Semyon Proud is the son of Grand Duke Ivan Kalita. Short biography, years of government

Semyon Proud was the eldest son of the Grand Duke of Moscow and Vladimir Ivan Danilovich Kalita. The time of his reign was an important stage in the rise of the capital and the strengthening of the Grand Duke's power. At the same time, the ruler entered into a conflict with Novgorod and Lithuania, which complicated his relations with other specific rulers. However, most historians admit that he did much to subjugate his younger brothers and neighboring lands.

early years

Semyon Proud was born in 1317. Scientists argue about the exact date of his birth, some indicate September 7 - the day of the memory of St. Sozont. This is the name the prince took when tonsuring monks before he died. Information about his youth remained very little. It is known that her mother was the first wife of Ivan Kalita Princess Elena. By nature, the future ruler was a campaign rather not for his father, but for his uncle, Yuri Danilovich, who was brave, brave and often took risks. Semyon Proud for exactly the same qualities and received a famous nickname. And if his parent was secretive, cunning, cautious, then his successor acted impulsively and even sharply.

Voknyazhenie

Ivan Danilovich died in 1340. By his will, he left most of the inheritance to his eldest son. But in order to obtain the grand prince's label, it was necessary to get a label in the Horde at the Khan. However, it was not so simple, because many rulers of other appanage principalities tried to get a letter for Suzdal ruler Konstantin Vasilyevich with all his might. The fact is that Ivan Danilovich conquered many of the principalities of his power, bought up land, lured boyars and ordinary people to his side. Therefore now many princes wanted to be released from the Moscow power. However, Semyon Proud still got a label in many respects due to the fact that his father had introduced his sons to the khan during his lifetime, having achieved his location to them. In addition, the new ruler was rich and presented the khan with rich gifts, which contributed to his success.

Contract with brothers

Having achieved the label for the Vladimir principality, the ruler first of all took care of subordinating the younger rulers of his power. Semyon Proud, whose years of reign - 1340-1353, already at the very beginning of his voknyazheniya faced sedition in the capital, associated with the opposition boyar groups. Some scholars believe that one of his brothers was associated with this complex internal political struggle. To somehow calm the situation, the prince concluded a treaty with Andrei and Ivan Ivanovich, which has survived to the present day in defective form. In it, the parties pledged to preserve the integrity and indivisibility of their possessions and act together against common enemies. The sons of Ivan Kalita thus established a common political line of behavior. Indicative is the fact that the younger brothers recognized the supremacy of the new ruler and gave him some of the princely economy in recognition of his status.

Relations with the northern neighbor

Moscow and Novgorod constantly confronted each other. The first sought to strengthen its position in the area, the second - on the contrary, to retain its influence in the vast northern territories. Ivan Kalita during his reign often demanded money from this city to pay the Khan's tribute. There is a point of view that he asked more from his residents than was accepted, which constantly led to conflicts. The troops of the Moscow prince occupied a number of territories subordinate to the republic. For the upcoming struggle, the prince concluded an agreement with the Lithuanian ruler, marrying his son to his daughter. Semyon Ivanovich Proud continued his father's policy. While he was in the Horde, the Novgorodians had already partly recovered their lost positions. However, the Moscow ruler occupied Torzhok and planted his deputy there. After a while, the confrontation flared up again, but with the help of the Metropolitan of Novgorod, an agreement was reached. The ruler was recognized as the head of the city, and Moscow and Novgorod for some time reconciled.

The beginning of disagreements with Lithuania

Hardly having established relations with the northern republic, Semyon faced a new problem, this time with a former western ally. The Lithuanian prince Olgerd was very concerned about the growing power of the capital and took a number of measures to undermine its influence. At first he organized a campaign to Mozhaysk, but he could not succeed. For him, this first failure was all the more annoying that his opponent increased after the capture of Torzhok, who paid him a tribute of 1000 rubles - a large sum for that time. Grand Duke Vladimir, learning about the actions of the Lithuanian ruler, decided not to hesitate and sent an embassy to the khan with a complaint about the ruin of the Russian lands. He took the side of Moscow's Semyon, which forced Olgerd to make peace with him.

Third marriage

Great importance in the policy of the Moscow princes played family ties. To strengthen his position, Semyon married the daughter of a Tver ruler. His wife's name was Maria Alexandrovna. She was his third wife. This marriage for the time reconciled the two warring parties. Princess spent her childhood in Pskov because her father after a suppressed uprising in the city had to hide in the north. After the murder of the Tver prince in the headquarters of the khan, the girl was with the family at the court of the brother-in-law. After the death of the latter, Semyon relied on his nephew, who with his assistance received a shortcut to the Tver principality and was influenced by Moscow. The new union was sealed by marriage. Maria Aleksandrovna married Semyon, and thus the hostility between the principalities was temporarily suspended. In this marriage he had four sons, who later died of the plague.

Dynastic policy

Semyon Ivanovich, as well as his father, paid much attention to marriages. In 1350 he allowed the Lithuanian prince Olgerd to marry his sister Uliana. Thus, former adversaries became svoyaki, which can also be considered a great foreign policy success. In addition, he gave his daughter for the Kashinsky prince, which strengthened his position and influence in the Tver principality. Such family ties subsequently predetermined the alignment of forces in the Moscow-Tver war in the second half of the 14th century.

Death and testament

In 1353 the plague epidemic began in the Russian lands. She came to the center of the country from the north, through Pskov. From this terrible disease the sons of the ruler died, and later he himself. Before his death, he took tonsure with the name of Sozont. The prince left a spiritual testament, which sharply differs from the credentials of his father and the letters of his followers.

In this will he left his inheritance to his wife, which never happened before or after. However, such an order is due to the difficult situation in the family. Since Semyon had no heirs, he had no other choice. However, there is information that at that time the Grand Duchess was expecting a child, and the testator assumed the transition to him of the Grand Duchy status and lands. Another important difference between the source and other documents is the order of the ruler to live in peace and obedience with the fathers of the church and the boyars. He orders his brothers to fulfill his will, remembering the conditions of his contract with them, and also instructs the princess boyars. Three seals are brought to the document, one of which contains the inscription "Grand Duke of All Russia". All historians draw attention to the latter circumstance as a fact reflecting the claims of the Moscow ruler to dominate all Russian lands. After his death, the ruler became his next-born brother Ivan Ivanovich, who was nicknamed Red. As the Grand Duke, he took from the princess the bulk of the possessions of the principality, thereby reinforcing the status of supreme ruler. This step was also of great political importance. Maria Aleksandrovna, being a Tver Princess, could claim a part of the land, which, under the constant confrontation of these two major centers of Rus, was extremely dangerous for the unity of the Kalitovichi fiefdom.

The importance of government

The years of the reign of Semyon Ivanovich were a time of further strengthening and elevation of Moscow. He continued the policy of his father and succeeded in subduing the rulers by means of military campaigns and dynastic marriages. Relations with the Horde at this stage remained the same: like his parent, the new ruler was at the rate of the khan and with the help of a rich tribute and bribery sought his goals. However, it was with him that the Moscow Principality remained without an heir. Fortunately, two of his brothers remained alive, one of whom became the new supreme ruler. Semyon Proud, whose brief biography is the subject of this review, was remembered by contemporaries for his somewhat steep politics. Many of the specific rulers were unhappy with him, since he demanded full subordination of his power. He had a reason for this, because at his voknyazheniye Khan ordered all to obey him. Interest in this prince is preserved in modern historical science. Most attention is paid to the struggle of boyars in the capital at the beginning of his reign, as well as to the Moscow-Lithuanian relations.