Daniel of Moscow

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Daniil Aleksandrovich (Даниил Александрович in Russian) (1261 - March 4/5, 1303) was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky and forefather of all the princes of Moscow.

One of the most junior princes in the House of Rurik, Daniil is thought to have been named after his celebrated relative, Daniel of Galicia. Of his father's patrimonies, he received the least enviable, Muscovy. When he was a child, the tiny principality had been governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by his paternal uncle, Grand Prince Yaroslav III.

Daniil took part in his brothers' - Dmitri of Pereslavl and Andrey of Gorodets - struggle for the right to govern Vladimir and Novgorod. After Dmitry's death in 1294, Daniel concluded the alliance with Mikhail of Tver and Ivan of Pereslavl against Andrey of Gorodets.

Daniil's participation in the struggle for Novgorod in 1296 indicated Moscow's increasing political influence. In 1300, he imprisoned the ruler of Ryazan Principality, "by some ruse", as the chronicle says. To secure his release, the prisoner ceded to Daniel his fortress of Kolomna. It was an important acquisition, as now Daniil controlled all the length of the Moskva River. In 1302 his childless cousin and ally, Ivan of Pereslavl, bequeathed to Daniil all his lands, including Pereslavl-Zalessky.

Daniil has been credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, dedicated to the Lord's Epiphany and to Saint Daniel. For these services, he was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1652.

Preceded by Boris Mikhailovich

Prince of Moscow

Succeeded by Yuri