Editing Grand Prince of Kiev (section)

== Background ==
=== Origins ===
[[File:Khlebnikov Codex regnal list start.jpg|thumb|[[Regnal list]] in the opening lines of the ''[[Khlebnikov Codex]]'': 'In Kiev, the first to begin reigning together were [[Askold and Dir|Dinar and Askold]], after them came [[Olga of Kiev|Olga]], after Olga [[Igor of Kiev|Igor]]...'{{sfn|Jusupović|2022|p=12}}]]
According to a founding myth in the ''[[Primary Chronicle]]'', [[Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv]] and their sister Lybid co-founded the city of Kiev ([[Kyiv]]), and the oldest brother [[Kyi]] was "chief of his kin" ({{langx|orv|кнѧжаше в родѣ|translit=knyazhashe v rodie}}).{{sfn|Cross|Sherbowitz-Wetzor|1930|p=54–55}} Some western historians (i.e., Kevin Alan Brook) suppose that Kiev was founded by [[Khazars]] or [[Magyars]]. Kiev is a Turkic place name (''Küi'' = riverbank + ''ev'' = settlement).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.khazaria.com/khazar-history.html|title=An Introduction to the History of Khazaria|website=www.khazaria.com}}</ref><!---Irrelevant; we're talking about Kievan Rus', not the city of Kiev/Kyiv.---> At least during the 8th and 9th centuries Kiev functioned as an outpost of the Khazar empire (a hill-fortress, called ''Sambat'', "high place" in [[Old Turkic]]). According to [[Omeljan Pritsak]], [[Constantine Zuckerman]] and other scholars, Khazars lost Kiev at the beginning of the 10th century.<ref>Pritsak, Omeljan (1981). ''The origin of Rus''. Cambridge, Mass.: Distributed by Harvard University Press for the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.</ref><ref>Zuckerman, Constantine (2007). ''The Khazars and Byzantium – The First Encounter''. In ''The World of the Khazars: New Perspectives – Selected Papers from the Jerusalem 1999 International Khazar Colloquium'', eds. Peter Benjamin Golden, Haggai Ben-Shammai, and András Róna-Tas, pp. 399–432. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.</ref><!---Dubious relevance; we're talking about the title "Grand Prince of Kiev", not about when Kievan Rus' supposedly became independent of the Khazar Khaganate.--->

At some point, [[Rurik]], a [[Varangian]] prince, allegedly founded the "[[Rurik dynasty]]" (named after him in the 16th century) in 862 through the "[[calling of the Varangians]]", but he is considered to be a legendary, mythical and perhaps even entirely fictional character by modern scholars.{{efn|Christian Raffensperger (2012, 2017), Ostrowski (2018), Halperin (2022).{{sfn|Halperin|2022|p=viii}}{{sfn|Ostrowski|2018|p=47}}}} The ''Primary Chronicle'' never calls Rurik a prince of Kiev; the passage wherein Oleg "sat in Kiev" ({{langx|orv|понелѣже сѣде въ Кыевѣ|translit=ponelězhe sěde vŭ Kyevě}}) makes no mention of Rurik, suggesting the author was 'more interested in the first Rus' ruler to reside in Kiev than with any founder of a dynasty'.{{sfn|Ostrowski|2018|p=32}}

Kiev was captured by [[Askold and Dir]], whose existence is also debatable, and are called "[[boyar]]s" who "did not belong to [Rurik's] family" by the ''Primary Chronicle''.{{sfn|Cross|Sherbowitz-Wetzor|1930|p=60}}{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=259}} According to some Russian historians (i.e., Gleb S. [[Lebedev]]), Dir was a ''chacanus'' of Rhos ([[Rus' Khaganate|Rus khagan]]).<ref name=duczko>Duczko, Wladyslaw (2004). Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. {{ISBN|90-04-13874-9}}</ref> [[Thomas S. Noonan|Thomas Noonan]] asserts that one of the Rus "sea-kings", the "[[High king]]", adopted the title khagan in the early 9th century.<ref>Noonan, Thomas (2001). ''The Khazar Qaghanate and Its Impact on the Early Rus' State: The translatio imperii from Itil to Kiev''. Nomads in the Sedentary World, Anatoly Mikhailovich Khazanov and Andre Wink, eds. p. 76-102. Richmond, England: Curzon. {{ISBN|0-7007-1370-0}}</ref> [[Peter Benjamin Golden]] maintained that the Rus became a part of the Khazar federation, and that their ruler was officially accepted as a vassal khagan of the Khazar Khagan of Itil.<ref>Golden, Peter Benjamin (1982). ''The Question of the Rus' Qaganate''. Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi. pp. 77–92</ref><!---Dubious relevance; we're talking about the title "Grand Prince of Kiev", not about the hypothesis that some early 9th-century monarchs residing in Kiev or possibly elsewhere held the title "khagan".--->

Before the mid-15th century, no historical source claims that Rurik founded a dynasty;{{sfn|Ostrowski|2018|p=30–31}} the [[Hypatian Codex]] of {{circa}} 1425 began its list of ''[[knyaz]]i'' of Kiev with "Dir and Askold", then "Oleg", then "Igor", up to 1240, and does not mention Rurik anywhere.{{sfn|Ostrowski|2018|p=36}} Similarly, the ''[[Khlebnikov Codex]]'' starts with a regnal list stating: 'In Kiev, the first to begin reigning together were Dinar and Askold, after them came Olga, after Olga Igor, after Igor Sviatoslav, (...)'.{{sfn|Jusupović|2022|p=12}} There is no mention of a "Rurik"; instead, the list starts with "Dinar and Askold".{{sfn|Jusupović|2022|p=12–13}} Unlike ''Hypatian''{{'}}s second place for Oleg the Wise,{{sfn|Ostrowski|2018|p=36}} however, ''Khlebnikov'' appears to assert [[Olga of Kiev]] succeeded them, and preceded her own husband [[Igor of Kiev]].{{sfn|Jusupović|2022|p=12}}

=== First princes ===
Askold and Dir are narrated to have been killed in 882 by [[Oleg of Novgorod|Oleg]], the first "prince" (''[[knyaz]]'') of Kiev according to the ''Primary Chronicle'', but not yet a "grand prince" (''velikiy knyaz'').{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=259}}{{sfn|Ostrowski|2018|p=32}} His relation to Rurik is debatable, and has been rejected by several modern scholars.{{sfn|Ostrowski|2018|p=30–31, 39}} Although later Muscovite chroniclers would call Oleg a "grand prince" and Kiev a "grand principality" ({{langx|orv|великое княжение|translit=velikoe knyazhenie}}), the earliest sources do not.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=259–260}} Whereas the reconstructed original Greek text of the [[Rusʹ–Byzantine Treaty (907)]] calls Oleg a μεγας ἄρχων or "great [[archon]]" ("ruler"), the [[Old East Slavic]] translations found in the [[Laurentian Codex]] and [[Hypatian Codex]] do not.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=260}} On the other hand, only when the Byzantine emperors [[Leo VI the Wise]], [[Alexander (Byzantine emperor)|Alexander]] and [[Constantine VII]] are called "the Great", Oleg is also called "the Great".{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=260}} Dimnik (2004) argued it should thus be read as "the Rus' prince Oleg the Great" instead of "Oleg the grand prince of Rus'".{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=260}} Similarly, the only occasions [[Igor of Kiev]] is ever called ''velikiy knyaz'' in the ''Primary Chronicle'' (six times) are all found in the [[Rusʹ–Byzantine Treaty (945)]], where the Greek emperors are also called ''k velikiy tsesarem Grech'-skim'' ("to the great Greek [[Caesar (title)|caesars]]").{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=260}} The same happens when, after [[Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria]], the 971 peace treaty is recorded; it is the only place in the ''Primary Chronicle'' where [[Sviatoslav I]] is named a ''velikiy knyaz''.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=260}} Most significantly, the ''Nachal'nyy svod'' (found only in the ''[[Novgorod First Chronicle]]'') never mentions any of these peace treaties, and never calls Oleg, Igor or Sviatoslav a ''velikiy knyaz''.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=260–261}} According to Dimnik (2004), this means that Greek scribes added the word "great" to the princely title, whereas the Rus' themselves did not, except when translating these three treaties from Greek into Slavic.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=260–261}}

[[Yaropolk I of Kiev]] and [[Vladimir the Great|Volodimer I of Kiev]] are both steadily referred to as just a ''knyaz'' by the ''Novgorod First Chronicle'' and the Laurentian and Hypatian Codices.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=261}} There is one exception: the Hypatian Codex writes ''Volodimir knyaz velikii'' ("Volodimir the grand prince") when reporting the latter's death; because the Hypatian Codex is the latest source of the three (compiled {{circa}} 1425), this is probably a later [[interpolation]].{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=261}} A ''Paterik'' of the [[Kyiv Pechersk Lavra]] of the early 13th century also calls Volodimer a ''velikiy knyaz'', but that was written two centuries after his death, and may not necessarily describe how he was known while alive.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=262}} The oldest surviving source available is [[Hilarion of Kiev]]'s ''[[Sermon on Law and Grace]]'' ({{circa}} 1040s), which calls Volodimer a ''[[khagan|kagan]]'' (a [[Khazars|Khazar]] title) rather than a ''knyaz''.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=262}} Some scholars have suggested that this indicates Kievan Rus' had won its independence from the Khazars in the early 10th century, and had inherited the title of ''kagan'' from them, before exchanging it for ''knyaz'' later.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=262}} The [[Church Statute of Prince Vladimir|Church Statute of Prince Volodimir]] starts with "Behold, I, Prince Vasilii, called Volodimir," ({{langx|orv|Се аз, князь Василий, нарицаемыи Володимир|translit=Se yaz, knyaz' Vasilii, naritsayemy Volodimir,{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=262–263}}}}), but later in the text he interchangeably calls himself ''knyaz'' and ''velikiy knyaz'', and the earliest copy of this document is from the 14th century, so it is difficult to say what the lost original text said.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=262–263}} Since chroniclers also regularly referred to Volodimer as ''velikiy'' without mentioning his title – the reason why he has become known to history as Volodimer "the Great" – suggests that this adjective was not part of his title, but a [[sobriquet]] or [[nickname]], that was also applied to other monarchs or clerics around him.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=263–264}}

=== ''Velikiy knyaz'' Yaroslav and descendants ===
[[Sviatopolk I of Kiev]] was never called ''velikiy knyaz'' ("grand prince") in any source.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=264}} Moreover, he has been stigmatised by chroniclers with the nickname "the Accursed" or "the Damned" (''okayannyy'') because of how he violently rose to power in the war of succession following Volodimir's death in 1015.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=264}} On the other hand, [[Yaroslav the Wise]] is the first widely attested ''velikiy knyaz'' ("grand prince") in virtually all sources of the second half of the 11th century, and surviving copies of the [[Church Statute of Prince Yaroslav]] also strongly suggest he applied the title to himself while he was alive.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=264–265}} Dimnik (2004) concluded that by the end of Yaroslav's reign in the third quarter of the 11th century, he was regularly calling himself and being called the ''velikiy knyaz'' of Kiev, and the competing titles of ''kagan'' and ''[[tsar]]'' had decisively lost in favour of ''velikiy knyaz'' as the preferred appellation of the Kievan monarch.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=306}} The ''velikiy knyaz'' was [[rota system|designated by genealogical seniority]] and given the right to reign from Kiev – the grand principality superior to all other principalities in the realm – over all other princes descended from Yaroslav.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=306–307}} The reason why the system of succession did not always work as Yaroslav intended was because some princes simply [[usurper|usurped power]] through a [[coup d'état]] at the court in Kiev.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=307}} The 1097 [[Council of Liubech]] upgraded the dynastic capitals of the inner circle of senior princes to grand principalities as well, but still acknowledged the superiority of Kiev.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=307}} 

It was not until the [[Sack of Kiev (1169)]] by [[Andrey Bogolyubsky]] of [[Vladimir-Suzdal]] that the [[Grand Duke of Vladimir|grand princes of Vladimir]] launched a fierce competition with the grand princes of Kiev over who had primacy over the entire realm.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=307}} Since then, the phrase "''velikiy knyaz'' of Kiev" was merely [[Titular ruler|titular]], and chroniclers applied the symbolic title of ''velikiy knyaz'' to Kiev or [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir on the Klyazma]] according to whomever they favoured.{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=307}} In practice, the military supremacy of any particular prince – especially from [[Vsevolod the Big Nest]] onwards – would determine whether the other princes would or would not acknowledge him as "grand prince".{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=307–308}} After the [[Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus']] and [[Siege of Kiev (1240)|Sack of Kiev]] in the late 1230s and 1240s, the khans of the [[Golden Horde]] "in effect, terminated the office of the ''velikiy knyaz{{'}}'' of Kiev and conferred political supremacy on their puppet in Vladimir."{{sfn|Dimnik|2004|p=308}}