Origins The
Principality of Volhynia may have emerged as early as the late 10th century, with Vsevolod, a son of
Vladimir I of Kiev, mentioned as a prince of the city of
Volodymyr.
Igor Yaroslavich reportedly briefly reigned as the prince of Volodymyr in the 1050s.
Iaroslav Sviatopolkovich () was the only prince in
Kievan Rus' to oppose
Vladimir II Monomakh's reign on the grounds of
agnatic seniority, but after Vladimir ousted him in 1118, his
Monomakhovichi descendants established a local dynastic branch.
Roman Mstislavich, the great-great-grandson of Monomakh, inherited the throne of Volhynia in 1170. The
Principality of Galicia was formed in the years 1124–1144 by
Vladimirko Volodarovich's unification of the principalities of
Zvenyhorod,
Peremyshl, and
Terebovlia. Since the 1080s or 1090s, all three had been ruled by sons of prince
Rostislav of Tmutarakan,
Reign of Roman the Great (1199–1205) Galicia–Volhynia was created following the death in 1198 or 1199 Roman was allied with Poland, signed a peace treaty with
Hungary and developed diplomatic relations with the
Byzantine Empire. The grand prince of Kiev,
Rurik Rostislavich (Rurik II), forged a coalition of Rus' princes and attacked Galicia-Volhynia, but Roman defeated them and captured
Kiev in 1200. However, because the old capital of Kievan Rus' was no longer a strong power centre by that time, Roman kept the prosperous Halych as his capital and appointed subordinates to administer Kiev in his name. He then mounted two successful campaigns against the Cumans, in 1201–2 and 1203–4. He married the niece of the Byzantine emperor
Alexios III, for whom Galicia was the main military ally against the
Cumans. The relation with Byzantium helped to stabilize Galicia's relations with the
Rus' population of the Lower Dniester and the Lower Danube.
War of the Galician Succession (1205–1245) In 1205, Roman's alliance with the Poles broke down, leading to a conflict with
Leszek the White and
Konrad of Masovia. Roman was subsequently killed by Polish forces in the
Battle of Zawichost (1205), just before the
Mongols besieged, conquered and sacked the city in late 1240. On 17 August 1245, Daniel and his brother
Vasylko defeated the Polish and Hungarian forces (weakened by the
first Mongol invasion of Poland and the
first Mongol invasion of Hungary in early 1241) in the
Battle of Yaroslavl, taking full control of Galicia–Volhynia. The brothers also crushed their ally
Rostislav Mikhailovich, son of the prince of
Chernigov.
Reign of Daniel (1245–1264) '', a literary work and historical source of the period Daniel strengthened his relations with
Batu Khan by traveling to his capital
Sarai and acknowledging, at least nominally, the supremacy of the Mongol
Golden Horde. After meeting with Batu Khan in 1246,
Daniel reorganized his army along Mongol lines and equipped it with Mongolian weapons, although Daniel himself maintained the traditional attire of a Rus' prince. According to
Vernadsky (1970), Daniel's alliance with the Mongols was merely tactical; he pursued a long-term strategy of resistance to the Mongols. On the other hand, Magocsi (2010) argued that Daniel submitted to the Mongols, citing the
Galician–Volhynian Chronicle, which decried Daniel 'is now on his knees and is called a slave' and called this event 'the greatest disgrace'. Magocsi stated that, 'although he never acknowledged it', Daniel was a Mongol vassal, who collected the Mongol tribute, and generally helped 'establishing Mongol administrative control over eastern Europe in cooperation with those Rus' princes who could be made to see the advantages of the new
Pax Mongolica.' According to Magocsi, Daniel's submission to the Mongols ensured the strength and prosperity of Galicia–Volhynia. He did renew his alliances with Hungary, Poland and Lithuania, making plans to forge an anti-Mongol coalition with them to wage a crusade against the Khan; although these were never carried out, it would eventually lead to Daniel's royal coronation by
papal legate in 1253. This brought Galicia–Volhynia into the orbit of the western European feudal order, and the Roman Catholic Church. In 1245,
Pope Innocent IV allowed Daniel to be crowned king. Daniel wanted more than recognition, commenting bitterly that he expected an army when he received the crown. Although Daniel promised to promote recognition of the Pope to his people, his realm continued to be ecclesiastically independent from Rome. Thus, Daniel was the only member of the
Rurik dynasty to have been crowned king. Daniel was crowned by the
papal legate Opizo de Mezzano in
Dorohochyn 1253 as the first
King of Ruthenia (
Rex Russiae; 1253–1264). In 1256, Daniel succeeded in driving the Mongols out of Volhynia, and a year later he defeated their attempts to capture the cities of
Lutsk and
Volodymyr. Upon the approach of a large army under the Mongolian general
Boroldai in 1260; however, Daniel was forced to accept their authority and to raze the fortifications he had built against them. Under Daniel's reign, the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia was one of the most powerful states in east central Europe,
Final years and partition between Poland and Lithuania (1341–1392) In winter 1341 Tatars, Ruthenians led by
Detko, and Lithuanians led by Liubartas were able to defeat the Poles, although they were not so successful in summer 1341. Finally, Detko was forced to accept Polish overlordship, as a
starost of Galicia. After Detko's death, Casimir III mounted a successful invasion, capturing and annexing Galicia in 1349.The Romanovichi (branch of the Rurikid) dynasty of Daniel of Galicia attempted to gain support from
Pope Benedict XII and broader European powers for an alliance against the Mongols, but ultimately proved unable to compete with the rising powers of the centralised
Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. Only in 1349, after the occupation of Galicia–Volhynia by an allied Polish-Hungarian force, was Galicia–Volhynia finally conquered and incorporated into Poland. This ended the vassalage of Galicia–Volhynia to the Golden Horde.From 1340 to 1392, the civil war in the region transitioned into a power struggle between Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary. The first stage of conflict led to the signing of a treaty in 1344 that secured the
Principality of Peremyshl for the
Crown of Poland, while the rest of the territory belonged to a member of the
Gediminid dynasty of
Liubartas (Lubart). Eventually by the mid-14th century, the
Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania divided up the region between them: King Casimir III took Galicia and Western Volhynia, while the sister state of Eastern Volhynia together with Kiev came under Lithuanian control, 1352–66. Following the death of Casimir the Great in 1370, Galicia–Volhynia was ruled by
Vladislaus II of Opole in 1372–1379 and 1385–1387, as Lord of Ruthenia (
Terre Russie Domin), being a descendant of
princes of Belz and a subject of King
Louis I of Hungary. Vladislaus strongly contributed to the establishment of
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv as part of Polish
Catholicisation.
Integration into the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1392–1452) Starting from the 1340s the elites of Red Ruthenia, both nobles and royal officials, were obliged to serve in the
pospolite ruszenie (
Latin:
expeditio generalis) on par with Polish subjects. The obligation was included into the
Statute of Wiślica, whose text was translated into
Ruthenian language. In exchange for their service, nobles were granted landholdings, which accelerated the process of colonization and
urbanization of the region. In 1410 military units from the lands of
Lviv,
Halych and
Peremyshl fought under king
Jogaila in the
Battle of Grunwald.
Ruthenian nobles subject to the
Polish Crown also took part in the
war for the Lithuanian throne on the side of
Sigismund Kestutaitis against
Svitrigaila, and in 1442-1444 Ruthenian knights fought against the
Turks in the campaigns of
Władysław III. Starting from 1433, Ruthenian noble families of
Odrowąż,
Oleski and
Buczacki were involved in the wars for
Moldavian throne. By the 1450s Poland had spread its influence to
Western Podolia. The change of governments and political structures led to increased competition between the local elites of Red Ruthenia, which frequently resulted in violence. For instance, in 1464 the
szlachta of Lviv Land proclaimed a
confederation against the powerful Odrowąż family, which had settled in the region during the late 14th century. Next year complaints against the local representative of the clan were issued by the nobles of
Sambir. Volhynia, which following the death of Lubart and deposition of his son
Theodore was allocated by Jogaila to
Vytautas, formally remained a
principality of its own until the death of Svitrigaila in 1452, after which it became a province, and after 1566 a
voivodeship, of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. That period saw the rise of powerful noble families, which increased their prestige during campaigns against
Tatars:
Ostrogski,
Zbaraski,
Czartoryski, Montowt,
Sanguszko,
Korecki, Hulevych (Hulewicz),
Chodkiewicz,
Chetvertynsky, Ruzhynsky and others. == Economy and culture ==