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Vasily I

Type Figure Region Grand Duchy of Moscow Time 1371–1425 Also known as Василий I Дмитриевич、Vasily I Dmitriyevich、Basil I of Moscow

Vasily I Dmitriyevich (1371–1425), Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir, eldest son of Dmitry Donskoy, acceded in 1389;…

Timeline

  1. 1371–1389Moscow · MoscowAs eldest son of Dmitry Donskoy, Vasily traveled to the Golden Horde in his youth to obtain a patent (yarlyk) for his father's title of Grand Prince of Vladimir, was once held hostage, later escaped home during the conflict between Timur and Tokhtamysh, and took part in a Central Asian campaign, accumulating diplomatic and military experience for his eventual accession.
  2. 1389–1412Moscow · MoscowAcceding in 1389 under his father's will, he annexed Nizhny Novgorod, Murom and other lands with the khan's permission, and married a daughter of Grand Prince Vytautas of Lithuania. Around 1395 he suspended tribute to the Golden Horde; after Edigu Khan besieged Moscow in 1408 he resumed tribute, while continuing to contend with Novgorod, Tver and other powers.
  3. 1412–1425Moscow · MoscowIn his later years he designated his younger son Vasily II as heir and in his will sought the support of Vytautas and Patriarch Photius. After his death in 1425, this line of succession sparked a struggle for the Grand Prince of Moscow among his uncles and cousins, notably Yuri of Zvenigorod, opening a Muscovite civil war.

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