A
helmet lost by Yaroslav in the aftermath of the
Lipitsa Battle and retrieved by a peasant in 1808.
(), Christian name
Theodor () (
February 8,
1191 –
September 30,
1246), was the Grand Prince of
Vladimir (1238–1246) who helped to restore his country and capital after the
Mongol invasion of Russia.
Prince of Pereyaslav
Yaroslav was the fourth son of
Vsevolod the Big Nest and
Maria Shvarnovna.
In 1200, he was sent by his father to rule the town of
Pereyaslav near the
Kypchak steppes. Six years later, he was summoned by
Halychian boyars to rule their city but could not effectively claim the throne. Thereupon he was sent to take
Ryazan, but the stubborn opposition of the inhabitants led to the city being burnt. In 1209, Vsevolod sent Yaroslav to oppose
Mstislav the Bold in
Novgorod. After several battles, the two princes made peace, whereby Yaroslav married Mstislav's daughter.
Upon his deathbed, Vsevolod the Big Nest bequeathed to him
Pereslavl-Zalessky. In the conflict between his elder brothers
Konstantin and
Yuri, Yaroslav supported the latter. In 1215, he accepted the offer of the Novgorodians to become their prince but, desiring revenge for their former treachery, captured
Torzhok and blocked its supplies of grain to Novgorod. Several months later, he was defeated by his father-in-law
on the Lipitsa River and had to retreat to Pereslavl; a helmet that he lost during the battle would be retrieved by archaeologists in 1808.
Prince of Novgorod and Kiev
In 1222, Yaroslav, finally enthroned in Novgorod, overran all of
Estonia and besieged its capital
Kolyvan. Four years later, he
devastated Finland and baptised
Karelia. His next ambition was to subjugate
Pskov, but the Novgorodians refused to make war against its neighbour. Yaroslav departed in anger and seized the Novgorodian enclave of
Volokolamsk. In 1234, he returned to Novgorod and several years later defeated its chief enemies—
Lithuanians and
Teutonic Knights. In 1236, he followed
Danylo of Halych's advice and moved from Novgorod to
Kiev, leaving his son
Alexander as his representative in the north.
Prince of Vladimir
In 1238, when the
Mongols first invaded Russia and his elder brother Yuri was killed in battle, Yaroslav left Kiev for Vladimir, where he was crowned grand prince. Yaroslav attempted to restore the cities of
Vladimir-Suzdal after the Mongol ravages and fires. In 1243, he was summoned by
Batu Khan to his capital
Sarai. After a lengthy conference, he returned to Vladimir with honours. Two years later, he was again summoned to the east, this time by
Güyük Khan in
Karakorum. There he was poisoned by the
Great khan's mother
Toregene and died a week after he had been allowed to return home.
Marriages and children
Yaroslav married his first wife c. 1205. She was a daughter of Yuri Kondakovich, Khan of the
Cumans. Her people belonged to the
Kipchaks, a confederation of pastoralists and warriors of
Turkic origin.
In 1214, Yaroslav married his second wife Rostislava Mstislava. She was a daughter of
Mstislav the Bold and another Cuman princess. Her maternal grandfather was Kotian Khan. They were divorced in 1216.
In 1218, Yaroslav married his third wife Fedosia Igorevich of
Ryazan. She was a daughter of Igor Glebovich and Agrafena of
Kiev. Her father was the second son of Gleb Rostislavich, Prince
Prince of Ryazan (d. 1178) and Euphrosyne of
Pereyaslavl. Her mother was a daughter of
Rostislav I of Kiev. They had at least twelve children:
- Fyodor Yaroslavich (Winter, 1219 - 5 June, 1233). Betrothed to Euphrosyne Mikhailovna of Chernigov. She was a daughter of Michael of Chernigov and Maria Romanovna of Galicia and Volynia. Fyodor died the day before his marriage date.
- Daniil Yaroslavich (d. 1256).
- Maria Yaroslavna (born 1240).
