The sack of Kiev took place on 8–12 March 1169 when a coalition of 11 princes, assembled by prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal, attacked the Kievan Rus' capital city of Kiev (modern Kyiv) during the 1167–1169 Kievan succession crisis. The conflict, caused by the death of grand prince Rostislav I of Kiev, was between rival branches of the Monomakhovichi clan: the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia (senior Mstislavichi; in control of Kiev, Novgorod, Volynia and Halych) on the one hand, and the Rostislavichi of Smolensk (junior Mstislavichi), the Yurievichi (controlling Suzdalia and Pereyaslavl), and the Olgovichi of Chernigov on the other. Prince Mstislav II of Kiev sought to defend Kiev against the Rostislavichi–Yurievichi–Olgovichi coalition.
Background
It is unclear how succession in Kievan Rus' worked.
According to a widely-held view, the traditional rules of hereditary succession dictated that one could only become grand prince of Kiev if one's father or elder brother had sat on the same throne before oneself, although the precise order is not apparent. If one's father or elder brother(s) died before 'sitting on the throne of Kiev', this would make one izgoi, ineligible to reign. A number of scholars have asserted that there was a clear set of rules known as the rota system; the nature and existence of this rota system has been widely debated, with some claiming that no such formal system of succession existed in Kievan Rus'.
1132–1134 Pereyaslavl succession crisis
After the 1132 death of the prince Mstislav I of Kiev, son of Vladimir Monomakh, his brother Yaropolk II of Kiev ascended to the throne without incident in accordance with established succession practices, and was recognised by the whole Monomakhovichi family. But a conflict arose amongst the Monomakhovichi over the possession of the Principality of Pereyaslavl, the holder of which was expected to be the successor to the Kievan throne. When Yaropolk tried to install his nephew Vsevolod Mstislavich of Novgorod and Pskov as the new prince of Pereyaslavl, his younger brother Yuri Dolgorukiy of Rostov-Suzdal challenged him, and war broke out. The conflict, which ended in a compromise in 1134, permanently divided the Monomakhovichi clan into two branches: the senior branch of Mstislav (in 1138 splitting into the Izyaslavichi of Volhynia and the Rostislavichi of Smolensk) and the junior branch of the Yurievichi of Rostov-Suzdal (later Vladimir-Suzdal).
1139–1142 Kievan succession crisis
When Yaropolk II died in 1139, he was succeeded by his brother Viacheslav I of Kiev, but not for long: within two weeks, the Olgovichi prince Vsevolod of Chernigov seized the Kievan throne by force of arms, reigning without dynastic legitimacy (since his father had never been grand prince of Kiev) until his death in 1146. The Mstislavichi (Izyaslavichi) refused to accept this state of affairs, and defeated both the Olgovichi and Yurievichi by 1142, with Iziaslav II Mstislavich gaining control over Pereyaslavl (and thus the right to reign in Kiev upon Vsevolod's death in 1146) and his brother Sviatopolk of Pskov gaining control over Novgorod.
1146–1159 Kievan succession crisis
When Vsevolod II Olgovich of Kiev died in 1146, his brother Igor Olgovich immediately claimed the throne, but the Kievan veche refused to accept him. They supported the Pereyaslavl prince Iziaslav II Mstislavich as the new Grand Prince, who thereafter managed to put his own son Mstislav on the throne of Pereyaslavl, and other Mstislavichi relatives in Volhynia, Smolensk, Turov and Novgorod within a few years. Iziaslav's legitimacy was based on some but not all traditional succession criteria of the rota system. According to the view that Yaroslav the Wise had intended to limit succession to the Kievan to three princes per generation, Iziaslav's accession was legitimate; but the Olgovichi line of 'Vsevolod's brothers and cousins represented the elder generation of the dynasty'. If the Olgovichi of Chernigov accepted Iziaslav's accession, they and their descendants would be excluded from all future Kievan successions, and so they vehemently objected. Uncle Yuri Dolgorukiy (progenitor of the Yurievichi of Suzdalia) also fiercely protested that his claim to Kiev preceded that of his nephew Iziaslav II, and even managed to temporarily drive him out of the capital twice.
Yuri's primary goal was controlling Pereyaslavl to secure the Kievan throne for his descendants. In 1147, a joint Yurievichi–Olgovichi force with Cuman aid commanded by Yuri's son Gleb attacked Pereyaslavl, but Iziaslav and his brother Rostislav of Smolensk came to his son Mstislav's assistance, and successfully defended the crown-princely city. Iziaslav made peace with the Olgovichi of Chernigov, but rejected Yuri's peace proposal in which Yuri would recognise Iziaslav as Grand Prince of Kiev in return for transferring Pereyaslavl Iziaslav's son Mstislav to Yuri's son Gleb.
Yuri also tried to disrupt the Volga trade between Volga Bulgaria and the Iziaslav-allied Novgorod Republic; in response, a 1148 Novgorodian punitive expedition (supported by the Mstislavichi-controlled principalities of Kiev and Smolensk) attacked the Suzdalian town of Yaroslavl on the Volga. In 1149, Novgorod also defeated a Suzdalian band trying to prevent the Republic from collecting tribute in its northern regions. The Mstislavichi continued to reign in Novgorod until 1155, with Yuri keeping up pressure on its vulnerable commercial routes. Meanwhile, Yuri and Gleb attacked Kiev successfully in 1149, driving out Iziaslav, but they soon withdrew, and were unable to conquer the crown principality during the protracted battle for Pereyaslavl. In 1151, Yuri's second attempt to seize the capital utterly failed, and he lost both the Kiev and Pereyaslavl. Iziaslav II and his uncle Viacheslav Vladimirovich co-reigned in Kiev until their deaths in 1154. First, the Olgovichi prince Izyaslav Davydovych of Chernigov briefly seized Kiev in 1154. Only after expelling him did Yuri gain hold of Kiev until he himself died in 1157, putting Gleb in Pereyaslavl, another son in Novgorod in 1155, and other Yurievichi relatives in Turov and their family domain of Suzdalia.
After Yuri's death in 1157, local boyars invited Izyaslav Davydovych back to the Grand Princely throne in Kiev. However, his father Davyd Sviatoslavich had never sat on the throne of Kiev, making him izgoi, and he was unable to extend his authority in other Kievan Rus' principalities. The Yurievichi remained in control of Pereyaslavl (Gleb) and Suzdalia (Andrey Bogolyubsky), while Novgorod elected Rostislav of Smolensk's son – a Mstislavichi prince – in 1157. In the next year, 1158, the fully eligible Rostislav easily took the Kievan throne, supported by both the princes of Volhynia and Halych; he reigned until 1167.
1159–1167 interlude
With the accession of Rostislav of Smolensk as Grand Prince of Kiev, 'the traditional principles of dynastic succession were restored and the feuds between dynastic branches relaxed.' The Mstislavichi and Yurievichi branches of the Monomakhovichi clan jointly dominated Kievan Rus', and cooperated to ensure dynastic stability throughout the reign of Rostislav. The senior Mstislavichi line controlled capital Kiev, Smolensk, Volynia, and Novgorod, while the junior Yurievichi branch reigned in Suzdalia and the crown principality of Pereyaslavl. According to Petro Tolochko, Rostislav's nephew Mstislav Iziaslavich was essentially his co-ruler.
1167–1169 Kievan succession crisis
After the death of Rostislav in 1167, the princely quarrels resumed. According to his position of family seniority, Volodimer Mstislavich was next in line for the Kievan throne. Nevertheless, the Kievan boyars invited Mstislav Iziaslavich, the prince of Volhynia (Volyn), to reign the grand principality. Therefore, having enlisted the support of Yaroslav Halytsky and mobilized a small squad, Mstislav Iziaslavich easily took over the city. However, by taking the throne, he breached the balance of power agreement between the Mstislavichi and Yurievichi, as well as causing a conflict between the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia (the senior Mstislavichi line) and the Rostislavichi of Smolensk (the junior Mstislavichi line). This divided the dynasty into two opposing camps:
In 1168 grand prince Mstislav Iziaslavich of Kiev headed an anti-Polovtsian expedition, in which as many as thirteen princes took part.
In 1169, Andrey Bogolyubsky gathered a large army, which included Murom, Smolensk, Polotsk, Chernihiv, and Dorogobuzh princes, and marched on Kiev. The onslaught was not successful, but Mstyslav's forces were small, as he sent the troops to help his son in Novgorod just before the attack. On the advice of his wife, who was in Kiev, the Grand Prince fled the city and went to Volyn to gather some help.
The sack
The two main primary sources about the 1169 Sack of Kiev are the Kievan Chronicle (found in the Hypatian Codex) and the Suzdalian Chronicle (found in the Laurentian Codex). The two accounts agree on the following factual descriptions: a military campaign was undertaken at the order of Andrey Bogolyubsky against the city of Kiev and Mstislav Iziaslavich, whom both apparently recognised as the (lawful?) "Kievan Prince". Both agree that the coalition forces were commanded by Andrey's son Mstislav Andreyevich, that 11 other princes participated in the assault (mentioning some by name), provide similar accounts of some aspects of the battle and how Kiev was taken, how Mstislav Iziaslavich's wife and son were captured, the city was sacked and plundered – specifically the churches and monasteries, where many icons, books chasubles were removed/looted from – and the installation of Gleb of Kiev as the next grand prince, after Mstislav Andreyevich returned to Vladimir on the Klyazma in the northeast.
Where they differ is in the details and in their Tendenz: the author of the Kievan Chronicle provides a very elaborate and detailed account, in which he identifies with the capital, the fate of Kiev's citizens and their suffering. He explains the sack of Kiev according to Christian tradition as a just punishment for unspecified sins the inhabitants had allegedly committed, and lamented it. The writer of the Suzdal'–Vladimirian Chronicle agrees that the city was sacked as a just punishment for its inhabitants' sins, but treats Kiev as an enemy, promoting the Yurievichi (Vladimir-Suzdalian) branch of the Monomakhovichi dynasty instead. While the Kievan account describes the attackers who set the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves on fire as "heathens", the Suzdal'–Vladimirian story calls the Monastery's metropolitan "unlawful" because of a theological disagreement over fasting on holy days, adding "that no one may oppose God's law".
After the long siege, the defenders of the city surrendered on 8 March 1169. Mstislav II Iziaslavich fled, while his wife and son were captured by coalition forces. The victorious coalition plundered the city of Kiev and looted its treasures for three days. Chroniclers who witnessed and recorded the events were shocked, with one chronicler lamenting that even icons, their costly metal mountings (rizas), and books from monasteries and churches were stolen.
After that, Andrey Bogolyubsky put his younger brother Gleb Yurievich, prince of Pereyaslav, on the throne of Kiev.
Aftermath
Novgorod versus Suzdal and Mstislav's return
In 1170 Bogolyubsky sent troops to Novgorod. The formal reason was the dispute over the "Dvina tribute", which Novgorod received from Finno-Ugric tribes, and which from 1169 started to pay the Northern Dvina tribute to Suzdal. On 22 February 1170, a united army of Suzdal, Murom, Polotsk, Pereyaslav and others surrounded the city. However, Novgorod persevered. Then Andrey Bogolyubsky applied an economic blockade against Novgorod, and six months later the people of Novgorod asked for peace; they deposed Roman the Great from the Novgorodian throne in exchange for another Rostislavichi prince, and then, in 1171, Andrey’s son Yuri.