Izyaslav of Polotsk
Encyclopedia
Izyaslav was the son of Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...

 and Rogneda of Polotsk
Rogneda of Polotsk
Rogneda of Polotsk is the Slavic name for Ragnhild, whose father Ragnvald came from overseas and established himself at Polatsk in the mid-10th century....

.

Following Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

 tradition, Izyaslav was sent with his mother to rule her homeland. There is also a legend that Rogneda tried to get Izyaslav to slay his father.

Despite possibly going against the will of his father, Izyaslav was able to continue his rule in Polotsk. He was first to make Polotsk autonomous from the Grand Duke of Kiev passing his title to his descendants after his death. His principality carried a wide degree of autonomy that later was passed and to his descendants as well. His glory was commemorated after an established city that was named after him.

Izyaslav died at the young age of about 23, in 1001, surviving his mother but predeceasing his father Vladimir of Kiev, thus excluding his descendants from ever succeeding the Kievan throne, according to the so-called "ladder succession".

The name of Izyaslav's spouse is unknown. He had two sons: Bryachislav of Polotsk
Bryachislav of Polotsk
Bryachislav Izyaslavich was the prince of Polatsk between 1001 and 1044. His name, possibly, may have been of something in approximation to Vratislav or Wroclaw. He was son of Izyaslav Vladimirovich. During his reign Polotsk was at war with Kiev and Novgorod...

 and Vseslav. Both were certainly minor at the time of his father's death. Vseslav died, still in childhood, in 1003, while Bryachislav survived to continue the Polotsk dynasty and to challenge the authority of his uncle Yaroslav the Wise.

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