The Princes of Polotsk ruled the Principality of Polotsk within the realm of Kievan Rus or within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the mid ninth century to 1307.
Ragnvald Olafssonv (Rogvolod), a non-Rurikid Varangian, was the first Prince of Polotsk. When Vladimir the Great returned from exile in Scandinavia in 980 to try to claim the Kievan throne that his brother, Yaropolk, held, he sought an alliance with Rogvolod through a marriage with his daughter, Rogneda. When she refused, calling Vladimir the "son of a slave," he attacked Polotsk, killed Rogvolod and his son, and took Rogneda by force to be his wife.[1] Polotsk was then granted to Vladimir's son, Izyaslav, around the time of Christianization (988), and when Izyaslav predeceased his father in 1001, the throne of Polotsk was passed on to Izyaslav's son, Bryachislav, and the Polotsk line (the senior branch of Vladimir's sons) became izgoi and was not legally allowed to succeed to the Kievan throne,[2] although Bryachislav's son, Vseslav, held briefly the Kievan throne in 1068-1069, after it was granted to him by the veche following the Kiev Uprising.[3]
List of princes of Polotsk[]
- Ragnvald Olafsson, fl. 977
Rurikids / Izyaslavichi of Polotsk[]
Vseslavichi of Polotsk[]
- 1151–1159 Rostislav Glebovich (Prince of Minsk)
- 1162–1167 Vseslav III Vasilkovich (Prince of Vitebsk)
- 1167–1167 Volodar Glebovich (Prince of Minsk)
- 1167–1180 Vseslav III Vasilkovich (Prince of Vitebsk)
| Ruler | Native name | Born | Reign | Death | Consort | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vasilko Svyatoslavich | Василько Святославич | c1095 | 1132-1144 | 1144 | |||
| Rogvolod Borisovich | Рогволод Борисович | c1095 | 1144-1151 | c1171 | Prince of Drutsk| | ||
| Rogvolod Borisovich (again) | Рогволод Борисович | c1095 | 1159-1162 | c1171 | Prince of Drutsk| | ||
| Boris Davydovich | Борис Давыдович | c1130 | 1180-1185 | c1185 | |||
* 1186–1215 Vladimir Vseslavich (Princes of Vitebsk)
| |||||||
Lithuanian assimilation[]
- 1252–1263 Tautvilas
- 1264–1267 Gerdine
- (1267–1270) Iziaslav III of Vitebsk (?)
- 1270–1290 Konstantin the Armless
- 1290–1307 occupation by the Livonian Order (Archbishopric of Riga)
Gediminids[]
- 1307–1336 Vainius (Voin)
- 1336–1345 Narimantas
- 1345–1399 Andrei of Polotsk
- 1377–1397 Skirgaila
Notes[]
References[]
- Алексеев Л. В. Полоцкая земля // Древнерусские княжества Х—XIII вв. — М., 1975., pp. 202—239.
- Богуславский В. В. Славянская энциклопедия. Киевская Русь — Московия: в 2 т. — М.: Олма-Пресс, 2001.
- Данилович В. Е. Очерк истории Полоцкой земли до конца XIV столетия. — К., 1896. p. 731
- Martin, Janet, Medieval Russia, 980-1584, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995
- Рыжов К. Все монархи мира. Россия. — Москва, Вече, 1998.