Battle of the Zhdana Mountain (1135)

The battle of the Zhdana Mountain is a battlewhich took place on January 26, 1135 between the troops of the Republic of Novgorod led by Vsevolod] and [[Izyaslav II Mstislavich of Kiev (c1097-1154)|Izyaslav Mstislavich and the troops of the Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal Yuri Dolgoruky. The battle was won by Vladimir-Suzdal.

Background
The origins of the conflict lay in the struggle of the sons of Mstislav Vladimirovich the Great against the younger Vladimirovich after the volost after the death of his father (1132). Vsevolod Mstislavich, and then his brother Izyaslav Mstislavich were expelled from Pereyaslavl of South, then Izyaslav was expelled from Turov and went to his brother in Novgorod. The campaign was undertaken by Vsevolod in order to imprison Izyaslav for reign in Rostov.

The reason for the battle was the bread, which the Suzdalians began to release from Opole in Novgorod at inflated prices and impose a heavy duty on the merchandise of Novgorod merchants. The Novgorodians led a large army in winter, leaving Novgorod on December 31 and moving along the river ice. Before Zhdanoi they reached the Dubna River, Zabolotsky Lake , Suloti and Kubri. [1] The Novgorodians sought to occupy Zhdanaya Gora and Zhdan-Gorodok in order to control the waterway along the Kubri, and then to consolidate themselves in Zalesye and Opole. From here it was possible to move further, cutting off the southern regions of North-Eastern Russia and the Moscow River basin from the old boyar cities of Rostov and Suzdal. [2]

The battle
The battle took place on January 26, 1135. The Novgorodians occupied the mountain and, when Suzdal troops appeared, they had to knock out the enemies from the heights. To do this with less damage, the Suzdal patrolled the Korob Yakun commander from 500 people to the rear of the enemy, and themselves began to build up battle formation. Novgorodians, divided into three regiments, rushed from the heights and began to press the Suzdalians, the prince's banner was brought down. At this time, Korob attacked the Novgorodians from the rear and crumpled them. The Suzdalians cheered and defeated the enemy; the chief leaders were killed: the posadnik Ivanko "a brave man", the thousandth Petrilo Mikulich and many warriors. The rich convoy became the prey of Suzdal. [1]

As the chronicle tells,

The same lute, winter, Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich the idea of ​​a war with the Nemtsy and with all the strength of Novgorod to Suzdal and Rostov; and there was a way for them to be a string of evil: "Nastasha is more evil than night," "Stronger and vealic" are terrible evil; and squeezed them Suzdaltsi and Rostovtsy on Zhdan, and fought tamo on Zhdan in the mountain, and a lot of evil was made up by Novgorodtsev, and by killing the husband of their great posadnik Ivanka Dankov, and Zhiriatu Yakunov, Petril Nikulich, and Danshu Yakshich, and many good and brave people husbands Novgorodtsev beat, and many of the blood of Christianity prolyashasya. And bzhzhasha Novgorodtsi and their prince to Novogorod, and came to Novgorod to begin the rumor about the Suzdal wars against Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich; he meant to go to Nemtsi.

- Nikon's Chronicle under the year 1134

Subsequent events
The battle at Zhdana Mountain was useless for the Novgorodians, but it influenced the actions of Yuri Dolgoruky. The battle was one of the reasons to strengthen the western and south-western borders of the princely state. Shortly after the battle on Zhdana, Prince Yuri closes the mouth of the Volga Nerl fortress Konstantin (1135), builds a future Moscow - a wooden Kremlin in the trade and craft settlement on the Moscow River (1147), puts the central fortress in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky (1152) and a small fortress in Dmitrov for reliable protection of roads along the rivers Dubna and Yakhroma (1154). [2]

In Novgorod, after an unsuccessful campaign, Prince Vsevolod and Bishop Niphont built a stone church of the Assumption on Torg to commemorate the dead or killed during the battle on Zhdana's Hill. This church was built for nine years and was completed in 1144. [3]

Because of the flight of Vsevolod Mstislavich from the battlefield, the Novgorod veche on May 28, 1136, deprived him of the Novgorod table, which is considered to be the beginning of the republican period in the history of the Novgorod land.

Memory
About this fight on the day of the memory of Joseph Bishop of Solunsky reminds a long-ruined Osipov monastery on the river Kubri, now the village of Osipova Desert. [4]