Prince Michael Tverskoy: a brief biography, history and monuments

Prince Mikhail Tverskoy was surrounded by legends even before his birth. Both the life and death of this man are mentioned both in historical chronicles and in the life of the saints. December 5 is celebrated the day of remembrance of this great martyr. And in the saints there is a separate page entitled "Prince Michael Yaroslavich Tverskoy."

short biography

The birth of the prince was preceded by a beautiful legend about the meeting of his father, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich, with his mother Ksenia. According to legend, one day the prince was hunting near Tver, near with. Edimonovo. He went into the church on the river bank and saw how his retinue Gregory was crowned with the beautiful Ksenia. The prince was so captivated by the beauty of Xenia that he decided to marry her himself. Grieved, Grigory became a monk and founded a monastery on the bank of the river. Tvertsy.

Not for long the newlyweds lived happily. According to the traditions of that time, Yaroslav Yaroslavich went to the Golden Horde for a shortcut to the reign, and on the way back he fell ill and died. He never saw his son, who was born at the end of 1271.

The first years of life

Dowager princess called her son Michael. After the death of the two eldest sons of Yaroslav Yaroslavich, he becomes the hereditary ruler of the Tver principality. Confirmation of the right to reign, he received in 11 years, after the death of his uncle Svyatoslav. But in fact the power was concentrated in the hands of Princess Xenia and the boyars. When Mikhail was 15 years old, the Tatar raids were on the rise. Thanks to the friendly policy of the neighboring principalities, it was possible to consolidate efforts and to push the invaders far to the west. After that, significant funds were allocated to strengthen Zubtsov - the outpost of the Tver principality.

Mikhail Tverskoi did not forget about the strengthening of Orthodoxy in his native lands. On the advice of the Dowager Princess Xenia, the Transfiguration Church was built on the site of the ancient church of Kosma and Damian. The rich decoration of the temple was entirely paid for from the princely treasury. Much later, for his holiness and awe-inspiring attitude to Orthodox values, the prince was included in the saints and there was called the "holy, blessed Prince Michael of Tver".

The first tests

The Tver principality at that time was formally considered independent of Moscow, but thanks to close kinship ties, Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoi could claim the Grand Duke's throne. This circumstance was very unprofitable to the sons of Alexander Nevsky - Dmitry and Andrew, who for a long time challenged the Moscow throne. After the short-term victory of Dmitry, Andrey gathered the army, inclined the Tatars to his side and in 1293 invaded the Russian lands. The rebellious prince took and robbed 14 cities, not sparing neither Vladimir, nor Moscow, and then gathered to go to the Tver lands.

At this time Mikhail Tverskoi was in the Horde, where he was very graciously accepted by the khan. In the absence of the prince, the Tverchi swore to keep the defense until the last warrior. A large reinforcement to Tver came from other principalities that suffered as a result of Andrei's raid. Learning about the imminent danger, Michael Yaroslavich Tverskoi zasobiralsya home. On his way, the enemies set up an ambush, to which the prince, thanks to a fluke, did not hit. Residents of Tver, learning about the return of Michael, went out to meet him with the procession. But Tatars, seeing that Mikhail returned to Tver, refused to storm her. The city survived.

The Marriage of Mikhail Tversky

According to the chroniclers, Mikhail Tverskoy would be tall, distinguished by forbearance and could not tolerate drunkenness. Both boyars and ordinary people loved him. With the ruler of the whole Tver land, many neighboring princes sought to become related, wedded their daughters and sisters for the prince. At that time, they married early, and Prince Mikhail Tverskaya married at the age of twenty-two with Princess Anna. The girl was his own daughter, the Rostov Prince Dimitry. Marriage originally promised to be happy, but the evil rock constantly experienced the happiness of the newlyweds. In the deep night of 1298, a powerful fire began in the rooms of the prince. Miraculously escaped the young wife and Mikhail Tverskoy himself. The biography of the prince claims that after this incident he fell seriously ill, and all his property was destroyed.

Internal strife

1304 was the date of death of Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich. The main contender for the throne was Mikhail Tverskoy as a senior in the family. But his grandparents began to dispute his hereditary rights, Grigory Danilovich. According to the customs of the time, the princes were to go to the Horde to get a label for reigning there. Anna begged her husband to abandon the grand-prince's label, but he did it in his own way. Simultaneously with Mikhail, Grigory also went there. When princes passed through Vladimir, they were met by the holy Metropolitan Maxim. He begged Gregory not to challenge Mikhail's right. Maxim vouchsafed that Grigory would receive from Mikhail any city if he reconciled with his seniority, but the Moscow prince claimed that he was going to the Horde on his own business and did not intend to claim the reign.

Meeting in the Horde

Two applicants met at the headquarters of the Tatar Khan, and their rivalry broke out with renewed vigor. The Turkish murzes took advantage of civil strife and promised a label to the one who will bring more gifts. Both George and Mikhail were forced to spend more and more, seeking the favor of the Khan representatives and recruiting supporters among the Khan's people close to them. Such a policy devastated the treasury of Michael, lay a heavy burden on servitude people. In the end, he bypassed Gregory and received the coveted label.

Great confrontation

In 1305, Mikhail returned to the Russian lands and solemnly occupied the Moscow throne. But the agreement with Gregory was never reached: the relatives had often fought each other, and the confrontation continued.

At the beginning of 1313, power in the Horde changed, and the khan was a young Tartar named Uzbek. According to his religious beliefs, Uzbek was a Muslim and actively planted a new faith in the Russian lands.

At the same time, Prince Gregory did not forget his resignation. Constantly being near the young Khan, he gradually achieved his full confidence. Grigory even married his sister Konchak, who after the baptism was given the name of Agafia. Having become bummed with Uzbek, the prince of Moscow inclined him to his side and made sure that the Grand Duke's label was copied to him. And now it was Gregory who was to sit on the Moscow throne.

Invasion

Together with Gregory, the ambassadors of the khan, headed by the Kavkady, who belonged to the narrow circle of the most trusted figures of the ruler of the Horde, were to go to Russia. Learning about this, Mikhail Tverskoy with meekness refused to Moscow's reign and returned to his native Tver principality.

But Grigory did not forget his resentment and did not want to settle the matter with peace. Gathering a large army, he moved to Tver. On his way he incinerated cities and villages, burned fields, killed and enslaved men, and gave women and girls for dishonor. Completely emptying the Tver lands on one side of the Volga, he saved up the forces to invade the Zavolzhskaya territory. The scale of the disaster was so great that Mikhail Tverskoi gathered the boyars and the bishop and turned to them for advice. The bishop and boyars unanimously rose to defend their native land and advised the prince to fight with the treacherous nephew.

The battle of with. Bortenev

Opponents faced in late December 1317 near Tver, in a small village of Bortenev. As a result of a bloody battle, the troops of the Moscow prince suffered defeat and turned to flight. George retreated to Torzhok, and from there he fled to Veliky Novgorod. His wife Agafya-Konchaka, his brother Boris and many other tribesmen were taken prisoner. With victory and great joy Mikhail returned to his native Tver. His armor was cut, but he himself was not injured. Michael served a moleben in honor of his victory and brought generous gifts of the church. After the defeat, Gregory assembled a new army from Pskov and Novgorod, but bloodshed was avoided. The princes made peace.

The shortcoming was a new world. The wife of the Moscow prince Agafia, who was in the position of a noble captive in Tver, unexpectedly died. Rumors spread that she was poisoned. George went to the Horde, and he managed to convince the khan of the violent death of his sister. As a guarantor of his innocence, Mikhail gave his son Konstantin to the hostages, but it did not help. An angry Uzbek ordered Mikhail to go to the Horde urgently.

The death of the prince

With a hard heart went Mikhail Tverskoy to Khan Uzbek. He understood that, most likely, he would not return back. Arriving in the Horde, the prince, confronted by the khan, rejected all the charges and asked the court. Uzbek did not dare personally kill the prince and gave it to his assistant Kavgadiya. On November 22, 1318, after an unjust trial, Mikhail Tverskoy died in his own tent, torn to pieces by ill-wishers led by Kavkady.

Mikhail's wife, Anna, begged George to give her husband's body for burial. Tverichi met the coffin with Mikhail's body on the bank of the Volga. The body of the Tver Prince was buried with a large crowd of people in the Transfiguration Monastery.

Accepting martyrdom, the prince defended his lands from the wrath of the Tatars and George. For piety and the protection of Orthodoxy, he was ranked among the saints. According to the Orthodox canon, Saint Michael Tverskoy became the patron of the Tver land. His icons are in the temples of Russian cities and villages, and he himself is considered the defender of the Russian land and the patron saint of the Orthodox. Monuments to Mikhail Tversky are on his native land.

Currently, the most significant of them is on the Soviet Square of the city of Tver.