Rostislavichi

The Rostislavichi of Smolensk were one of the four dominant princely clans of Kievan Rus' in the 12th and 13th century. They were one of many branches of the House of Rurik.

History

The Rostislavichi are named after Rostislav I Mstislavich of Kiev (died 1167), prince of Smolensk (r. 1125–1160) and intermittently prince of Kiev (modern Kyiv) since 1154. They were closely related to the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia, which descended from Rostislav's brother Iziaslav II Mstislavich of Kiev. The Rostislavichi would reign in their main patrimony, the Principality of Smolensk, from 1126 to 1404, intermittently as Grand Princes of Kiev, in Novgorod, in Pereyaslavl, in Polotsk, and Galicia. While the Vsevolodichi ceased claiming the Kievan throne after the 1272 death of Yaroslav of Tver, the Rostislavichi, Iziaslavichi and Olgovichi kept vying for it. In the 14th and early 15th century, the Rostislavichi clan lost its prominence when it was defeated and subsumed into the Ruthenian nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Notes

Bibliography

• Martin, Janet (2007). . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-36800-4.
• Raffensperger, Christian; Ostrowski, Donald (2023). The Ruling Families of Rus: Clan, Family and Kingdom. London: Reaktion Books. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-78914-745-2. (e-book)