Halych-Volhynia
Encyclopedia
The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia or Kingdom of Rus' or Galicia–Vladimir was a Ruthenia
Ruthenia
Ruthenia is the Latin word used onwards from the 13th century, describing lands of the Ancient Rus in European manuscripts. Its geographic and culturo-ethnic name at that time was applied to the parts of Eastern Europe. Essentially, the word is a false Latin rendering of the ancient place name Rus...

n (Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

) state in the regions of Galicia and Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...

 during 1199–1349. Along with Novgorod
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...

 and Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal
The Vladimir-Suzdal Principality or Vladimir-Suzdal Rus’ was one of the major principalities which succeeded Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century and lasted until the late 14th century. For a long time the Principality was a vassal of the Mongolian Golden Horde...

, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'. After the enormous destruction wrecked by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus’ in 1239–41, Danylo Romanovych was forced to pledge allegiance to Batu Khan of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

 in 1246. He strove, however, to rid his realm of the Mongol yoke by attempting, unsuccessfully, to establish military alliances with other European rulers. In 1349 the kingdom was conquered by the Poland in which ended its vassalage to the Golden Horde.

Western Galicia–Volhynia extended between the rivers San and Wieprz in what is now south-eastern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, while eastern territories covered the Pripet Marshes (now in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

) and upper Southern Bug
Southern Bug
The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh), is a river located in Ukraine. The source of the river is in the west of Ukraine, in the Volyn-Podillia Upland, about 145 km from the Polish border, and flows southeasterly into the Bug Estuary through the southern steppes...

 in modern-day Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. During its time, the kingdom was bordered by Black Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

, the Principality of Turov-Pinsk, the Principality of Kiev, the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages
The Kingdom of Hungary was formed from the previous Principality of Hungarywith the coronation of Stephen I in AD 1000. This was a result of the conversion of Géza of Hungary to the Western Church in the 970s....

, the Kingdom of Poland, the Principality of Moldova and the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
The State of the Teutonic Order, , also Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights or Ordensstaat , was formed in 1224 during the Northern Crusades, the Teutonic Knights' conquest of the pagan West-Baltic Old Prussians in the 13th century....

.

Tribal area

In pre-Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 times the region was populated by various tribes, including the Lugii
Lugii
The Lugii, Lugi, Lygii, Ligii, Lugiones, Lygians, Ligians, Lugians, or Lougoi were an ancient Germanic tribe attested in the book Germania by the Roman historian Tacitus. They lived in ca...

, Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....

 and Vandals
Vandals
The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Vandals under king Genseric entered Africa in 429 and by 439 established a kingdom which included the Roman Africa province, besides the islands of Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics....

 (which may correspond to the Przeworsk
Przeworsk culture
The Przeworsk culture is part of an Iron Age archaeological complex that dates from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. It was located in what is now central and southern Poland, later spreading to parts of eastern Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia ranging between the Oder and the middle and...

 and Puchov culture
Púchov culture
The Púchov culture was an archaeological culture named after site of Púchov-Skalka in Slovakia. Its probable bearer was the Celt Cotini tribe. It existed in northern and central Slovakia between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE...

s in archaeology). After the fall of the Roman Empire, the area was populated by West Slav people, identified with a group called Lendians
Lendians
The Lendians were a Lechitic eastern Wends tribe recorded to have inhabited the ill-defined area in East Lesser Poland and Cherven Towns between the 7th and 11th centuries....

. Around 833 the West Slavs became part of the Great Moravia
Great Moravia
Great Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe and lasted for nearly seventy years in the 9th century whose creators were the ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks. It was a vassal state of the Germanic Frankish kingdom and paid an annual tribute to it. There is some controversy as...

n state. Upon the invasion of the Hungarian tribes into the heart of the Great Moravian Empire around 899, the Lendians of the area found themselves under the influence of the Hungarian Empire
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

. The whole area was inhabited by White Croats,and land name was White Croatia
White Croatia
White Croatia is a vaguely defined area, said to lie somewhere in Central Europe, near Bavaria, beyond Hungary on south of Poland and west of Ukraine, and adjacent to the Frankish Empire from which the part of White Croats crossed the Carpathians and migrated in the 7th century into Dalmatia...

,capital of Duchy was Stilsko . In 955 their area seems to have constituted part of the Bohemian State
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...

. Around 970 it was included in the Polish state. This area was mentioned in 981 (by Nestor
Nestor the Chronicler
Saint Nestor the Chronicler was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle, , Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, Life of the Holy Passion Bearers, Boris and Gleb, and of the so-called Reading.Nestor was a monk of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev from 1073...

), when Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus took the area over on his way into Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. He founded the city of Vladimir (Volynski) and later Christianized the locals. The area returned to Poland in 1018 and in 1031 was retaken by Rus.

The territory was settled by the East Slavs
East Slavs
The East Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking East Slavic languages. Formerly the main population of the medieval state of Kievan Rus, by the seventeenth century they evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples.-Sources:...

 from the early middle ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...

 and, in the 12th century, the Rurikid Principality of Galicia (Galich) was formed there by descendants of Vladimir, merged at the end of the century with the neighboring Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...

 into the principality of Galicia-Volhynia which existed for a century and a half.

Rise and apogee

Volhynia and Galicia had originally been two separate Rurikid principalities, assigned on a rotating basis to younger members of the Kievan dynasty. The line preceding Roman had held the principality of Volhynia whereas another line, that of Yaroslav Osmomysl
Yaroslav Osmomysl
Yaroslav Osmomysl was the most famous Prince of Halych from the first dynasty of its rulers, which descended from Yaroslav I's eldest son. His sobriquet, meaning "Eight-Minded" in Old East Slavic, was granted to him in recognition of his wisdom...

 held the Principality of Halych
Principality of Halych
Principality of Halych was a Kievan Rus' principality established in around 1124 established by the grandson of Rostislav Ihor Vasylkovych . According to Mykhailo Hrushevsky the realm of Halych was passed to Rostislav upon the death of his father Vladimir Yaroslavich, but he was banished out of it...

 (later adopted as Galicia). Galicia–Volhynia was created when, following the death of the last heirless prince of Galicia, Prince Roman the Great
Roman the Great
Roman Mstislavich , also Roman Mstyslavych or Roman the Great, was a Rus’ prince, Grand Prince of Kiev ....

 of Vladimir-in-Volhynia (modern Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr-Volynsky is a city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative centre of the Volodymyr-Volynsky District, the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...

) acquired the Principality of Galicia in 1199, uniting both lands into one state. Roman's successors would mostly use Halych (Galicia) as the designation of their combined kingdom. In Roman's time Galicia–Volhynia's principal cities were Halych
Halych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...

 and Volodymyr-in-Volhynia. In 1204 he captured Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

. Roman was allied with Poland, signed a peace treaty with Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 and developed diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

. At the height of his reign he briefly became the most powerful of the Rus princes.

In 1205 Roman turned against his Polish allies which led to a conflict with Leszek the White and Konrad of Masovia. Roman was subsequently killed in the Battle of Zawichost
Battle of Zawichost
The Battle of Zawichost was a skirmish fought between Roman the Great of Galicia-Volhynia and Leszek I the White of Lesser Poland, along with his brother, Konrad I of Masovia. After declaring war and invading Lesser Poland, Roman and his forces were ambushed by the Poles in the vicinity of...

 (1205) and his dominion entered a period of rebellion and chaos. The weakened Galicia–Volhynia became an arena of rivalry between Poland and Hungary. King Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...

 styled himself , Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 for "king of Galicia and Vladimir [in-Volhynia]", a title that later was adopted in the Habsburg Empire. In a compromise agreement made in 1214 between Hungary and Poland, the throne of Galicia–Volhynia was given to Andrew's son, Coloman of Lodomeria
Coloman of Lodomeria
Coloman of Galicia-Lodomeria was a member of the Árpád dynasty. He was Prince of Halych and he became the first anointed and crowned King of Galicia-Lodomeria , followed by prince Andrew of Hungary...

 who had married Leszek the White's daughter, Salomea.

In 1221, Mstislav Mstislavich, son of Mstislav Rostislavich
Mstislav Rostislavich
Mstislav Rostislavich , known as "The Brave" , was Prince of Smolensk and Prince of Novgorod. He should not be confused with another prince of the same name, Mstislav Rostislavich Bezokii , who was Prince of Rostov and also Prince of Novgorod and who died in...

, liberated Galicia–Volhynia from the Hungarians, but it was Daniil Romanovich, son of Roman, who re-united all of south-western Rus, including Volhynia, Galicia and Rus' ancient capital of Kiev, which Danylo captured in 1239. Danylo defeated the Polish and Hungarian forces in the battle of Yaroslav (Jarosław) and crushed their ally Rostislav Mikhailovich, son of the prince of Chernigov, in 1245. He also strengthened his relations with Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...

 by traveling to his capital Saray
Sarai (city)
Sarai was the name of two cities, which were successively capital cities of the Golden Horde, the Mongol kingdom which ruled Russia and much of central Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries...

 and acknowledging, at least nominally, the supremacy of the Mongol Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

. After meeting with Batu Khan, Danylo reorganized his army along Mongol lines and equipped it with Mongolian weapons although Danylo himself maintained the traditional attire of a Rus prince. Danylo's alliance with the Mongols was merely tactical, because he pursued a long-term strategy resistance against the Mongols.

In 1245, Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 Innocent IV allowed Danylo to be crowned king. Danylo wanted more than recognition, commenting bitterly that he expected an army when he received the crown. Although Danylo promised to promote recognition of the Pope to his people, his realm continued to be ecclesiastically independent from Rome. Thus, Danylo was the only member of the Rurik dynasty
Rurik Dynasty
The Rurik dynasty or Rurikids was a dynasty founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who established himself in Novgorod around the year 862 AD...

 to have been crowned king. Danylo was crowned by the papal archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 in Dorohychyn
Drohiczyn
Drohiczyn is a small historic town in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. The town with population 2,110 is situated on a bank of the Bug River.- History :...

 1253 as the first King
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

 of all Rus' (Rex Rusiae; 1253–1264). In 1256 Danylo succeeded in driving the Mongols out of Volhynia, and a year later defeated their attempts to capture the cities of Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...

 and Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr-Volynskyi
Volodymyr-Volynsky is a city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative centre of the Volodymyr-Volynsky District, the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...

. However with the approach of a large army under the Mongolian general Boroldai in 1260 Danylo was forced to accept their authority over him and to raze the fortifications he had built against them.

Under Danylo's reign, Galicia–Volhynia was one of the most powerful states in east central Europe. Literature flourished, producing the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle. Demographic growth was enhanced by immigration from the west and the south, including Germans and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

. Commerce developed due to trade routes linking the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 with Poland, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

 basin. Major cities, which served as important economic and cultural centers, were among others: Lvov (where the royal seat would later be moved by Danylo's son), Vladimir-in-Volhynia, Galich, Kholm (danylo's capital), Peremyshl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....

, Drohiczyn
Drohiczyn
Drohiczyn is a small historic town in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. The town with population 2,110 is situated on a bank of the Bug River.- History :...

 and Terebovlya. Galicia–Volhynia was important enough that in 1252 Danylo was able to marry his son Roman
Roman Danylovich
Roman Danylovich , Prince of Black Ruthenia 1254–1258, Prince of Slonim?.He was born as a younger son of Danylo of Halych, a powerful prince of lands east from Poland and later king of those regions, which was most of the times called Volhynia or Ruthenia .In 1252 he was married to Gertrude,...

 to the heiress of the Austrian Duchy
Gertrude, Duchess of Austria
Gertrude of Austria was a member of the House of Babenberg, Duchess of Mödling and later Titular Duchess of Austria and Styria, she was the niece of Duke Frederick II of Austria, the last male member of the Babenberg dynasty...

 in the vain hope of securing it for his family. Another son, Shvarn, married a daughter of Mindaugas
Mindaugas
Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians...

, Lithuania's
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 first king, and briefly ruled that land from 1267–1269. At the peak of its expansion, the Galician–Volhynian state contained not only south-western Rus lands, including Red Rus and Black Rus, but also briefly controlled the Brodnici
Brodnici
The Brodnici were a 13th-century people whose ethnicity is uncertain, as various authors suggest they were Slavic, mixed Romanian-Jassic, Romanian-Slavic, or Turkic-Slavic population, probably vassals of Galicia for a period. Brodnici did not leave any provable material or written traces, which...

 on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

.

After Danylo's death in 1264, he was succeeded by his son Lev
Leo I of Halych
Lev I of Galicia became in turn Knyaz of Belz , Knyaz of Peremyshl, king of Halych and King of Rus' , Grand Prince of Kiev .-Family:...

. Lev moved the capital to Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...

 in 1272 and for a time maintained the strength of Galicia–Volhynia. Unlike his father, who pursued a Western political course, Lev worked closely with the Mongols, in particular cultivating a close alliance with the Tatar Khan Nogai
Nogai Khan
Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...

. Together with his Mongol allies, he invaded Poland. However, although his troops plundered territory as far west as Racibórz
Racibórz
Racibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...

, sending many captives and much booty back to Galicia, Lev did not ultimately gain much territory from Poland. Lev also attempted, unsuccessfully, to establish his family's rule over Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

. Soon after his brother Shvarno ascended to the Lithuanians throne in 1267, he had the former Lithuanian ruler Vaišvilkas
Vaišvilkas
Vaišelga or Vaišvilkas was the Grand Duke of Lithuania...

 killed. Following Shvarn's loss of the throne in 1269, Lev entered into conflict with the Lithuania. From 1274–1276 he fought a war with the new Lithuanian ruler Traidenis
Traidenis
Traidenis was the Grand Duke Lithuania from 1270 till 1282. He is the second most prominent, after Mindaugas, Grand Duke of Lithuania in the 13th century. His reign ended a seven-year unrest period after Mindaugas was assassinated in 1263 and firmly established the Grand Duchy as a pagan state...

 but was defeated, and Lithuania annexed the territory of Black Ruthenia
Black Ruthenia
Black Ruthenia, Black Rus or Black Russia are variant conventional terms used for a region around Navahrudak , in the western part of contemporary Belarus on the upper reaches of the Neman River for the time period between the 13th and 14th centuries...

 with its city of Navahrudak. In 1279, Lev allied himself with king Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and invaded Poland, although his attempt to capture Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

 in 1280 ended in failure. That same year, Lev defeated Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 and annexed part of Transcarpathia
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia is a region in Eastern Europe, mostly located in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast , with smaller parts in easternmost Slovakia , Poland's Lemkovyna and Romanian Maramureş.It is...

, including the city of Mukachevo. In 1292 he defeated Poland and added Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...

 with surrounding areas to the territory of Galicia–Volhynia.

Decline and fall

After Lev's death in 1301, a period of decline ensued. Lev was succeeded by his son Yuri I
George I of Halych
Yuri I of Galicia was prince of Belz and King of Galicia-Volhynia or King of Rus' ....

 who ruled for only seven years. Although his reign was largely peaceful and Galicia–Volhynia flourished economically, Yuri I lost Lublin to the Poles (1302) and Transcarpathia to the Hungarians. From 1308 until 1323 Galicia–Volhynia was jointly ruled by Yuri I's sons Andrew
Andrew of Galicia
Andriy II Yuriyevych or Andrew of Galicia was the last Rus' king of Galicia-Volhynia in 1308–1323 . He was the son of Yuriy I whom he succeeded on the royal throne of Galicia. His mother was Euphemia of Kuyavia. After the death of his father, he ruled the kingdom together with his...

 and Lev II
Lev II of Galicia
Lev Yurevich or Lev II of Galicia was the last Rurikid king of Galicia-Volhynia in 1308–1323 . He was the son of Yuri I of Galicia whom he succeeded on the royal throne of Galicia. After the death of his father, he ruled the kingdom together with his brother Andrey. His mother was Euphemia...

, who proclaimed themselves to be the kings of Galicia and Volhynia. The brothers forged alliances with King Władysław I of Poland and with the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

 against the Lithuanians and the Mongols
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

. But the Kingdom was still tributary to the Mongols and joined the Mongol military expeditions of Uzbek Khan and his successor, Janibek Khan. They died together in 1323, in battle, fighting against the Mongols, and left no heirs.

After the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty in Galicia–Volhynia in 1323, Volhynia passed into the control of the Lithuanian prince Liubartas, while the boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....

s took control over Galicia. They invited the Polish Prince Boleslaw Yuri II
Boleslaus George II of Halych
Bolesław Jerzy II of Mazovia was a ruler of the Polish Piast dynasty who reigned in the originally Ruthenian principality of Galicia...

, a grandson of Yuri I, to assume the Galician throne. Boleslaw converted to Orthodoxy and assumed the name Yuri II. Nevertheless, suspecting him of harboring Catholic feelings, the boyars poisoned him in 1340 and elected one of their own, Dmitry Detko, to lead the Galician state. In Winter 1341 Tatars, Ruthenians led by Detko, and Lithuanians led by Liubartas, were able to defeat Poles, although they were not so successful in Summer 1341. Finally, Detko was forced to accept Polish overlordship, as a starost of Halych. After Detko's death, Poland's King Casimir III
Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...

 mounted a successful invasion, capturing and annexing Galicia in 1349. Galicia–Volhynia ceased to exist as an independent state.

Danylo's dynasty attempted to gain support from Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII , born Jacques Fournier, the third of the Avignon Popes, was Pope from 1334 to 1342.-Early life:...

 and broader European powers for an alliance against the Mongols, but ultimately proved unable of competing with the rising powers of centralised Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 and The Kingdom of Poland. Only in 1349, after the occupation of Galicia–Volhynia by an allied Polish-Hungarian force, the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia was finally conquered and incorporated in Poland. This
act put an end to the relationship of vassalage between Galicia–Volhynia Rus' and the Golden Horde.

End

The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

 divided up the region between them: King Kazimierz III Wielki took Galicia and Western Volhynia, while the sister state of Eastern Volhynia together with Kiev came under Lithuanian control, 1352–1366.

Since 1352 when the kingdom was eventually divided between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, most of the Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenian Voivodeship
Ruthenia Voivodeship was an administrative division of the Kingdom of Poland . Together with Bełz Voivodeship, it formed Lesser Poland Province with its capital city in Kraków. Part of Lesser Poland region...

 belonged to the Crown of the Polish Kingdom
Crown of the Polish Kingdom
The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , or simply the Crown , is the name for the unit of administrative division, the territories under direct administration of Polish nobility from middle-ages to late 18th century...

 where it remained also after the Union of Lublin
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...

 between Poland and Lithuania. The present-day town of Halych is situated 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away from the ancient capital of Galicia, on the spot where the old town's riverport
Riverport
Riverport can refer to:*Riverport, Nova Scotia which is located around Ritcey's Cove and surrounded by the communities of Five Houses, Lower LaHave, East LaHave and Middle LaHave, Upper and Lower Rose Bay, Upper and Lower Kingsburg, Indian Path, Bayport, Feltzen South and The Ovens are collectively...

 was located and where King Liubartas of Galicia–Volhynia constructed a wooden castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in 1367.

By the treaty of the Lublin Union of 1569, all of the former principality of Galicia–Volhynia became part of Poland. In 1772, Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

 of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 (who was also Queen of Hungary) recalled the old Hungarian claims to the , and used them to justify Austria's participation in the partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

.

Historical Role

The Galician-Volhynian Chronicle reflected the political programme of the Romanovich dynasty ruling Galicia-Volhynia. Galicia-Volhynia competed with other successor states of Kievan Rus (notably Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal
The Vladimir-Suzdal Principality or Vladimir-Suzdal Rus’ was one of the major principalities which succeeded Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century and lasted until the late 14th century. For a long time the Principality was a vassal of the Mongolian Golden Horde...

) to claim the Kievan inheritance. According to the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle, Galicia-Volhynia's King Daniil was the last ruler of Kiev preceding the Mongolian invasion and thus Galicia-Volhynia's rulers were the only legitimate successors to the Kievan throne. Until the end of Galician-Volhynian state, its rulers advanced claims upon "all the land of Rus'." The seal of King Yuri I contained the Latin inscription domini georgi regis rusie.

In contrast to their consistent secular or political claims to the Kievan inheritance, Galicia's rulers were not concerned by religious succession. This differentiated them from their rivals in Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal
The Vladimir-Suzdal Principality or Vladimir-Suzdal Rus’ was one of the major principalities which succeeded Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century and lasted until the late 14th century. For a long time the Principality was a vassal of the Mongolian Golden Horde...

, who sought to, and attained, control over the Kievan Church. Rather than contest Vladimir-Suzal's dominance of the Kievan Church, Galicia-Volhynia's rulers merely asked for and obtained a separate Church from Byzantium.

Galicia-Volhynia also differed from the northern and eastern principalities of the former Kieven Rus in terms of its relationship with its western neighbors. King Danylo was alternatively an ally or a rival with neighboring Slavic Poland and partially Slavic Hungary. According to historian George Vernadsky
George Vernadsky
George Vernadsky , Russian: Гео́ргий Влади́мирович Верна́дский) was a Russian-American historian and an author of numerous books on Russian history.- European years :...

, Galicia-Volhynia, Poland and Hungary belonged to the same psychological and cultural world. The Roman Catholic Church was seen as a neighbor and there was much intermarriage between the princely houses of Galiica and those of neighboring Catholic countries. In contrast, the Westerners faced by Alexander, prince of Novgorod, were the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

, and the northeastern Rus experience of the West was that of hostile crusaders rather than peers.

See also

  • Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
    Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
    The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...

  • List of Ukrainian rulers
  • Mongol invasion of Rus
    Mongol invasion of Rus
    The Mongol invasion of Russia was resumed on 21 December 1237 marking the resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked the medieval powers of Poland, Kiev, Hungary, and miscellaneous tribes of less organized peoples...

  • List of early East Slavic states
  • List of rulers of Galicia and Volhynia

Sources


Cyrilic


Latin

  • Bielowski A. Halickowlodzimierskie księstwo. — Biblioteka Ossolińskich., t. 4.
  • Bielowski A. Królewstwo Galicji (o starem księstwie Halickiem). — Biblioteka Ossolińskich, 1860, t. 1
  • Gebhard L. A. Geschichte des Konigreiches Galizien, Lodomerien und Rotreussen. — Pest, 1778;
  • Engel J. Ch. Geschichte von Halitsch und Vlodimir. — Wien, 1792.
  • Harasiewicz M. Berichtigung der Umrisse zu einer Geschichte der Ruthenen. — Wien, 1835.
  • Harasiewicz M. Annales ecclesiae Ruthenae. — Leopoli, 1862.
  • Hoppe L A. Geschichte des Konigreiches Galizien und Lodomerien. — Wien, 1792.
  • Lewicki A. Ruthenische Teilfürstentümer. — In: Österreichische Monarchie im Wort und Bild Galizien. Wien, 1894.
  • Siarczyński F. Dzieje księstwa niegdyś Przemyślskiego. — Czasopism naukowy Biblioteki im. Ossolińskich, 1828, N 2/3;
  • Siarczyński F. Dzieje niegdyś księstwa Belzkiego i miasta Belza. — Czasopism naukowy Biblioteki im. Ossolińskich, 1829, N 2.
  • Stecki J. T. Wołyń pod względem statystycznym, historycznym i archeologicznym. — Lwów, 1864
  • Zubrzycki D. Rys do historii narodu ruskiego w Galicji i hierarchii cerkiewnej w temże królewstwie. — Lwów, 1837.
  • Zubrzycki D. Kronika miasta Lwowa. — Lwów, 1844.

External links


Ukrainian

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