Daniel of Moscow

Daniel of Moscow
Prince of Moscow
Prince of Moscow
Predecessor	Boris Of Moscow (Disputed)
Successor	Yuri I
Born	1261 Vladimir, Vladimir-Suzdal principality
Died	4 March 1303(1303-03-04) (aged 41 or 42) Moscow, Grand Duchy of Moscow
Burial	Cathedral of the Archangel
Dynasty	Rurik
Father	Alexander Nevsky
Mother	Maria
Religion	Russian Orthodox Church

Daniel of Moscow
Fresco in the Cathedral of the Archangel, Moscow
Born	1261 Vladimir
Died	4 March 1303

Daniil Aleksandrovich (Russian: Даниил Александрович) (1261 – 4 March 1303) was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky and forefather of all the Grand Dukes of Moscow.

Prince Daniel of Moscow was the fourth and youngest son of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky—famous in the history of the Russian State and the Russian Orthodox Church— and his second wife, Princess Vassa. Daniel was born in 1261 in Vladimir, the capital of the Great Vladimir-Suzdal principality. One of the most junior princes in the House of Rurik, Daniel is thought to have been named after his celebrated relative, Daniel of Galicia.

His father died when he was only two years old. Of his father's patrimonies, he received the least valuable, Moscow. When he was a child, the tiny principality was being governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by his paternal uncle, Grand Prince Yaroslav III.

Daniel took part in his brothers'—Dmitri of Pereslavl and Andrey of Gorodets—struggle for the right to govern Vladimir and Novgorod, respectively. After Dmitry's death in 1294, Daniel made an alliance with Mikhail of Tver and Ivan of Pereslavl against Andrey of Gorodets of Novgorod.

Daniel's participation in the struggle for Novgorod in 1296 indicated Moscow's increasing political influence. Constantine, the prince of Ryazan, tried to capture the Moscow lands with the help of a Mongol force. Prince Daniel defeated it near Pereslavl. This was a first victory over the Tatars, though not a tremendous victory, but it was noteworthy as a first push towards freedom. In 1300, he imprisoned the ruler of the Ryazan Principality "by some ruse", as the chronicle says. To secure his release, the prisoner ceded to Daniel his fortress of Kolomna. It was an important acquisition, as now Daniel controlled all the length of the Moskva River. In 1302 his childless nephew and ally, Ivan of Pereslavl, bequeathed to Daniel all his lands, including Pereslavl-Zalessky.