Dmitry was born in
Moscow in 1350, the son of
Ivan the Fair, Grand Prince of Moscow, and his second wife, Alexandra Vassilievna Velyaminova, the daughter of the mayor of Moscow. Dmitry was orphaned at the age of nine and ascended the throne of the
Principality of Moscow. Per the terms of Ivan's will, during Dmitry's minority,
Metropolitan Aleksey served as regent. In 1360
Khiḍr Khan,
Khan of the
Golden Horde, transferred the title most prized among the Russian princes, that of Grand Prince of
Vladimir, to
Dmitry Konstantinovich of
Nizhny Novgorod. In 1363, after that prince was deposed, Dmitry Ivanovich was crowned at Vladimir. Three years later, he made peace with Dmitry Konstantinovich and married his daughter
Eudoxia. The most important event during Dmitry's early reign was to start building the
Moscow Kremlin; it was completed in 1367. Thanks to the new fortress, the city withstood two sieges by
Algirdas of
Lithuania during the
Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1368–1372). The war ended with the
Treaty of Lyubutsk. In 1375, Dmitry settled, in his own favor, a conflict with
Mikhail II of Tver over
Vladimir. Other princes of the northeastern
Rus' principalities acknowledged his authority and contributed troops to the impending struggle against the Horde. By the end of his reign, Dmitry had more than doubled the territory of the Principality of Moscow. == Struggle against Mamai ==