Upper Oka principalities

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The estate of a Russian feudal prince in the late Middle Ages

The principalities of the upper Oka ( Russian Верховские княжества , scientific transliteration Verhovskie knjažestva ) were a group of Russian principalities on the upper reaches of the Oka . They formed in the 13th century as partial principalities in the Principality of Chernigov . After the Mongol invasion of the Rus , these areas belonged temporarily to the Principality of Brjansk until it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century . Thereafter, the Upper Oka principalities became temporarily independent, but were soon annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, albeit with a certain degree of autonomy. The princely families of the Upper Oka belonged to the Rurikids and were mainly descended from Michael von Tschernigow .

With the strengthening of Moscow and the emergence of a centralized Russian Empire in the reign of Ivan III. and with the increasing legal discrimination against Russian orthodoxy in Lithuania, the Upper Oka principalities increasingly turned to Moscow. In the years 1499–1500 they took the oath of allegiance to the Moscow Grand Duke and submitted to his protection. This was one of the main reasons for the Russo-Lithuanian War 1500–1503 . In the Battle of Wedroscha , the Russians won a decisive victory over the Lithuanians, as a result of which around 1/3 of the former Lithuanian territories, including the Upper Oka principalities, were contracted to Russia.

In Russia, the Upper Oka princes enjoyed a high position in the aristocratic hierarchy. Princely dynasties such as Obolensky , Vorotynski , Mossalsky , Mezzki , Volkonsky , Odojewski , Barjatinski or Bolchowski were among the leading statesmen and generals in the centuries that followed.

Upper Oka principalities

Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1462. The Upper Oka principalities were in the east, on the border with the independent Russian principalities of Moscow (light pink) and Ryazan (dark pink)

literature

  • Беспалов Р. А. К вопросу о терминах "верховские князья" и "Верховские княжества" // Проблемы славяноведения. Сб. научных статей и материалов. Брянск: РИО БГУ, 2010. Вып. 12. - С. 15-61.
  • Беспалов Р. А. «Новое потомство» князя Михаила Черниговского по источникам XVI-XVII веков (к постановке Повын ядер веледероникам. Сб. научных статей и материалов. Брянск: РИО БГУ, 2011. Вып. 13. С. 63-97.
  • Шеков А. В. Верховские княжества. Середина XIII - середина XVI в. - М .: Квадрига; Русская панорама, 2012. - 364 с. - (Историко-географические исследования). - 1000 экз. - ISBN 978-5-91791-016-1 .