Andrew Yuryevich Bogolubsky | |
|---|---|
 Andrey Bogolyubsky. Forensic facial reconstruction by Mikhail Gerasimov. | |
| Right-Believing, Passion Bearer | |
| Born | unknown Rostov, Kievan Rus' |
| Died | 28 June 1174 Bogolyubovo, Vladimir-Suzdal |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Canonized | 15 October 1702 (Translation), Dormition Cathedral, Vladimir by Russian Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Dormition cathedral, Vladimir |
| Feast | 4 July (burial), 30 June, 23 June, 10 October, 25 May |
| Attributes | Clothed as a Russian Grand Prince, holding a three-bar cross in his right hand |
| Patronage | Russian NBC Protection Troops |
Andrey Bogolyubsky (died 28 June 1174;[1] Russian: Андрей Ю́рьевич Боголюбский, romanized: Andrey Yuryevich Bogolyubsky, lit. Andrey Yuryevich of Bogolyubovo), was Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1157[2] until his death. During repeated internecine wars between the princely clans, Andrey accompanied his father Yuri Dolgorukiy during a brief capture of Kiev in 1149; 20 years later, he led the Sack of Kiev (1169),[3][4] and made efforts to elevate Vladimir on the Klyazma as the new capital of Kievan Rus'.[5] He was canonized as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1702.[6]
Andrey Bogolyubsky was born ca. 1111,[where?][citation needed] to a daughter of Ayyub Khan, the Kipchak leader, and to Yuri I Vladimirovich (Russian: Юрий Владимирович), commonly known as Yuri Dolgoruki (Russian: Юрий Долгорукий). Yuri was a son of Volodimer II Monomakh, progenitor of the Monomakhovichi.[7] Yuri proclaimed Andrey a prince in Vyshgorod (near Kiev).[citation needed]
Andrey left Vyshgorod in 1155 and moved to Vladimir,[citation needed] a little town on the river Klyazma founded in 1108.[7] After his father's death in 1157, he became Knyaz (prince) of Vladimir, Rostov and Suzdal.[5] He commenced the construction of fortifications around the town of Vladimir in 1158 (completed in 1164), as well as the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir.[7] In 1162, Andrey sent an embassy to Constantinople, lobbying for a separate metropolitan see in Vladimir.[8] Fortifications around Vladimir were completed in 1164.[3] The same year Andrey attacked the Volga Bolgars;[3] he won a victory, but a son was killed in battle, to whose memory he ordered the construction of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl in 1165.[9]
In 1169 Andrey's troops sacked Kiev, devastating it as never before.[4][10] After plundering the city,[11] stealing much religious artwork, which included the Byzantine "Mother of God" icon.[12] Andrey appointed his brother Gleb as prince of Kiev, in an attempt to unify his lands with Kiev.[13] Following his brother's death in 1171, Andrey became embroiled in a two-year war to maintain control over Kiev, which ended in his defeat.[13]
Andrey established for himself the right to receive tribute from the populations of the Northern Dvina lands.[citation needed] As "ruler of all Suzdal land",[This quote needs a citation] Bogolyubsky transferred the capital to Vladimir, strengthened it, and constructed the Assumption Cathedral,[14] the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl,[15] and other churches and monasteries. Under his leadership Vladimir was much enlarged, and fortifications were built around the city.[16]
During Andrey's reign, the Vladimir-Suzdal principality achieved significant power, and it became the strongest among the Kievan Rus' principalities.[citation needed] The expansion of his princely authority, and his conflicts with the upper nobility, the boyars, gave rise to a conspiracy that resulted in Bogolyubsky's death on the night of 28–29 June 1174, when twenty of them burst into his chambers and slew him in his bed.[12]
According to the story of Andrey Bogolyubsky's death as recorded in the Kievan Chronicle of the Hypatian Codex (Ipatiev),[18] and the Radziwiłł Chronicle,[17] his "right hand" was cut off[18][17] by an assailant called "Peter" (Петръ):
However, the Radziwiłł Chronicle's adjoining miniature depicts his assailants cutting off his left arm.[17] Moreover, when Dmitry Gerasimovich Rokhlin examined the exhumed body of Andrey Bogolyubsky in 1965, he "found a lot of cut marks on the left humerus and forearm bones".[18] A 2009 special historical study by Russian historian A.V. Artcikhovsky (2009) would later confirm Rokhlin's observations.[18]
With his wife, Andrey Bogolyubsky had one son, Yury Bogolyubsky, who became the husband of Queen Tamar of Georgia.[citation needed]
