Saint Dmitry Donskoy

Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy (Russian: Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й; 12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389) was Prince of Moscow from 1359 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1363 until his death. He was the heir of Ivan II. He was the first prince of Moscow to openly challenge Mongol authority in Russia. In traditional Russian historiography, he is regarded as a Russian national hero and a central figure of the Russian Middle Ages. His nickname, Donskoy ("of the Don"), alludes to his great victory against the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380), which took place on the Don River. He is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church with his feast day on 19 May. 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 in the northeastern Rus' principalities acknowledged his authority and contributed troops to the impending struggle against the Horde.