Equestrian monument to Grand Prince Vladimir II Monomakh (1053-1125) founder of the city of Vladimir, Russia
Vladimir II Monomakh (1053–May 19, 1125) or Vladimir in English — was a famous Velikiy Kniaz (Grand Prince) of Kievan Rus'. He was the son of Vsevolod I (married in 1046) and princess Anastasia of Byzantium (d. 1067), daughter of Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, from whom he takes his nickname of Monomakh (Greek for "Fighting in single combat" or "One who fights alone"). Through his maternal grandmother's family, Vladimir was apparently a descendant of the Argyros and Skleros families of the Byzantine Empire, and thus could have traced his bloodline to several other emperors such as Romanus I and Leo V. Eupraxia of Kiev, a sister of Vladimir, became notorious all over Europe for her divorce from the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV on the grounds that he had attempted a black mass on her naked body. In his famous Instruction (also known as The Testament) to his own children, Monomakh mentions that he conducted 83 military campaigns and 19 times made peace with the Polovtsi. At first he waged war against the steppe jointly with his cousin Oleg, but after Vladimir was sent by his father to rule Chernigov and Oleg made peace with the Polovtsi to retake that city from him, they parted company. Since that time, Vladimir and Oleg were bitter enemies who would often engage in internecine wars. The enmity continued among their children and more distant posterity. From 1094, his chief patrimony was the southern town of Pereyaslav, although he also controlled Rostov, Suzdal, and other northern provinces. In these lands he founded several towns, notably his namesake, Vladimir, the future capital of Russia. In order to unite the princes of Rus' in their struggle against the Great Steppe, Vladimir initiated three princely congresses. When Sviatopolk II died in 1113, the Kievan populace revolted and summoned Vladimir to the capital. The same year he entered Kiev to the great delight of the crowd and reigned there until his death in 1125.
Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: Monument to Vladimir II Monomakh, Pushkin Park, Vladimir, Russian Federation, Eastern Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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