Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia

The Kingdom or Principality of Galicia–Volhynia[1] (Old East Slavic: Галицко-Волинскоє князство; Ukrainian: Галицько-Волинське князівство; Latin: Regnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae), also known as the Kingdom of Rus (Ukrainian: Королівство Русь, Latin: Regnum Rusiae) from 1253, was a medieval state and vassal of the Golden Horde in the Eastern European regions of Galicia and Volhynia that existed from 1199 to 1349. Its territory was predominantly located in modern-day Ukraine and Belarus. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus. The main language was Old East Slavic, a predecessor to Ukrainian and Russian, and the official religion was Eastern Orthodoxy.

Principality of Galicia–Volhynia
(1199–1253)
Kingdom of Rus
(1253–1349)

Old East Slavic: Галицко-Волинскоє князство, Королѣвство Русь
1199–1349
Royal Banner
Coat of arms
A map of Central and Eastern Europe during the 13th–14th centuries, showing the Kingdom of Rus (center, in dark green).
StatusIndependent Rus principality and successor state (1199–1246), an allied semi-Vassal of the Golden Horde (1246–1253), Vassal of the Golden Horde (1253-1349)
CapitalVolodymyr-Volynsky, Halych, Kholm (Chełm) (1241–1272), Lviv (from 1272)
Common languagesOld East Slavic
Religion
Eastern Orthodoxy
GovernmentMonarchy
Prince, later King 
• 1199–1205
Roman the Great
• 1211–1264
Daniel of Galicia
• 1293–1301
Lev I of Galicia
• 1301–1308
Yuri I of Galicia
• 1308–1323
Andrew of Galicia and
Lev II of Galicia
• 1323–1340
Yuri II
• 1340–1349
Demetrius of Liubar
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Principality
1199
• Kingdom
1253
• Incorporated into Poland
1349
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Principality of Halych
Principality of Volhynia
Kingdom of Poland (1320–1385)
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Leopol is a center of "Russia" near Podolia on the 1554 map of Sebastian Münster
Domini Georgi Regis Russiae; Lord George (Yuri), the King of Russia (top banner reads "Volodymir-Halych Land")
King's seal of Yuri I of Halych (reign: 1301–1308) "S[igillum] Domini Georgi Regis Rusie" (left), "S[igillum] Domini Georgi Ducis Ladimerie" (right).
Modern interpretation of the King seal of Yuri I of Halych
"Moneta Rvssiє" coined in 1382 based on groschen
Coins of Dux Wladislaus

The Grand Prince of Kyiv, Roman the Great, united the principalities of Halych and Volhynia into a single state at the turn of the 13th century. Following the destruction wreaked by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus (1239 to 1241), Prince Danylo Romanovych was forced to pledge allegiance to Batu Khan of the Golden Horde in 1246 as other princes of Rus did. He strove to rid his realm of the Mongol yoke, by formally drawing closer to Western Europe, however when Batu Khan ordered him to destroy city walls of his eastern cities he did so.[2] He was crowned "Rex Rusiae" by a papal legate in 1253, becoming officially an Orthodox subject of the Vatican. He also unsuccessfully attempted to establish military alliances with other European rulers.[3] The Polish conquest of the kingdom in 1349 ended its vassalage to the Golden Horde but it also ended it's autonomy; the principality of Galicia was fully absorbed by Catholic Poland.[4] Upon annexing it, Polish King Casimir III the Great adopted the title of King of Poland and ruler of Ruthenia, and the territory was transformed into the Province of Ruthenia (Latin: Palatinatus Russiae) in 1434.

Geographically, western Galicia–Volhynia extended between the rivers San and Wieprz in what is now south-eastern Poland, while eastern territories covered the Pripet Marshes (now in Belarus) and the upper reaches of Southern Bug river in modern-day Ukraine. During its time, the kingdom was bordered by Black Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Principality of Turov-Pinsk, the Principality of Kyiv, the Golden Horde, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Kingdom of Poland, the Principality of Moldova and the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights.

History

Tribal area

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the area was populated by East Slavic people, identified with groups called Buzhans, Dulebes and White Croats. The southwestern edge of the land was probably part of the Great Moravian state. In 907, White Croats and Dulebs were involved in the military campaign against Constantinople led by Rus Prince Oleg of Novgorod.[5][6] This is the first significant evidence of the political affiliation of native tribes. Around 970, the western edge of this territory was probably included into the Piast dynasty state. The area was mentioned in 981 (by Nestor), when Volodymer the Great of Kyivan Rus took over on his way into Poland. He founded the city of Volodimir (Volynskii) and later Christianized the locals. In the 12th century, the Principality of Halych was formed there by descendants of Volodymer the Great. It merged at the end of the 12th century with the neighboring Principality of Volhynia into the principality of Galicia–Volhynia, which existed with some breaks for a century and a half.

Rise and apogee
Saint Pantaleon Church, Shevchenkove, Halych Raion, 1194

Volhynia and Galicia had originally been two separate principalities, assigned on a rotating basis to younger members of the Kyivan dynasty. The line of Prince Roman the Great of Vladimir-in-Volhynia had held the principality of Volhynia, while the line of Yaroslav Osmomysl held the Principality of Halych (later adopted as Galicia). Galicia–Volhynia was created following the death in 1198[7] or 1199[8] (and without a recognized heir in the paternal line) of the last Prince of Galicia, Vladimir II Yaroslavich; Roman acquired the Principality of Galicia and united his 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 and Volodymyr-in-Volhynia. In 1204 he captured Kyiv. Roman was allied with Poland, signed a peace treaty with Hungary and developed diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire. At the height of his reign he briefly became the most powerful of the Rus princes.[9] He married the niece of the Byzantine emperor Alexios III, for whom Galicia was the main military ally against the Cumans. The relation with Byzantium helped to stabilize Galicia's relations with the Rus' population of the Lower Dniester and the Lower Danube.[10]

In 1205 Roman turned against his Polish allies, leading to a conflict with Leszek the White and Konrad of Masovia. Roman was subsequently killed in the Battle of Zawichost (1205), and his dominion entered a period of rebellion and chaos. Thus weakened, Galicia–Volhynia became an arena of rivalry between Poland and Hungary. King Andrew II of Hungary styled himself rex Galiciæ et Lodomeriæ, Latin for "king of Galicia and Vladimir [in-Volhynia]", a title that was later adopted by the House of Habsburg. 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, who had married Leszek the White's daughter, Salomea.

Historical map of Kyivan Rus, 1220–1240

In 1221, Mstislav Mstislavich, son of Mstislav Rostislavich, liberated Galicia–Volhynia from the Hungarians, but it was Daniel Romanovych (Daniel I of Galicia or Danylo Romanovych or Danylo Halytskyi), son of Roman, who formed a real union of Volhynia and Galicia. In 1239 and 1242 he captured Kyiv, attempting to become the Grand Prince of all Rus, but he lost the city the first time after a few weeks, the second after a year. 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 by traveling to his capital Saray (Sarai) and acknowledging, at least nominally, the supremacy of the Mongol Golden Horde. 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; he pursued a long-term strategy of resistance to the Mongols.[11]

In 1245, Pope 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.[12] 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 to have been crowned king. Danylo was crowned by the papal legate Opizo de Mezzano in Dorohochyn 1253 as the first King of all Rus (Rex Russiae; 1253–1264). In 1256 Danylo succeeded in driving the Mongols out of Volhynia, and a year later he defeated their attempts to capture the cities of Lutsk and Volodymyr-Volynskyi.[13] Upon the approach of a large army under the Mongolian general Boroldai in 1260, however, Danylo was forced to accept their authority and to raze the fortifications he had built against them.[14]

Under Danylo's reign, Kingdom of Rus was one of the most powerful states in east central Europe.[14] Literature flourished, producing the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle. Demographic growth was enhanced by immigration from the west and the south, including Germans and Armenians. Commerce developed due to trade routes linking the Black Sea with Poland, Germany, and the Baltic basin. Major cities, which served as important economic and cultural centers, included Lviv (where the royal seat would later be moved by Danylo's son), Vladimir-in-Volhynia, Galich, Kholm (Danylo's capital), Peremyshl, Drohiczyn, and Terebovlya. Galicia–Volhynia was important enough that in 1252 Danylo was able to marry his son Roman to the heiress of the Austrian Duchy in the vain hope of securing it for his family. Another son, Shvarn, married a daughter of Mindaugas, Lithuania's first king, and briefly ruled that land from 1267 to 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 on the Black Sea.

After Danylo's death in 1264, he was succeeded by his son Lev, who moved the capital to Lviv in 1272 and for a time maintained the strength of Kingdom of Rus. 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. Together with his Mongol allies, he invaded Poland. However, although his troops plundered territory as far west as Racibórz, 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. Soon after his brother Shvarn ascended to the Lithuanian throne in 1267, he had the former Lithuanian ruler Vaišvilkas killed. Following Shvarn's loss of the throne in 1269, Lev entered into conflict with Lithuania. From 1274 to 1276 he fought a war with the new Lithuanian ruler Traidenis but was defeated, and Lithuania annexed the territory of Black Ruthenia with its city Navahrudak. In 1279, Lev allied himself with king Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and invaded Poland, although his attempt to capture Kraków in 1280 ended in failure. That same year, Lev defeated Hungary and annexed part of Transcarpathia, including the city of Munkács. In 1292 he defeated Poland and added Lublin with surrounding areas to the territory of Kingdom of Rus.

Decline and fall

After Lev's death in 1301, a period of decline ensued. Lev was succeeded by his son Yuri I, who ruled for only seven years. Although his reign was largely peaceful and Kingdom of Rus flourished economically, Yuri I lost Lublin to the Poles in 1302 From 1308 until 1323 Kingdom of Rus was jointly ruled by Yuri I's sons Andrew and Lev II, who proclaimed themselves to be the kings of Kingdom of Rus. The brothers forged alliances with King Władysław I of Poland and the Teutonic Order against the Lithuanians and the Mongols, but the Kingdom was still tributary to the Mongols and joined the Mongol military expeditions of Uzbeg Khan and his successor, Janibeg Khan.[4] The brothers died together in 1323, in battle, fighting against the Mongols, and left no heirs.

After the extinction of the Rurikid dynasty in Kingdom of Rus in 1323, Volhynia passed into the control of the Lithuanian prince Liubartas, while the boyars took control over Galicia. They invited the Polish prince Boleslaw Yuri II, 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 the 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 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 and broader European powers for an alliance against the Mongols, but ultimately proved unable to compete with the rising powers of the centralised Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. Only in 1349, after the occupation of Galicia–Volhynia by an allied Polish-Hungarian force, was the Kingdom of Rus finally conquered and incorporated in Poland. This ended the vassalage of Kingdom of Rus to the Golden Horde.[15]

End
Europe in 1570, "Russia" is shown around cities of Premislia (Przemyśl), Leopolis (Lviv), and Belz
The Louis's realm at the end of 14th century
See also: Galicia–Volhynia Wars

From 1340 to 1392 the civil war in the region transitioned into a power struggle between Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary. The first stage of conflict led to the signing of a treaty in 1344 that secured the Principality of Peremyshl for the Crown of Poland, while the rest of the territory belonged to a member of the Gediminis family, Liubartas. Eventually by the mid-14th century, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania divided up the region between them: King Casimir III took Galicia and Western Volhynia, while the sister state of Eastern Volhynia together with Kyiv came under Lithuanian control, 1352–66.

After 1352 most of the Ruthenian Voivodeship belonged to the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, where it remained also after the Union of Lublin 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 river port of the old town was located, and where King Liubartas of Kingdom of Rus constructed a wooden castle in 1367.

By the treaty of the Union of Lublin of 1569, all of the former principality of Galicia–Volhynia became part of Poland. In 1772, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (who was also Queen of Hungary) revived the old Hungarian claims to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (Regnum Galiciæ et Lodomeriæ), using them to justify the participation of Austria in the partitions of Poland.

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 Kyivan Rus (notably Vladimir-Suzdal) to claim the Kyivan inheritance. According to the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle, Kingdom of Rus King Daniel was the last ruler of Kyiv preceding the Mongolian invasion and thus Galicia–Volhynia's rulers were the only legitimate successors to the Kyivan throne.[16] 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.[16]

In contrast to their consistent secular or political claims to the Kyivan inheritance, Galicia's rulers were not concerned by religious succession. This differentiated them from their rivals in Vladimir-Suzdal, who sought to, and attained, control over the Kyivan Church. Rather than contest Vladimir-Suzal's dominance of the Kyivan Church, Kingdom of Rus' rulers merely asked for and obtained a separate Church from Byzantium.[16]

Galicia–Volhynia also differed from the northern and eastern principalities of the former Kyivan 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, Kingdom of Rus, 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 Galicia and those of neighboring Catholic countries. In contrast, the Westerners faced by Alexander, prince of Novgorod, were the Teutonic Knights, and the northeastern Rus experience of the West was that of hostile crusaders rather than peers.[13]

Division
Volhynia coat of arms
Halych coat of arms
Peremyshl coat of arms
Belz coat of arms

The principality was divided into several appanage duchies and lands.

Temporary division

Rulers
Prinz Władysław II Opolczyk Governor of Galicia 1372–1378
Table of history of Cherven Cities, Galicia–Volhynia and Red Ruthenia
Serpent of Piasts – Mazovian Piasts coat of arms
Columns of Gediminas
  • 1323–1349 political crisis, de facto ruled by a boyar Dmytro Dedko
    • 1323–1325 Galicia: Volodymyr I Lvovych of Galicia, Volhynia: Liubartas
    • 1325–1340 Yuri II Boleslav (united as compromise)
  • 1340 takeover of Galicia by Casimir III the Great
  • 1349 Galicia annexed (patrimonial) by Poland and Hungary, Volhynia – Lithuania

Notes: The senior branch of Rurikid dynasty, in the 14th century Galician rulers came in close relations with Mazovian Piasts (Duke of Mazovia) and rising Gediminids which established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Constantinople Metropolitan of Halych

The Constantinople Metropolitan of Halych existed in turn of the 14th century.

Maps
  • Map of Pokuttia in 1648 east of Russia

See also
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History of Ukraine
Prehistory
Early history
Early modern history
Modern history
Topics by history
 Ukraine portal

References
  1. It is also called Galich-Volhyn, Galicia–Volynia, Galicia–Volyn, and Galich–Volyn, Halych–Volhyn, Halych–Volhynia, or Galicia–Vladimir
  2. Buchstein, Fred; Saunders, J. J. (October 2001). "The History of the Mongol Conquests". The Journal of Military History. 65 (4): 1081. doi:10.2307/2677636. ISSN 0899-3718.
  3. Principality of Galicia-Volhynia.
  4. Michael B. Zdan – The Dependence of Halych-Volyn' Rus' on the Golden Horde, The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 35, No. 85 (Jun., 1957), p. 522
  5. "Oleg of Novgorod | History of Russia". historyofrussia.org. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  6. Ипатьевская летопись. — СПб., 1908. — Стлб. 21
  7. Dimnik, Martin (2003). The Dynasty of Chernigov – 1146–1246. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. (Chronological table of events) xxviii. ISBN 978-0-521-03981-9.
  8. Charles Cawley (2008-05-19). "Russia, Rurikids – Chapter 3: Princes of Galich B. Princes of Galich 1144-1199". Medieval Lands. Foundation of Medieval Genealogy. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  9. Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Roman Mstyslavych
  10. Alexander V. Maiorov, The Alliance between Byzantium and Rus’ Before the Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204,Russian History, Volume 42, Issue 3, pages 272 – 303. Publication Year : 2015
  11. Vernadsky, George. (1970). The Mongols and Russia. A History of Russia, Vol. III. New Haven: Yale University Press pp. 144–149.
  12. John Joseph Saunders. (2001). The history of the Mongol conquests. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, p101
  13. Vernadsky, George. (1970). The Mongols and Russia. A History of Russia, Vol. III. New Haven: Yale University Press pg. 157.
  14. "Daniel Romanovich" Archived 2007-08-24 at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 23 August 2007
  15. Zdan, Michael B. "The Dependence of Halych-Volyn' Rus' on the Golden Horde." The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 35, No. 85 (June, 1957), p. 521-522
  16. Jarosław Pelenski. In P. Potichnyj (ed.) (1992). Ukraine and Russia in their historical encounter. Edmonton, Alberta: Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, University of Alberta. pp.8–15

Sources

Further reading

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.

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