Alexander I of Tver
| Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver | |
|---|---|
| Grand Prince of Tver | |
"Prince Alexander of Tver in Pskov", engraving by Boris Chorikov
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| Spouse(s) | Anastasia of Halych |
| Noble family | Rurik Dynasty |
| Father | Mikhail of Tver |
| Mother | Anna of Kashin |
| Born | 7 October 1301 |
| Died | 29 October 1339 (aged 38) |
Grand Prince Alexander or Aleksandr Mikhailovich (Russian: Александр Михайлович Тверской; 7 October 1301 – 29 October 1339) was a Prince of Tver as Alexander I and Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal as Alexander II.
Aleksandr was a second son of Prince Mikhail of Tver by his wife, Anna of Kashin. As a young man, his appanages included Kholm and Mikulin. In 1322, he continued the Tver princes' opposition to the rise of Moscow when he rather spectacularly waylaid Grand Prince Yury of Moscow (who had schemed against Aleksandr's father to gain the yarlyk or patent of office from the khan of the Golden Horde, the Mongol kingdom which ruled Russia and much of central Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries) as Yury journeyed with the tribute from Novgorod to Moscow.
Four years later, Aleksandr succeeded his childless brother Dmitry the Terrible Eyes who had been executed on behest of Uzbeg Khan in the Horde after Dmitry avenged his father's death by murdering Yury.
In 1327, a Tatar official, the Baskaki Shevkal (the cousin of Uzbeg), arrived in Tver from the Horde, with a large retinue. They took up residence at Aleksandr's palace and, according to chronicle reports, started terrorizing the city, randomly robbing and killing. Rumors spread that Shevkal wanted to kill the prince, occupy the throne for himself and introduce Islam to the city. When, on 15 August 1327, the Tatars tried to take a horse from a deacon named Dyudko, he cried for help and a mob of furious people rushed on the Tatars and killed them all. Shevkal and his remaining guards were burnt alive in one of the houses where they had attempted to hide.
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