Vasily I | |
---|---|
Grand Prince of Moscow | |
Reign | 19 May 1389 – 27 February 1425 |
Predecessor | Dmitry I |
Successor | Vasily II |
Born |
Moscow, Grand Duchy of Moscow |
30 December 1371
Died | 27 February 1425 Moscow, Grand Duchy of Moscow |
(aged 53)
Consort | Sophia of Lithuania |
Issue |
Anna, Byzantine Empress consort Yury Vasilievich Ivan Vasilievich Anastasia Vasilievna Daniil Vasilievich Vasilisa Vasilievna Simeon Vasilievich Maria Vasilievna Vasily Vasilievich |
Dynasty | Rurik |
Father | Dmitry Donskoy |
Mother | Eudoxia Dmitriyevna |
Religion | Eastern Orthodox |
Vasily I Dmitriyevich (Russian: Василий I Дмитриевич; 30 December 1371 – 27 February 1425) was the Grand Prince of Moscow (r. 1389—1425), heir of Dmitry Donskoy (r. 1359—1389). He ruled as a Great Horde vassal between 1389-1395, and again in 1412-1425. The raid on the Volgan regions in 1395 by Mongol emir Timur resulted in a state of anarchy for the Golden Horde and the independence of Moscow. In 1412, Vasily reinstated himself as a vassal of the Horde. He had entered an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1392 and married the only daughter of Vytautas the Great, Sophia, though the alliance turned out to be fragile, and they waged war against each other in 1406–1408.
Vasily was the oldest son of Dmitry Donskoy and Grand Princess Eudoxia, daughter of Grand Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod.
Vasily I continued the process of unification of the Russian lands: in 1392, he annexed the principalities of Nizhny Novgorod and Murom. Nizhny Novgorod was given to Vasily by the Khan of the Golden Horde in exchange for the help Moscow had given against one of his rivals. In 1397–1398 Kaluga, Vologda, Veliki Ustyug and the lands of the Komi peoples were annexed.
To prevent Russia from being attacked by the Golden Horde, Vasily I entered into an alliance with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1392 and married Sophia of Lithuania, the only daughter of Vytautas the Great. The alliance turned out to be fragile, and they waged war against each other in 1406–1408.