The
Primary Chronicle states that
Rurik sent the
Ves tribe to Beloozero. But even before this, the town already had their own aboriginal inhabitants.
Simon Franklin cautions against taking the chronicle at present value; of legendary tales of brothers founding a new city and a new ruling dynasty, similar to other mythological origin stories that happened across different cultures. During the Rurik period, Rostov and Beloozero were under the authority of Novgorod but were later detached and governed directly from Kiev, during the late 11th century. The principality was detached from the Principality of
Rostov in 1238. The town of Beloozero (today's
Belozersk) became its capital.
Prince Gleb was the first
prince of Beloozero (ca. 1238–1278). He increased his standing enormously by marrying
Sartaq's daughter. The later rulers of Beloozero could claim a
descent from Genghis Khan through this marriage. During Gleb's reign, the duchy's territory embraced the
basin of
Lake Beloye, the lower streams of the
Sheksna River, and
Lake Kubenskoye. In 1389, it was subjugated by
Muscovy.
Dmitry Donskoy, the Grand Prince of Moscow, handed the principality out to his son
Andrey Dmitriyevich. At the end of the 14th century, two influential monasteries were founded on the lands belonging to the principality:
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in 1397 and
Ferapontov Monastery in 1398. The creation was supported by the Moscow princes who considered the foundation of the monasteries as an arm of the influence of Moscow in the north. In 1486, the principality, which at the time was part of the united Principality of Beloozero and
Vereya, was formally incorporated into the
Grand Duchy of Moscow. Numerous descendants of the ruling
Rurikid princes moved to Moscow and continue in a male line to the present. The
Belosselsky-Belozersky family was the most notable among them. == Economy ==