Yury of Zvenigorod
| Yury of Zvenigorod | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Grand Prince of Moscow | |
| Predecessor | Vasily II |
| Successor | Vasily Kosoy |
| Born | 26 November 1374 Pereslavl,Grand Duchy of Moscow |
| Died | 5 June 1434(aged 59) Galich |
| Burial | |
| Consort | Anastasya Yurievna |
| Issue | Vasily Kosoy Dmitry Shemyaka Dmitry Krasny |
| Dynasty | Rurik |
| Father | Dmitry Donskoy |
| Mother | Eudoxia Dmitriyevna |
| Religion | Russian Orthodox |
Yury Dmitrievich(26 November 1374 inPereslavl-Zalessky– 5 June 1434 inGalich), also known asGeorge II of Moscow,Yury of ZvenigorodandJurij Zwenihorodski,was the second son ofDmitri Donskoi.He was the Duke ofZvenigorodandGalichfrom 1389 until his death. During the reign of his brotherVasily I,he took part in the campaigns againstTorzhok(1392),Zhukotin(1414), andNovgorod(1417). He was the chief orchestrator of theMuscovite Civil Waragainst his nephew,Vasily II,in the course of which he twice tookMoscow,in 1433 and 1434.[1]
Family matters
[edit]By his wife, Anastasia, the daughter ofYury of Smolensk,Yury had three sons —Vasily Kosoy,Dmitry Shemyaka,andDmitry Krasny.The marriage to Anastasia made him the brother-in-law ofŠvitrigaila,Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Inheritance and claims
[edit]At his father's death, Yury received inappanagethe towns ofZvenigorod,Ruza,andGalich.
Upon his brother's death, Yury immediately asserted his claim to the throne ofMuscovyagainst that of Vasily's son,Vasily II.He referenced the old house law of theHouse of Rurik,whereby the senior throne in the dynasty passed from brother to brother, rather than from father to son. He also interpreted in his favour the testament ofDmitry Donskoy,written at the time when Vasily had been unmarried and childless.[1]
Treaty with Vasily II
[edit]In 1430, Yury and his nephew decided that the issue would be settled in theGolden Horde.TheKhansupported the claim of Vasily II, but allowed Yury to take the appanage of his deceased younger brother, Peter ofDmitrov.This decision did not fully satisfy Vasily, who took Dmitrov by force and expelled Yury's governor from the town in 1432. In response, Yury rallied his forces and advanced onPereslavl-Zalessky.Vasily II was defeated on the bank of theKlyazma Riverand fled toKostroma.After that, Yury enteredMoscowin triumph and proclaimed himself Grand Duke.[1]
Instead of imprisoning his nephew, Yury allowed him to settle inKolomnaand rule the town as his appanage. This show of magnanimity cost him dearly, as scores of Muscoviteboyarsand noblemen fled to Vasily's court in Kolomna. This shift in momentum impelled Yury to conclude a treaty with Vasily, whereby the uncle renounced his claims to Moscow, promised to deny assistance to his sons, and exchanged Dmitrov for other territories. Vasily returned to Moscow, while Yury withdrew to Galich.[1]
Further conflicts
[edit]The following year, Kosoy and Shemyaka defeated Vasily II on the banks of the Kus River. The grand prince was informed that Yury's troops had been seen among his enemies and decided to punish him for this treachery. In winter 1434, he set Galich ablaze, but Yury had escaped northward toBelozersk.On 16 March, the armies of the uncle and the nephew clashed betweenRostovand Pereslavl. Vasily's army was roundly defeated and he sought refuge inNizhny Novgorod.
On 31 March 1434, on theBright WeekWednesday, Yury again entered Moscow, where he captured Vasily's family and treasury. He was preparing a new campaign against Vasily when he died suddenly, on 5 July 1434, succeeded by his eldest son, Vasily Kosoy.[1]
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- (in Russian)Biography of George II of Moscow
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary(in Russian). 1906.
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