Ivan Kalita

1325-1340  Grand Prince of Moscow. 

Ivan I (Kalita – Moneybags) was the tax collector of the Mongols. He took advantage of the Mongol Great Khan’s favor to make Moscow the center of Russia.

Background
Lived: 1288-1340.
When Ivan I came to the Moscow throne, Russia was under Mongol rule and all princes were named by the Great Khan in Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde. Moscow was one of the smaller and less important principalities.

Rise of Moscow
Ivan I was a very clever ruler. He knew how to get along with the khan, visited him often and gaving him presents. As a result, Moscow suffered less from Mongol attacks, and Ivan was able to used the khan’s favor against other princes.

“Moneybags”
In 1328, Ivan I was named the Grand Prince of Vladimir, first among the princes. He obtained the right to gather taxes from all the other princes and take it to the khan. That made him the richest and most powerful among them.

Ivan Kalita also invited the Metropolitan bishop to stay in Moscow, thus making Moscow, in addition, a spiritual and cultural capital.

Legacy
He fortified the Kremlin and had The Cathedral of the Assumption built.