the battle on the Snipe Field near the Don in 1380 , he is still considered a national hero in Russia and was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church . His nickname Donskoi ("the Don's") is derived from this victory .
Domination
Dmitri Ivanovich, son of Grand Duke Ivan II , was still a minor when he took over the government of Moscow. At first he tried to gain the dignity of Grand Duke, which was always a cause for controversy among Russian princes in the 13th and 14th centuries. His opponent was Prince Dmitri Konstantinowitsch of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod in 1362/63 , who received the title of Grand Duke in Sirai in 1360, although the traditional opponents of Moscow, Tver and Riasan were far stronger. But Donskoy decided this power struggle for himself, because he had the power of the Metropolitan Alexius on his side, who obtained the appointment of Dmitri as Grand Duke at the Great Khan. Konstantinowitsch gave up the dignity of the Grand Duke in 1365 without a fight. After he had become independent, he sought to expand his power and conquered the city of Vladimir and at the same time expanded his power to Rostov , Halitsch and Starodub (now in the Bryansk Oblast ).
In 1367/68 the Moscow Kremlin was rebuilt “from white stone” (limestone) and had its baptism of fire in the same year : Lithuania attacked under the leadership of Grand Duke Olgierd († 1377), in alliance with Michael Alexandrovich, Prince of Tver . The Muscovites were defeated on the Trosna, but the Lithuanians came to a standstill in front of the Kremlin fortress. Two years later, Donskoy attempted a show of force and attacked the Principality of Tver. Michael von Tver reactivated the alliance with the Lithuanians and tried to convince the Mongols to put Donskoy in their place, but they waited. Once again, the armed conflict only ended with a truce at the walls of the Kremlin. Despite his military successes, Donskoy wanted to legalize and confirm his power one more time. So he traveled to the Khan of the Golden Horde in 1371, and Mamai confirmed the grand prince that had already been granted. In contrast, the Prince of Tver did not receive this confirmation. So this was an important stage win.
But the armed conflicts never ended. In 1372 the Grand Duke of Ryazan was defeated at Skornitschew. Here the Prince of Tver and the Lithuanians allied with him saw another chance to take revenge against Donskoy. But this time they were defeated before Moscow (near Lyubuzk) and forced to make peace. A year later the Mongols conquered Ryazan , but were persuaded by Donskoy's army to turn back on the Oka. Then in 1375 Dmitri attacked Tver, besieged the city and forced Michael to a final peace. The Lithuanian relief troops turned back.
Donskoy tried to emancipate himself from the Mongols through military success. The victories at the Voscha / Oka in 1378 and at the Battle of Kulikowo pole in 1380 were important, but not decisive.
In 1382 Khan Toktamish invaded Russia, grazed Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod, and turned against Moscow. Dmitri Donskoy gathered his troops, but they were outnumbered by the Mongols. According to the Novgorod Chronicle, Donskoy left Moscow and his family in view of the large number of enemies, allegedly to raise new troops in the northeast. Moscow was taken after three days of assault. The Mongols burned large parts of the city. After sacking other cities ( Vladimir , Pereyaslavl, etc.), the Mongols broke off their Russian campaign and turned south. During this period of calm (1383), Dmitri had the unreliable Metropolitan Cyprian and his followers replaced by clergymen inclined to him and attacked Ryazan again to punish Oleg for his alliance with Mamai.
reception
Shortly after his death, a wreath of legends grew up around him. His victory, which had shown the Russians that the Mongols were not invincible, but otherwise had no major consequences, was more and more glorified over time. Although another 100 years passed before the Ugra stood without a fight in 1480, which is seen as the end of Mongolian domination over Russia, Russian national historiography stylized the battle as a turning point in Russian history and postulated that the rise Moscow could no longer be stopped. The Russian Orthodox Church was no less zealous in the Transfiguration of Dmitri Donskoy, who was canonized in 1988. According to tradition, Saint Sergius of Radonezh had blessed the prince with an icon of the Mother of God before the battle on the Kulikowo Pole.
In 2002 the order “For Service to the Fatherland” was founded in memory of Prince Dmitrij Donskoj and the venerable Abbot Sergius von Radonezh. In Moscow, Dmitrij-Donskoi-Boulevard and the metrostration of the same name on the Serpukhovsko-Timirjasewskaja line are named after the prince. Two Russian warships also bear his name, namely an armored cruiser and the strategic U-cruiser TK-208 .
sources
- The Chronicle of Novgorod. 1016-1471. Translated from the Russian by Robert Michell and Nevill Forbes. With an Introduction by C. Raymond Beazley and an Account of the Text by AA Shakhmatov (= Camden 'Third Series, Vol. XXV). London 1914. ( Digitized ; PDF; 17.6 MB).
literature
- AW Karassew, GI Oskin: Dmitri Donskoi. Berlin 1953.
Web links
Individual references and comments
- ↑ Chronicle of Novgorod , p. 159.
| predecessor | government office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Ivan II |
Grand Duke of Vladimir Moscow 1359–1389 |
Vasily I. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dmitri Donskoy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Dmitri Ivanovich Donskoy (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Grand Duke of Moscow (1359-1389) |
| BIRTH DATE | October 12, 1350 |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 19, 1389 |