1019-1054 Grand Prince of Kiev.
Yaroslav’s reign marked the cultural and territorial peak of Kievan Rus’. Although his military campaigns failed, he is known for enacting the first legal code and had a great cultural impact.
Background
Lived: 978-1054.
Yaroslav I was the Grand Prince of Novgorod when his brother Svyatopolk I the Accursed killed three of his other brothers including Boris and Gleb and seized power in Kiev.
Yaroslav waged a war against him and won. The principalities of Kiev and Novgorod were then united for the first time.
Reign
Yaroslav lead numerous military campaigns against Pechenegs and Byzantine Empire, but for the most part he is remembered by his cultural achievements.
The crowning achievement of his reign was the codification of laws, which were gathered together in the “Russkaya Pravda”. The punishments were much more humane than in other eastern countries at that time. That places Russkaya Pravda alongside the Nordic rather than the eastern tradition. Yaroslav has been praised as the wisest and most humane of the Kievan rulers.
Many of Yaroslav’s daughters were married to western kings. He himself married Ingegerd, the daughter of the Swedish king.
Legacy
Yaroslav the Wise initiated the building of many public structures which have survived to this day, notably Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Golden Gates of Kiev.
Yaroslav the Wise
1019-1054 Grand Prince of Kiev.
Yaroslav’s reign marked the cultural and territorial peak of Kievan Rus’. Although his military campaigns failed, he is known for enacting the first legal code and had a great cultural impact.
Background
Lived: 978-1054.
Yaroslav I was the Grand Prince of Novgorod when his brother Svyatopolk I the Accursed killed three of his other brothers including Boris and Gleb and seized power in Kiev.
Yaroslav waged a war against him and won. The principalities of Kiev and Novgorod were then united for the first time.
Reign
Yaroslav lead numerous military campaigns against Pechenegs and Byzantine Empire, but for the most part he is remembered by his cultural achievements.
The crowning achievement of his reign was the codification of laws, which were gathered together in the “Russkaya Pravda”. The punishments were much more humane than in other eastern countries at that time. That places Russkaya Pravda alongside the Nordic rather than the eastern tradition. Yaroslav has been praised as the wisest and most humane of the Kievan rulers.
Many of Yaroslav’s daughters were married to western kings. He himself married Ingegerd, the daughter of the Swedish king.
Legacy
Yaroslav the Wise initiated the building of many public structures which have survived to this day, notably Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Golden Gates of Kiev.
Vladimir Monomakh