(1054–1132) Yaroslav the Wise died on 20 February 1054. His three elder sonsIziaslav of Kiev, Sviatoslav of Chernigov, and Vsevolod of Pereyaslavdecided to jointly govern the Kievan Rus'. Historian Martin Dimnik writes that taking into account Sviatoslav's political and military skills it "is reasonable to assume that he was one of the main motivating forces, if not the actual architect, of many of the policies adopted" by the three brothers. The "
triumviri" closely cooperated in the following years. In 1059 they liberated their uncle
Sudislav, whom their father had sent to prison around 1035. They made a joint expedition "by horse and ship against the
Torks" or
Oghuz Turks, according to the
Russian Primary Chronicle, in 1060. On hearing of the arrival of the Rus' forces, the Torks fled from their lands without resistance. In 1065, Sviatoslav led his troops against his nephew,
Rostislav Vladimirovich, who had in the previous year forcibly expelled Sviatoslav's son,
Gleb, from
Tmutorakan. Upon Sviatoslav's arrival, Rostislav withdrew from this important center of his uncle's domains, but he reoccupied it after Sviatoslav had returned to Chernigov. A distant cousin of the "triumviri",
Vseslav Briacheslavich (
Prince of Polotsk), attacked
Pskov in 1065, according to
The Chronicle of Pskov. Vseslav Briacheslavich could not take this town, but he seized and plundered
Novgorodwhich had been ruled by Iziaslav of Kiev's son,
Mstislavin the next winter. Izyaslav, Sviatoslav and Vsevolod soon united their forces and set forth against Vseslav, "though it was the dead of winter", according to the
Russian Primary Chronicle. They routed Vseslav's army by the
Nemiga River (near
Minsk) on 3 March 1066. Vseslav, who fled from the battlefield, agreed to enter into negotiations with the "triumviri", but they treacherously captured him at a meeting at
Orsha in early June. The
Cumans, who had emerged as the dominant power of the
Pontic steppes in the early 1060s, invaded the southern regions of Kievan Rus' in 1068. The three brothers together marched against the invaders, but
the Cumans routed them on the
Alta River. From the battlefield, Sviatoslav withdrew to Chernigov and regrouped his troops. He returned to defeat the Cumans with a smaller force at the town of
Snovsk on 1 November at the
Battle of Snovsk, thus enhancing his prestige among the populace. In the meantime, the townspeople of Kiev had dethroned and expelled Sviatoslav's brother, Iziaslav. Taking advantage of Iziaslav's absence, Sviatoslav sent his own son, Gleb, to Novgorod to rule the town. Iziaslav returned at the head of
Polish reinforcements. The townspeople of Kiev sent messages to Sviatoslav and Vsevolod, imploring them to come to their "father's city" and defend it, according to the
Russian Primary Chronicle. Sviatoslav and Vsevolod requested Iziaslav "not to lead the Poles in attack upon Kiev", stating that "if he intended to nurse his wrath and destroy the city, they would be properly concerned for the ancestral capital". Iziaslav partially acquiesced: he did not let his Polish allies enter the town, but his retinue slaughtered or mutilated many of his opponents in Kiev. He also attempted to punish
Anthonythe founder of the
Monastery of the Caves in Kievwho had supported his enemies, but Sviatoslav gave shelter to the saintly monk in Chernigov. With Iziaslav's return to Kiev, the "triumvirate" was restored. The three brothers together visited
Vyshhorod in order to participate in the translation of the relics of their saintly uncles,
Boris and Gleb, on 3 May 1072. According to
The Narrative, Passion, and Encomium of Boris and Gleb, Sviatoslav took Saint Gleb's hand and "pressed it to his injury, for he had pain in his neck, and to his eyes, and to his forehead" before placing it back into the coffin. In short order, Sviatoslav felt a pain at the top of his head and his servant found a fingernail of the saint under his cap. Most historians agree that the three brothers expanded
their father's legal code on this occasion, but the exact date is unknown. ==Grand Prince of Kiev==