The Gorodetsky Principality was an appanage principality in the territory of the Middle Volga Region, existing during the last third of the 13th — first third of the 14th century. It separated from the Vladimir Grand Principality and included Gorodets (probably with its "suburban towns" — Yuryevets and Unzha), as well as "Novgorod at the mouth of the Oka" with the surrounding rural area.[1]

Formation and Status

The Gorodets–Gorky Krai had been incorporated into princely rule as early as the pre-Mongol period and remained part of the domain holdings of the grand princes of Vladimir until the death of Alexander Nevsky. After that, the administrative status of the region changed: the territory was granted as an appanage to one of the sons of the Vladimir throne, and the independent Gorodetsky Principality came into being, references to which have been preserved in chronicle sources. The principality was set apart by the will of Alexander Nevsky following his death in Gorodets in 1263; the first prince of Gorodets was Andrey Alexandrovich — Alexander Nevsky's third son — after whose death in 1304 the principality passed to his son Mikhail Andreyevich. In 1282 the Gorodetsky Principality was first mentioned in the chronicles; the principality's lands extended from Nizhny Novgorod to Unzha.[2][3][1]

By current scholarly definitions, princes were the heads of independent or semi-independent Old Russian states, holding the greatest political, social, and juridical rights within their own domains. The most important principle of princely sovereignty — "let each hold his patrimony" — served as the basis for claims to hereditary possession and fullness of power. The prince headed the administrative governance, judiciary, and tax collection within his territory.[1]

Significance for the Region

The last third of the 13th — first third of the 14th century is regarded by researchers as an extremely important and in many ways fateful period for the Russian Middle Volga Region. The emergence of the Gorodetsky Principality had its primary impact on political history: the appanage prince sought to establish his place in the hierarchy of rulers of Northeastern Rus, which gave rise to inter-princely alliances and conflicts accompanied by the Horde's interference in the life of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. In the last third of the 13th century, Nizhny Novgorod goes entirely unmentioned in the chronicles, which testifies to its minor role during that period: the city was regarded as part of the Gorodets appanage of Andrey Alexandrovich, while Gorodets-on-the-Volga retained its position as the chief center of the Russian lands of the Middle Volga Region.[4][1]

At the same time, the consequences of the appanage's creation were not confined to political history. The very act of granting the territory as an appanage attests to the region's economic viability. Written sources contain no direct information about the economy of the region during this period, and the results of archaeological research permit contradictory interpretations; yet it is clear that the lands granted as appanages possessed sufficient economic resources. The "incorporation of the land into princely rule" — the introduction of princely administration, courts, and tax collection into the territory — marked the inclusion of this region into the structure of the Old Russian state.[1]

In Historiography

In local-history publications, the decades between the death of Alexander Nevsky and the emergence of the The Principality of Nizhny Novgorod are customarily mentioned only in passing, creating a false impression of this period's insignificance. Yet it was precisely then that the conditions took shape that determined the subsequent historical fate of the Middle Volga Region. Historians who have addressed the conflicts of that era have often sought their causes in the personal qualities of individual feudal rulers, leaving aside the structural consequences of the very fact that an appanage principality had been formed. In the early 14th century the administrative center of the principality shifted from Gorodets-on-the-Volga to Nizhny Novgorod; in 1310 the principality passed to the Moscow princes, and in 1320 its territory was incorporated into the Vladimir Grand Principality.[3][1]

Gorodets-on-the-Volga was founded between 1164 and 1171 and remained the chief center of the Russian lands of the Middle Volga Region even after the founding of Nizhny Novgorod in 1221 — right up until the Mongol invasion; in the chronicle account of events of February 1238, the region devastated by the Mongols is referred to as "Gorodets and all along the Volga."[4]

Sources

  1. opentextnn.ru — Part 2. THE GORODETSKY PRINCIPALITY IN THE LAST THIRD OF THE 13TH — FIRST THIRD OF THE 14TH CENTURY — OPEN TEXT (archive)
  2. gorodets-adm.ru — Alexander Nevsky and Gorodets — Administration of the Gorodetsky Municipal District — In 1282 the Gorodetsky Principality was first mentioned in the chronicles; the principality's lands included territories…
  3. runivers.ru — Gorodetsky Principality — Runivers: Electronic Encyclopedia and Library — The Gorodetsky Principality was set apart by the will of Alexander Nevsky following his death in Gorodets in 1263…
  4. radilov.ru — From the History of the Gorodetsky Principality at the Turn of the 13th–14th Centuries — Volzhsky Perekriostok — In the last third of the 13th century, Nizhny Novgorod goes entirely unmentioned in the chronicles, which…