Dmitry Donskoy

Life events

1. Born — 1350

   Dmitry Ivanovich was born in Moscow on 12 October 1350, son of Ivan II (Ivan the Fair), Grand Prince of Moscow, and his second wife Alexandra Vassilievna Velyaminova, daughter of the mayor of Moscow.

2. Other — 1359

   Orphaned at age nine when Ivan II died, Dmitry ascended the throne of the Principality of Moscow; per his father's will, Metropolitan Aleksey of Moscow served as regent during his minority.

3. Consecrated — 1363

   After Dmitry Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod was deposed, Dmitry Ivanovich was crowned at Vladimir, assuming the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir; three years later he made peace with his former rival and married his daughter Eudoxia.

4. Other — 1367

   Construction of the Moscow Kremlin in stone was completed in 1367; the new fortifications enabled Moscow to withstand two sieges by Algirdas of Lithuania during the Lithuanian-Muscovite War (1368-1372), which ended with the Treaty of Lyubutsk.

5. Other — 1378

   At the Battle of Vozha River in 1378, Dmitry's forces defeated a Mongol army sent by Mamai, marking the first Russian military victory over the Mongols, two years before the larger confrontation at Kulikovo.

6. Other — 1380

   At the Battle of Kulikovo on the Don River, Dmitry's coalition forces defeated the army of the Mongol general Mamai; Sergius of Radonezh had blessed Dmitry before the battle after satisfying himself that all peaceful means had been exhausted, and dispatched the warrior monks Alexander Peresvet and Rodion Oslyabya to join the Russian forces.

7. Died — 1389

   Dmitry died in Moscow on 19 May 1389; he was the first Grand Duke to bequeath his titles of Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of Vladimir to his son Vasily I without first seeking approval from the Khan of the Golden Horde.

8. Other — 1988

   Dmitry Donskoy was canonized on 6 June 1988 at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church convened under Patriarch Pimen I of Moscow, under the title Right-Believing Prince Demetrius Ioannovich Donskoy.

Relationships

Documented claims

• His epithet Donskoy — of the Don in Russian — derives from the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), fought on the Don River; the nickname became his permanent historical identifier. (certain)
• In gratitude for the victory at Kulikovo, Dmitry founded the Dormition Monastery on the Dubenka River and built a church dedicated to the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos over the graves of the fallen warriors. (likely)
• After Tokhtamysh sacked Moscow in 1382 in retaliation for Dmitry's resistance to Mamai, Dmitry pledged loyalty to the new Khan and was reinstated as Mongol tax collector and Grand Duke of Vladimir, demonstrating the limits of his 1380 victory. (likely)
• Dmitry and Eudoxia of Nizhny Novgorod had at least twelve children; their son Yury Dmitriyevich later claimed the throne of Moscow against his nephew Vasily II, prolonging dynastic conflict into the next generation. (likely)
• By the end of his reign Dmitry had more than doubled the territory of the Principality of Moscow, with princes of the northeastern Rus principalities acknowledging his authority. (likely)