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 Grand Princes of Moscow.

Prince Daniel of Moscow was the youngest son of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky, famous in the history of Russian State and Russian Orthodox Church, and his wife - Princess Vassa. Daniel was born in 1261 in Vladimir, the capital of the Great Vladimir principality. One of the most junior princes in the House of Rurik, Daniel is thought to have been named after his celebrated relative, Daniel of Galicia.

His father died when he was only two years young. Of his father's patrimonies, he received the least valuable, Moscow. When he was a child, the tiny principality was being governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by his paternal uncle, Grand Prince Yaroslav III.

During the Mongol occupation and internecine wars among the Rus' princes, Daniel created peace in Moscow without bloodshed. During 30 years of ruling Daniel participated in battles only once. According to legend, Daniel was popular and respected by his subjects for his meekness, humbleness and peacefulness.

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

Daniel's participation in the struggle for Novgorod in 1296 indicated Moscow's increasing political influence. Constantine, the prince of Ryazan, decided to capture the Moscow lands with the help of a Mongol force. Prince Daniel defeated it near Pereyaslavl. In 1300, he imprisoned the ruler of the 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 Daniel controlled all the length of the Moskva River. In 1302 his childless cousin and ally, Ivan of Pereslavl, bequeathed to Daniel all his lands, including Pereslavl-Zalessky.

Daniel has been credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, dedicated to the Lord's Epiphany and to Saint Daniel. On the right bank of the Moskva River, at a distance of 5 miles from the Kremlin not later than in 1282 he founded the first monastery with the wooden church of St. Daniel-Stylite. Now it is the Danilov Monastery. At the age of 42 on the 17-th (4-th in old style) of March in 1303 St. Daniel died. Before his death he became a monk and, according to his will, was buried in the cemetery of the St. Daniel Monastery.

He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1652.