Upper Oka Principalities
Encyclopedia
The Upper Oka Principalities is a term traditionally applied in Russian historiography
to about dozen tiny and ephemeral polities situated along the upper course of the Oka River
at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. Nowadays, the areas so designated lie within the bounds of the Tula Oblast
and Kaluga Oblast
of Russia
.
Following the Mongol invasion of Russia, the formerly mighty Principality of Chernigov gradually degenerated to a point when there were dozens of quasi-sovereign entities ruled by the descendants of Mikhail of Chernigov. As the principalities were wedged in between the ever expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania
to the west and the nascent Grand Duchy of Muscovy to the north, their rulers were constricted to continually fluctuate between these two major powers.
By the end of the 14th century, they were obliged to pay annual tribute to Lithuania. The strengthening alliance of Lithuanian rulers with Roman Catholic Poland
caused shifts in the balance of power in the region. Most Orthodox rulers of the Upper Principalities, therefore, started to look to Moscow for protection against Lithuanian expansionism. Towards the end of the 15th century, most of these princelings had moved to the Muscovite court. In 1494, Lithuania finally renounced her claims to the region.
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
to about dozen tiny and ephemeral polities situated along the upper course of the Oka River
Oka River
Oka is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir, and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its total length, as far upstream as to the town of Kaluga. Its length exceeds...
at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. Nowadays, the areas so designated lie within the bounds of the Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast is a federal subject of Russia with its present borders formed on September 26, 1937. Its administrative center is the city of Tula. The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,553,874...
and Kaluga Oblast
Kaluga Oblast
Kaluga Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga.-Geography:Kaluga Oblast is located in the central part of the East European Plain. The Smolensk Highland lays in the western and north-western part of the oblast, while the Central Russian Highland -...
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Following the Mongol invasion of Russia, the formerly mighty Principality of Chernigov gradually degenerated to a point when there were dozens of quasi-sovereign entities ruled by the descendants of Mikhail of Chernigov. As the principalities were wedged in between the ever expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
to the west and the nascent Grand Duchy of Muscovy to the north, their rulers were constricted to continually fluctuate between these two major powers.
By the end of the 14th century, they were obliged to pay annual tribute to Lithuania. The strengthening alliance of Lithuanian rulers with Roman Catholic Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
caused shifts in the balance of power in the region. Most Orthodox rulers of the Upper Principalities, therefore, started to look to Moscow for protection against Lithuanian expansionism. Towards the end of the 15th century, most of these princelings had moved to the Muscovite court. In 1494, Lithuania finally renounced her claims to the region.
The list of principalities (in order of seniority)
- BelyovBelyovBelyov is a town and the administrative center of Belyovsky District of Tula Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Oka River. Population: 17,000 .As many other Upper Oka towns, Belyov was first mentioned in a chronicle in 1147...
- the seat of Princes Belyovsky until their early extinction - NovosilNovosilNovosil is a town and the administrative center of Novosilsky District of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Zusha River east of Oryol. Population:...
and Odoyev - the seats of Princes Odoyevsky, retained by them as an appanageAppanageAn apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
until the OprichninaOprichninaThe oprichnina is the period of Russian history between Tsar Ivan the Terrible's 1565 initiation and his 1572 disbanding of a domestic policy of secret police, mass repressions, public executions, and confiscation of land from Russian aristocrats... - VorotynskVorotynskVorotynsk was one of the Upper Oka towns and seat of the mediaeval Princes Vorotynsky. It was first mentioned in the Hypatian Codex under the year 1155. In 1480, Vorotynsk was the principal base of Russian operations against the Tatars during the Great standing on the Ugra river...
- the seat of Princes VorotynskyVorotynskyVorotynsky was one of the most eminent Rurikid princely houses of Muscovite Russia. Their lands lay principally in the Upper Oka region and comprised the towns of Peremyshl and Vorotynsk as well as parts of Novosil and Odoyev....
, retained by them as an appanageAppanageAn apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
until the OprichninaOprichninaThe oprichnina is the period of Russian history between Tsar Ivan the Terrible's 1565 initiation and his 1572 disbanding of a domestic policy of secret police, mass repressions, public executions, and confiscation of land from Russian aristocrats... - MosalskMosalskMosalsk is a town and the administrative center of Mosalsky District of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located west of Kaluga. Population: First attested in 1231 , it became the center of one of the Upper Principalities in the 14th century...
- the seat of Princes Mosalski - Zvenigorod-on-the-Oka - the seat of Princes Zvenigorodsky and Nozdrevaty
- KarachevKarachevKarachev is an old town in Karachevsky District of Bryansk Oblast, Russia. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of one of the Upper Principalities, until its rulers moved their seat to Peremyshl. Its old architecture was heavily damaged during the World War II...
- the seat of Princes Khotetovsky - KozelskKozelskKozelsk is a town in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River , southwest of Kaluga. Population: -History:The town of Kozelsk was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1146 as a part of Principality of Chernigov...
and Peremyshl, RussiaPeremyshl, RussiaPeremyshl is a village in Kaluga Oblast, Russia. Formerly a capital of one of the Upper Principalities, Peremyshl contains the ruins of a mid-16th century cathedral which collapsed in the 1980s from neglect. For descendants of the local rulers, see Vorotynsky and Gorchakov. Population: 3,235...
- the seats of Princes GorchakovGorchakovGorchakov, or Gortchakoff , is a Russian princely family of Rurikid stock, descended from the Rurikid sovereigns of Peremyshl, Russia.-Aleksey Gorchakov:The family first achieved prominence during the reign of Catherine II... - TarusaTarusaTarusa is a town and the administrative center of Tarussky District of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Oka River, south of Serpukhov, northeast of Kaluga, and about south of Moscow. Population:...
and Meshchevsk (now Meshchovsk) - the seats of Princes Mezetsky with their cadet branches of Teterin, Shcherbatov - Myshegda - according to legends, seat of ancestors of princes Myshetski
- Borotynsk - the seat of Princes Boryatinsky
- Obolensk - the seat of Princes ObolenskyObolenskyObolensky is the name of a princely Russian family of the Rurik Dynasty. The family of aristocrats mostly fled Russia in 1917 during the Russian Revolution...
with their cadet branches of RepninRepninRepnin , the name of an old Russian princely family of Rurikid stock. The family traces its name to Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Obolensky , nicknamed Repnya, i.e., "bad porridge"...
, Lykov, DolgorukovDolgorukovDolgoroukov is the name of a princely Russian family Dolgorukovs of Rurikid stock. Descendants of Mikhail of Chernigov, they took their name from one prince of Obolensk, whose sobriquet was Dolgorouky, or "Long-Armed" in Russian, alluding their lineage to the ancient Persian monarchy. Among its...
, Shcherbatov, etc. - the smallish volkhona was also one of such principalities, giving name to the pprinces Volkonski but according to Almagro (1843), there was something illegitimate in their descent (and they do not match the Rurikid patriline's Y DNA), so their princely status was not recognized in middle ages.