The first contacts of Byzantium with Roman Mstislavich were probably established in the early 1190s, when he gained strength as one of the most influential princes of Southern Russia. However, the true flowering of these relations began only in 1195, when Alexei III Angel took power in Constantinople, and especially after the unification of the Galicia-Volyn principality under the leadership of Prince Roman, which made him already a very noticeable political figure and military force outside Russia. especially for the Romans. The latter tried at all costs to improve relations with the prince. The reason was simple: Byzantium at that time was in deep decline, experienced constant uprisings, but, worst of all, it was subjected to regular raids by the Polovtsians, who thoroughly ravaged its lands and reached Constantinople in their raids. Some kind of force was needed that could stop the raids of the steppe inhabitants on Byzantium, and Prince Roman Mstislavich turned out to be such a force in the eyes of the Byzantine emperor.
Apparently, the negotiations were started long before the capture of Galich, since already in 1200 the first signs of the concluded alliance appeared. After that, one of the main tasks of Roman's foreign policy became campaigns deep into the steppe against the Polovtsians, which was both a traditional occupation for South Russia and provided considerable support to the Byzantine allies. Already in the winter of 1201-1202, it fell on the Polovtsian steppe, striking at the nomadic camps and camps of the steppe. The main forces of the Cumans at this time plundered Thrace. Having received news of the campaign of the Russian prince, they were forced to return home at a rapid pace, throwing away the loot, including the rich man. For this, Roman deserved comparison with his ancestor, Vladimir Monomakh, who also loved and actively practiced visits to the steppe inhabitants as a preventive measure. In response, the Polovtsians supported Roman's enemy, Rurik Rostislavich, but failed and were forced to face unexpected guests from Russia several times. Winter campaigns turned out to be especially painful, when the steppe was covered with snow and the nomads lost their mobility. As a result of this, by 1205, the danger of the Polovtsians for Byzantium was reduced to a minimum.
However, a curious detail emerges here. In Byzantine chronicles, for example, by Nikita Choniates, Prince Roman is given a lot of attention, his victories over the Cumans (Polovtsy) are praised in every possible way, but, most importantly, he is called hegemon. And according to the Byzantine terminology of that time, only a close relative of the emperor could be hegemon. And here the legend smoothly approaches, probably, the most interesting riddle associated with the figure of Roman Mstislavich.
Byzantine princess
There is practically no exact news about the second wife, the mother of Daniel and Vasilko Romanovich. Even taking into account her important role in the formation of their own children, the chronicles remember her only as “the widow of Romanov,” that is, the widow of Prince Roman. Which, by the way, is a completely normal phenomenon, since in the annals and chronicles of that time, women might not have been given special attention at all, and at best it could be known who the father or husband of this or that woman was. Nevertheless, modern historians have done a tremendous amount of work to find sources and analyze the information obtained. With a high degree of probability, it was possible to establish the origin of the second wife of Prince Roman Mstislavich. It was also possible to determine her alleged name and to compose a probable life story, which, within the framework of our legend, is of considerable interest.
Anna Angelina was born in about the 1st half of the 1180s. Her father was the future emperor of Byzantium Isaac II, at that time only one of the many representatives of the dynasty of Angels (therefore Angelina: this name is not personal, but dynastic). Nothing is known about the mother at all, but after analyzing all the sources, historians came to the conclusion that she was probably from the Palaeologus dynasty, the very ones who would become the emperors of Nicea, and then the last ruling house of Byzantium. Isaac had other children, Anna turned out to be the youngest of all. For certain reasons, about which one can only speculate, from childhood she was placed in a private nunnery and was brought up as a nun, which at that time was not a rare occurrence for Byzantium. Perhaps, in this way, Isaac II, a rather God-fearing person, wanted to protect her from the vicissitudes of fate, or to thank God for giving him the imperial throne in 1185, or he simply decided to give her the appropriate monastic upbringing. Be that as it may, the girl grew up locked up, while receiving an excellent education. Perhaps it was at this moment that the ecclesiastical name of Anna was added to her secular name - Euphrosinia, or maybe she became Euphrosyne only in her old age, when she really moved into a nun after her son Daniel revived the Galicia-Volyn principality, now you cannot say for sure. Or maybe everything was completely the opposite, and in the world she was Euphrosyne, and Anna became after the tonsure. There is also a third version of her name - Maria. This is how the “Romanov's widow” was called in Soviet fictional historical literature. Alas, now this hypothesis looks insufficiently substantiated, since it is based on too complex constructions and does not fit with foreign sources. Be that as it may, in the future, the first option will be used, since it is generally accepted among historians, although far from indisputable.
Isaac II ruled for only 10 years. In 1195 he was overthrown by his own brother, Emperor Alexei III. He tried to solve the great many problems that befell Byzantium, and began to look for a reliable ally. At the same time, Roman Mstislavich was gaining strength and recently divorced Predslava Rurikovna. The Russian prince needed a wife, the Byzantine emperor was an ally, so the further course of events was already predetermined - the Greek church ranks in this case inevitably yielded to the will of the secular authorities, as a result of which the emperor's niece, who was suitable for marriage, was removed from the monastery. It is possible that negotiations on the marriage of Roman with the Byzantine princess were started even before the divorce from Predslava and served as another reason for a rather rare act at that time, which was the divorce. Be that as it may, the marriage was concluded in 1200, shortly after Roman settled in Galich. After the wedding, Anna Angelina bore him a son, and then another. In order to achieve the maximum possible legitimacy of the second marriage and children from it, the Galician-Volyn prince, most likely, organized a church trial over his former father-in-law, mother-in-law and wife, sending them to a monastery and having achieved recognition of the illegality of such closely related marriages. For some time, such a decision turned out to be unique in Russia, since the princes entered into marriages for a long time with those relatives with whom marriage was prohibited according to the Greek canons, which makes a more significant version of the political motives of the forcible tonsure of Rurik with his wife and daughter, and not exceptionally religious.
Anna Angelina, becoming the founding mother of the Romanovich dynasty, gave her husband, children and the entire Galicia-Volyn principality a huge legacy. It was thanks to her that a large number of Greek names appeared in Russia, which had not been registered in the chronicles among the Rurikovichs before. It was this Byzantine princess who brought to Russia two Christian shrines - the cross of Manuel Palaeologus with a piece of wood from which the cross was made, on which Jesus Christ was crucified (now kept in Notre Dame Cathedral), and the icon of the Mother of God by the Evangelist Luke, which is now known as Polish Czestochowa Icon of the Mother of God. Thanks to Anna's belonging to the imperial dynasty, in much later years, Daniel Galitsky during negotiations could "press the style" in front of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, being dressed in a purple cloak (and such fabric at that time could only be owned by relatives of the emperors). She also brought to Russia the cult of Daniel the Stylite, which later became popular in the North-East of Russia due to dynastic ties with the Romanovichs. Because of Anna Angelina, Roman and his children will turn out to be close relatives of the Arpads, Babenbergs and Staufens, which will expand the possibilities of conducting foreign policy. But the most important thing is that during the childhood of her sons, Anna Angelina will gnaw out support for them with her teeth wherever possible, and also thanks to her willpower and mind, Daniil Galitsky will not just become what he will become, but simply will not die out of childhood from a boyar knife or poison.
In short, this is one of the most successful examples of the fact that not everything that is called marriage is something bad.
German politics
There is in the Thuringian town of Erfurt the Benedictine monastery of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. It is quite old, existed already in the XII century, and enjoyed a special status among the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. According to the traditions of that time, certain representatives of the aristocracy could provide the monasteries with the highest protection, primarily financial, thanks to which, in addition to purely Christian motives, the secular authorities could gain influence on the church life of this institution. In addition, such a ward monastery became a kind of political instrument, a kind of indirect connection with its patron. By donating a large amount of money to the monastery, it was possible to make peace or at least start negotiations with a noble patron, and joint patronage, as a rule, was a sign of an alliance or simply friendship or kinship between two or more people.
Imagine the surprise of historians when they learned that one of the donors of a large amount of silver to the monastery in Erfurt was a certain "Roman, King of Russia", namely Prince Roman Mstislavich, who presumably visited Germany somewhere at the turn of the XII-XIII centuries. After his death, the "King of Russia" was annually mentioned on June 19 (the day of death) during the funeral service … It was this discovery that became the impetus for investigating the question of the participation of Prince Roman Mstislavich in German politics. The research results are still clearly incomplete, and this topic can be studied for a long time, but the discoveries made are enough to boldly assert about the active foreign policy of the Galician-Volyn prince on the territory of the Holy Roman Empire.
And what happened in the Holy Roman Empire at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries? Just an ordinary, cheerful struggle between the two leading dynasties that claimed the imperial crown: the Staufens and the Welfs, in which England, France, Denmark, Poland and many other states of that time intervened, choosing one side or the other. At that time, the Welfs controlled the imperial throne, but the Staufens, represented by the King of Germany, Philip of Swabia, acted as the true heart of Germany, and perhaps the whole of European politics. It was they who had a great influence on the Fourth Crusade, as a result of which Constantinople fell. On the other hand, Welf was supported by the Pope … In general, good old strife, only in a special, Germanic-Catholic way, which affected almost all of Europe at that time.
The connections of Roman Mstislavich with the Staufens were formed long before the prince's visit to Germany. Firstly, they were relatives to each other, albeit distant ones (the prince's grandmother was just a representative of the German dynasty). Secondly, the Staufens had certain interests in Southwestern Russia and had already interfered in local affairs, having put Vladimir Yaroslavich to rule in Galich, who was formally their vassal. By the way, from this side, the unexpected support of the Staufens of the last Rostislavich looks completely different - as if, according to an "agreement" with Roman, they were already preparing a warm roost for the last after Vladimir's death … Thirdly, Philip Shvabsky was married to Irina Angelina, the sister of Anna Angelina, his wife Roman Mstislavich; thus, the king of Germany and the Galician-Volyn prince were brothers-in-law. According to all the customs of the time, such connections were more than enough to establish close contacts and request military assistance without concluding a formal alliance. And this request followed directly in 1198, when Roman, probably personally visited Germany. He could not refuse a powerful relative, and he did not want to: an alliance with the king of Germany and the possible emperor of the Holy Roman Empire promised him great political benefits, and such an opportunity could not be missed.
Polish campaign and death
However, Roman Mstislavich was in no hurry to get involved in a distant and not the most necessary war for him. The man, whom some chronicles and historians accuse of near-zero political and diplomatic talents, reasoned soberly that at the moment participation in German squabbles is not particularly necessary for him and must first gain a foothold at home. Therefore, he continued to conduct his Russian part of politics, dissolved old and entered into new marriages, strengthened the borders and developed his principality. At the same time, he still occupied Galich, significantly strengthening his power. In addition, the position of forces in Germany itself was precarious, so Roman did not want to take the side of the loser, waiting for Philip to gain a decisive advantage. Only by 1205 did all the conditions exist for Roman to be able to leave his native lands and, together with the army, go to fight far to the west.
The campaign plan was drawn up together with Philip of Swabian, who acted as the central figure of the upcoming big game. It was planned to inflict several blows on the Welfs and their allies at once. The main forces of the Staufens were to develop an offensive against Cologne, where the main supporters of their opponents were entrenched, while the French were to divert the forces of the British. The novel was assigned an important task - to strike at Saxony, which at that time was the land of the Welfs and the loss of which was supposed to undermine their military capabilities. The offensive plan itself was kept secret: fearing leaks of information, only the most needed people in Germany, France and Russia were notified of the upcoming campaign. Only as the Galician-Volyn army approached Saxony, Roman had to notify his people about the main goal of the campaign.
As a result, this secrecy played a cruel joke with the prince. When his troops set out on a campaign in 1205, they had to pass through Polish territories. Roman did not enter into special agreements with the Poles, fearing information leakage. The Polish chronicles indicate that the prince went to war against them and began to seize cities, claiming to Lublin, but now it has been proven that this is a mistake of the chroniclers of later times, who brought together in one two completely different campaigns - Roman Mstislavich and Daniel Romanovich. The Galicia-Volyn army did not lead any seizures, and if it did, it was only for "supply", requisitioning food from the local population. Of course, the Polish princes reacted to this as an invasion. Even before negotiations with Roman, they decided to attack the Russian army, probably not having sufficient forces to resist the Russians in the open field and believing that they came to them with the war, and did not go further to Saxony. There is a version about the connections of the Poles with the Welfs, but it still remains unproven. When Roman's army began crossing the Vistula River at Zavikhost, the Poles unexpectedly attacked the vanguard of the Russians. As a result of this, the small squad, along with the prince himself, was killed. The army, having suffered minimal losses, but having lost the commander, returned home.
So suddenly and ingloriously ended the life story of Prince Roman Mstislavich, the founder of the Galicia-Volyn principality. And although he lived a long and eventful life, the prince did not manage to sufficiently strengthen his power in the new state formation on the territory of Russia - the Galicia-Volyn principality. This played a huge role both for his heirs, young Daniil and Vasilko, and for historians, many of whom gave a low rating to Roman solely because the Galicia-Volyn principality he created began to burst at the seams almost immediately after his death. However, it is difficult to negatively assess a person who tried to build something new on the territory of South-Western Russia, more promising than the traditional state system with constantly crumbling destinies, a ladder, a regular change of ruling princes, strife in one place and boyar dominance in another. Therefore, the high marks given to him by the Galicia-Volyn Chronicle, written during the time of his sons, look quite justified, and as the role of this person in history was revised, he was repeatedly called the Roman Great - not as majestic as Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, but certainly outstanding against the background of most of his contemporaries from among the Rurikovichs. After the tonsure of his former father-in-law, Roman became one of the most influential princes in Russia, a figure who could compare with Vsevolod the Big Nest, but due to his imminent death, this period of the prince's maximum influence often goes unnoticed.
Separately, it is worth mentioning two historical tales associated with Roman Mstislavich, which are now becoming more and more believable. The first of them is connected with the papal embassy to Roman, when, in exchange for converting to Catholicism, he was offered the crown of Russia, but the Galician-Volyn prince rejected the offer. Historical disputes on this topic continue to this day. To establish with precision whether such an event took place or not is not yet released. Contrary to the statements of some historians, it has not yet been possible to exclude the possibility of this. It can only be argued that in the light of new facts about this prince, such an embassy could well have taken place, as well as his decisive refusal. A similar situation arises with the reform project of Roman Mstislavich, attributed to him by Tatishchev. According to this reform, all of Russia was to be transformed according to principles similar to those of the Holy Roman Empire, with an elected Grand Duke and elective princes. Previously, it was believed that this was Tatishchev's invention, and Roman did not offer anything of the kind. However, in the light of all of the above, as well as the peculiarities of Roman's marriage policy in the case of the daughters of Predslava Rurikovna, modern historians come to the conclusion that Roman could at least propose such a project, being familiar with the realities of the Holy Roman Empire firsthand and being a very powerful prince on the moment of his death. However, both of these "tales" have not yet received the status of even firmly substantiated hypotheses, but they can add to the reader's eyes the image of the Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich.
