Daniel of Galicia

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Daniel of Galicia bigraphy, stories - Dynasty

Daniel of Galicia : biography

1201 – 1264

Daniel of Galicia (: Danylo Halytskyi) was a King of Galicia (Halych) (1205–1255), Peremyshl (1211), and Volodymyr (1212–1231). He was crowned by a papal archbishop in Dorohochyn 1253 as the first King of Rus’ (1253–1264).

Honours

A monument to him was erected in 2001 in Lviv. Another one is in Halych.

Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport is named after him.

Family

Mother

  • Anna, allegedly a Byzantine noblewoman († after 1219), Princess of Galicia–Volhynia ca. 1200–1205, Grand Princess of Kiev 1203–1205

Father

  • Roman the Great (* ca. 1150 – † murdered nr Zavikhvost 19 June 1205), Prince of Novgorod 1168–1170, Prince of Volynia 1173–1187, 1188–1205, Prince of Halych 1187–1188, 1199–1205, Grand Prince of Kiev 1203–1205

Wives

  • Anna of Novgorod († bef. 1252), 1218, daughter of Mstislav the Bold
  • NN, sister of King Mindaugas of Lithuania, bef. 1252

Brother

  • Vasilko Romanovich (* 1203 – † 1269), Prince of Belz 1207–1211, Prince of Brest 1221–1231, Prince of Volhynia 1231–1269

Sisters

  • Feodora of Galicia († after 1200), m. 1187 (div 1188) Vasilko of Galicia
  • Maria of Galicia († after 1241), m. before 1200 Michael of Chernigov, sometime Grand Prince of Kiev and ultimately a saint.

Sons

  • Irakli Danielvich (*ca. 1223 – † by 1240)
  • Lev I of Galicia (*ca. 1228 – † ca. 1301), Prince of Belz 1245–1264, Prince of Peremyshl 1264–1269, Prince of Halych 1269–1301, Prince of Halych-Volynia 1293–1301 ; he moved his capital from Halych to the newly-founded city of Lviv(Lwów, Lemberg), m. 1257 Constance, daughter of Béla IV of Hungary.
  • Roman Danielvich (*ca. 1230 – † ca. 1261), Prince of Black Ruthenia (Navahradak) 1255? – 1260?, and Slonim
  • Mstyslav Danielvich († aft. 1300), Prince of Lutsk 1265–1289, Prince of Volynia 1289 – aft. 1300
  • Svarn (Shvarno, Švarnas, Ioann; † 1269, bur. Chełm), Grand Duke of Lithuania 1264–1267 (1268–1269?), Prince of Chełm 1264–1269

Daughters

  • Pereyaslava († 12 April 1283), m. ca. 1248 Prince Siemowit I of Masovia
  • Ustynia, m. 1250/1251 Prince Andrew II of Vladimir-Suzdal
  • Sofia Danielvna, m. 1259 Graf Heinrich V von Schwarzburg-Blankenburg

Biography

He was also known as Daniel Romanovych. In 1205, after the death of his father, Roman II Mstyslavich, the ruler of Galicia–Volhynia, the boyars of Galicia forced the four-year-old Daniel into exile with his mother Anna of Byzantium and brother Vasylko Romanovich. After the boyars proclaimed one of their own as prince in 1213, the Poles and Hungarians invaded the principality, ostensibly to support the claims of young Daniel and Vasylko, and divided it between themselves. In 1219 he renounced his claims to Galicia in favor of his father-in-law Mstislav the Bold.

In 1221 Daniel re-established his rule over Volhynia, where the boyars and populace had remained loyal to his dynasty. In 1234 he defeated Alexander Vsevolodovich, taking the Duchy of Belz. By 1238, he had defeated the Dobrzyń Knights, and regained most of Galicia, including the capital at Galicia. While the Prussians were under pressure from the Teutonic Order, Daniel attempted to conquer the related Yatvingians.

The following year, Daniel acquired Kiev, the traditional capital of the defunct state of Kievan Rus’. Faced with the Mongol menace, he sent his commander Dmytro to defend the city. However, after a long siege its walls were breached and despite fierce fighting within the city, Kiev fell on December 6, 1240 and was largely destroyed. A year later, the Mongols passed through Galicia and Volhynia while campaigning against the Poles and Hungarians, destroying Galicia. On August 17, 1245, Daniel defeated a combined force of the Prince of Chernihiv, disaffected boyars, and Hungarian and Polish (see also Order of Dobrin) elements at Yaroslav and finally took the remainder of Galicia, thus reconstituting his father’s holdings. He made his brother Vasylko ruler of Volhynia and retained the Galician title for himself, though he continued to exercise real powers in both places.