Relations with the Horde, despite the preparation of a coalition against it, were developing with the king of Russia quite good. Even the very efforts to form a coalition gradually acquired the character of a reinsurance option or an opportunity to sharply raise their status in the future, if suddenly a crusade gathers and the Romanovichs succeed not only to throw off the Tatar yoke, but also to expand their possessions at the expense of other principalities of Russia. Calm relations with the steppe dwellers allowed him to actively intervene in European politics, which clearly aroused great interest in Daniel.
However, all good things come to an end sooner or later. By the beginning of the 1250s, Beklarbek Kuremsa settled in the Black Sea steppes, who was a significant figure in the Horde hierarchy and had great ambitions. In 1251-1252, he made the first campaign against the border possessions of the Galicia-Volyn principality, laying siege to Bakota. The governor of the prince obeyed the will of Kuremsa, and the city temporarily passed under the direct authority of the steppe inhabitants. If it were an ordinary raid, the khan would have punished the beklarbek with death (there were precedents), but Kuremsa acted not just for the sake of robbery: as a vassal of the khan, he tried to take by force a number of possessions from another khan's vassal. Such conflicts were resolved in the Horde and therefore no penalties were imposed on Kuremsa. However, Daniel also found himself with untied hands to resist the steppe inhabitants.
The second campaign of Kuremsa in 1254 turned out to be much less impressive, even taking into account the fact that the prince and the army were not in the state at that time. Appearing near Kremenets, he demanded the transfer of the territory under his authority, but the city tysyatsky turned out to be well-versed in the laws of his time, and simply presented the beklarbek with a label for the ownership of the city of the Romanovichs. An attempt to take possession of the city in this case turned into suicide, since the khan could get angry, and Kuremsa was forced to leave the territory of the principality with nothing.
It became clear that the beklyarbek would not stop trying to take away the southern lands of the Galicia-Volyn state, and it was required to teach him a lesson. The freshly baked king of Russia did not postpone such an important matter, and already in 1254-1255 he conducted a retaliatory campaign against Kuremsa and the cities and territories dependent on him. The Russians did not restrain their blow: Bakota was returned, after which a blow was struck at the border possessions of the Kiev land, dependent on Beklarbek. All the captured cities were included in the Romanovich state, the campaign was very successful and relatively bloodless.
The enraged Kuremsa decided to go into a full-scale war against Daniel and Vasilko, moving into the depths of their possessions with his entire horde. Alas, here he encountered a highly developed Galicia-Volyn fortification and a renewed Russian army, which could not be compared with the one that fought the Mongols in 1241. In the battle at Vladimir-Volynsky, the infantry withstood the blow of the Tatar cavalry, after which the horsemen of the Russians severely battered it, taking the victory for themselves; a new defeat also soon followed near Lutsk. Kuremsa was forced to retreat to the steppe, admitting his fiasco.
In 1258, Kuremsu, who showed himself rather mediocre, was replaced by Burunday. This Tatar was not Chingizid, moreover, he was very old (he was already over 70 years old), but he still possessed a sharp mind and, most importantly, had vast experience of wars and the policy of the steppe people regarding sedentary vassals. In the behavior of the Galicia-Volyn state, including the coronation of Danila Galitsky, the steppe dwellers saw the threat of excessive strengthening of their de jure vassal, which is why they made experienced Burundi responsible for the "reasoning" of disobedient Russians. Already this year, an unexpected campaign against the Lithuanians followed through the Russian lands. The Romanovichs, faced with the fact, were forced to join Burunday at his request, and went to war against Mindaugas. He considered such a move on the part of the allies a betrayal, and soon a new war began between the Russians and the Lithuanians.
Already in 1259, Burunday, on behalf of the khan, suddenly demanded that Daniel appear to him and answer for his actions. In the event of direct disobedience, the entire anger of the Golden Horde would fall upon him. Remembering what sometimes happens to Russian princes at the headquarters of the Mongol commanders, the king of Russia preferred to act by the old method, going abroad with a personal squad and two sons, Shvarn and Mstislav, in an effort to put together a coalition against the Tatars now, while at the headquarters of Burundi Vasilko, Lev Danilovich and the Kholmsk Bishop John set out with rich gifts. The king of Russia, having gone into voluntary exile, tried to no avail to find new allies and even took part in the Austro-Hungarian conflict, speaking with his squad in support of Bela IV.
Realizing that the ruler was absent from his state, Burundai came with an army to the cities controlled by the Romanovichs, and began to force them to destroy their fortifications, thereby opening access for any invasions. While the townspeople were destroying the walls, Burunday, as a rule, feasted with an absolutely calm air somewhere nearby with Vasilko and Lev. Only the city of Kholm refused to destroy its walls, and Burunday, as if nothing had happened, ignored the refusal and went on. And then there was a raid of the Tatars in Poland, where the Russian princes took part again, unable to go against the will of Beklarbek. At the same time, in Poland, Burunday arranged a classic set-up: passing the inhabitants of Sandomir through Vasilka that if the city was surrendered they would be spared, he actually staged a massacre, exposing the Romanovichs in a bad light. Having done a nasty thing, having deprived most of the large cities of protection and quarreled between the Romanovichs and their allies, Burunday went back to the steppe, and the chronicles do not remember him anymore.
Only after that, Daniil Romanovich returned to his country and began to restore what was lost. Already in 1260, the alliance with the Poles was renewed, and after several years of raids and conflicts with the Lithuanians. Apparently, some work was done in terms of preparing the restoration of city fortifications: Daniel himself was afraid to do this, but already under Leo, in just a couple of years, new walls and towers, better than the previous one, will grow again around all the main cities of the Galicia-Volyn state. Nevertheless, the actions of the cunning Burundi were in many ways much more significant than the invasions of Batu in 1241. If Batu just walked across Russia with fire and sword, showing strength, then Burunday finally and irrevocably approved the Horde power on the territory of the Romanovich state. Both Daniel and his eldest son had to deal with the consequences of these events.
My brother, my enemy is Lithuanian
At that time, the Romanovichs developed very peculiar relations with the Lithuanians. By the middle of the 12th century, a united Lithuania as such did not yet exist, but was already in the process of formation. The leader of this process was Mindaugas - first a prince, and after the adoption of Catholicism and a king, the only crowned king of Lithuania. The years of his reign almost entirely coincide with the years of the reign of Daniil Romanovich, therefore it is not surprising that with the king of Russia he had rather close, though not always friendly relations. It all began in 1219, when, through the mediation of Anna Angelina, Daniel's mother, peace and an anti-Polish alliance with the Lithuanian princes were concluded. Among other princes, Mindaugas was also called, who later acted in the eyes of the Romanovichs as the main ruler of all Lithuanians. It was with him that negotiations were conducted, he was considered as an ally on a par with the Poles and Magyars.
The peak of relations, both friendly and hostile, came at a time after the Battle of Yaroslavl in 1245. Then Mindovg acted as an ally of the Romanovichs, but did not manage to lead his army to the battlefield. Soon after that, small and large detachments of Lithuanians, both controlled by Mindovg and not, began to raid the northern territories of the Galicia-Volyn principality. Most of all, the water was muddied by the Yatvingians, who managed to significantly terrorize both Polish Mazovia and Russian Berestye, as a result of which Daniel, united with Konrad Mazovetsky, made a successful campaign against them in 1248-49. Despite the justification of such radical measures, Mindaugas took the campaign with hostility, and soon, together with the rest of the Lithuanians, began to fight against the Romanovichs. However, this did not play in his favor: because of the conflict, Tovtivil, the nephew of Mindaugas, fled to Daniel, and the Galician-Volyn troops made several campaigns to the north in support of the prince, together with the Lithuanian squads loyal to him.
This was followed by the performance of the Galicia-Volyn principality on the side of the crusaders at the beginning of 1254. That is why Daniel was crowned in Dorogochyna: the city was located on the border with Mazovia, where the united army was gathering. Around the same time, a new alliance with Mindovg was concluded: the Lithuanians handed over to the son of Daniel, Roman (who managed to divorce Gertrude von Babenberg), into the direct management of Novogrudok, Slonim, Volkovysk and all the lands closest to them. At the same time, Roman became a vassal of Mindaugas. In addition, the daughter of a Lithuanian prince (name unknown) married Shvarn Danilovich, another son of the king of Russia, and in the future he would even be destined to become the ruler of Lithuania for some time. After the conclusion of this peace, the Lithuanians indirectly took part in the crusade against the Yatvingians, somewhat expanding both their possessions and the possessions of the Romanovichs.
As a result, the union of Lithuanians and Russians turned out to be so significant that in 1258 Burunday hurried to break it, making a raid on Lithuania with the Galician-Volyn princes. In revenge for the betrayal, the Lithuanian princes Voyshelk (son of Mindaugas) and Tovtivil (nephew) seized Roman Danilovich in Novogrudek and killed him. The pope's call to Mindaugas to punish "apostates" who refused to establish the Catholic rite in their country also added fuel to the fire. These same Lithuanians were allowed to conquer any lands of the Romanovichs. After that, many northern possessions were lost to the Romanovichs, and only the efforts of Prince Lev Danilovich were able to restrain the onslaught of the Lithuanians. Mindovg and Daniel never had a chance to reconcile, and the paths of Lithuania and the Romanovichs began to diverge more and more every year.
End of reign
After his return from voluntary exile, Daniil Romanovich gathered all his relatives, near and far, and spent a lot of "work on mistakes." He tried to reconcile with all his relatives, with whom he managed to quarrel because of his flight from the country. Then he tried to justify his actions: after fleeing from Burundi, he actually took all the blame for the misconduct and thus minimized the damage to the state. The kinsmen accepted the arguments, and relations between them and the king were restored. Despite this, it was at that meeting that the seeds of future problems and enmity were sown, and Daniel's eldest son, Leo, even quarreled with his father, although he accepted his will. After making a number of important decisions, which will be discussed later, the princes parted, recognizing the return of power to the king of Russia. In 1264, just two years after returning from exile, Daniel died after a long illness, which he is believed to have suffered for two years.
The reign of this prince, the first king of Russia, was marked by such large-scale changes that it would be difficult to list them all. In terms of the effectiveness and revolutionary nature of his reign, he is comparable to the local "grandees" of his era: Vladimir and Casimir the Great, Yaroslav the Wise and many others. Fighting almost regularly, Daniel was able to avoid huge losses, and even by the end of his reign the Galician-Volyn army was numerous, and the human resources of his lands were far from exhausted. The army itself was transformed, the first truly massive combat-ready (by the standards of its time) infantry appeared in Russia. Instead of the squad, the cavalry began to be manned by the local army, although, of course, it was not yet called such. Given to the heirs, this army will continue to cover itself with glory until the moment when the Romanovich dynasty begins to rapidly fade away.
At the same time, despite constant wars, the Mongol invasion and large-scale devastation, Southwestern Russia under Daniel continued to develop, and the pace of this development was comparable to the pre-Mongol "golden age" of Russia, when the population grew rapidly, as did the number of cities and villages. Absolutely everyone was used as settlers, including the Polovtsians, a significant number of whom settled in Volyn in the 1250s. Trade, fortification, crafts developed, thanks to which, in economic and technological terms, the Galicia-Volyn land did not lag behind other Europeans and, probably, at that time was ahead of the rest of Russia. The political authority of the Romanovich state was also high: even after the failure of the union, Daniel continued to be called the king of Russia and despite everything was considered an equal to the kings of Hungary, Bohemia and other Central European states of that time. True, having achieved significant success by the mid-1250s, Daniel then took a step back in many respects due to his decisions made after returning from exile, due to which the result of his reign was somewhat blurred. In addition, the king of Russia, wishing to free himself from the influence of the Horde, showed real fanaticism and truly senile stubbornness, which actually led to a split in the Romanovich family. This issue will be discussed in detail in the following articles.
The nature of statehood and state power has changed. Despite the preservation of the basic principles of the ladder, nothing prevented the introduction of the inheritance of the principality according to primogeniture, except for the will of the king himself. The state was built as centralized and could remain so under a strong monarch on the throne. The state elite has changed dramatically. The old boyars with their small-town thinking and oligarchic manners disappeared into oblivion. In his place came a new boyars, which included both progressive representatives of the old clans and new families of townspeople, rural free community members and merchant children who wished to go through the military service. It was still noble, self-willed and ambitious, but, unlike in past times, the boyars acquired a state mentality, saw the dependence of personal benefit on the general one and therefore became a faithful support for the sovereigns who took power into strong hands and had goals that were clear to everyone.
Daniil Galitsky built a strong, promising state with considerable potential. After takeoff, a fall usually follows, and the Romanovichs were literally surrounded by strong enemies from all sides, who had not yet slipped into the abyss of internal problems, so the end had to be quick and, probably, bloody. Fortunately, the heir to Daniil Galitsky was capable enough not only to preserve, but also to increase his father's legacy. Unfortunately, he will also be destined to become the last sufficiently gifted representative of the Romanovich dynasty, capable of effectively managing the state in such difficult conditions.
Sons of Daniil Romanovich
Having told about the reign of Prince Daniel of Galitsky, one cannot but tell about his sons.
Very little is known about the first and eldest son, Heraclius. He was born in about 1223, bore a clearly Greek name, inherited from his mother, but for unknown reasons died before 1240. Probably, the cause of the death of the prince was some kind of illness, although, alas, there is no exact confirmation of this.
The third son was named Roman. He managed for some time to be the Duke of Austria, and then the Prince of Novogrudok. Apparently, he was a good commander, but died early as a result of a conspiracy of the Lithuanian princes, who decided to take revenge on the Romanovichs for breaking the alliance with Mindaugas. The very union that the Romanovichs forced Burunday to break.
The fourth son bore a rather unusual name, Schwarn, showed himself to be a good commander and was one of his father's most trusted persons. This Romanovich, despite his Russian origin, has been completely bogged down in Lithuanian affairs since the 1250s, and can serve as a clear illustration of how closely the fate of Russia and Lithuania was connected at that time. Mindaugas' son-in-law, friend and comrade-in-arms of Voyshelk, he lived almost his entire adult life in the territories controlled by Lithuania, and played a significant political role there, at some point even being its grand duke.
The youngest, fourth son was named Mstislav. He was the least capable and outstanding of all the brothers, took little part in the big projects of his relatives, and tried to maintain peaceful relations with them. At the same time, he turned out to be a good prince precisely from the point of view of government: after settling in Lutsk after 1264, and after the death of the Vasilkovichi in Volodymyr-Volynsk, he was actively involved in the development of his lands, the construction of cities, churches and fortifications, took care of the cultural life of his subjects … Nothing is known about his heirs, but the later princes of Ostrog, one of the most influential Orthodox magnates of the Polish kingdom, indicated their origin precisely from Mstislav.
But the second son …
