events in the 14th century. Rus' in the XIV-XV centuries: the unification process

The 14th century is the time of the Middle Ages in Rus', which was marked by the gathering of lands around Moscow and the formation of a single state. This century occupies an important place in national history as a time to overcome feudal fragmentation and strengthen the power of the Moscow prince. In addition, it was during this period that the famous Battle of Kulikovo took place, which marked the beginning of the overthrow of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Consolidation of lands

The 14th century became a century during which the process of consolidation of appanages around one main center was observed in many principalities. In the Moscow, Tver, Ryazan and other principalities, the rulers subordinated the younger appanage brothers to their power and sought to annex their lands to their domain possessions. In the first half of the century, three centers emerged that claimed to be the initiators of the formation of a single state. In addition to Moscow and Tver, Lithuanian principality also acted as a unifier. Under the rule of its rulers was a significant amount of Western Russian lands, which gave them reason to claim the status of leader.

Inter-princely struggle

The 14th century became a time of confrontation between specific owners. Each of them sought to defend their right to independence. The most powerful claimed the grand ducal title, which was associated with the possession of the great Vladimir principality. Already in the first half of this century, a clear advantage turned out to be on the side of the Moscow princes, who, starting with Ivan Kalita, consistently held a shortcut to this territory. However, Moscow's leadership was not yet unconditional. Other principalities (Tver, Ryazan) continued to defend their independence. There were wars between them and Moscow, which, nevertheless, demonstrated the growing strength of the latter.

Relations with the Horde

The 14th century was the time of major clashes with the Horde. In 1327, an anti-Mongol uprising took place in Tver, which was drowned in blood. After that, the Tver principality on for a long time fell into decline until the middle of the century. In the second half of the 14th century, two more important battles took place that marked the end of the yoke.

In 1378, a battle took place on the Vozha River, which ended in the victory of the Russian troops. In 1380, the famous Battle of Kulikovo took place, which ended in the complete defeat of the Khan's troops. This battle had a huge impact on contemporaries, who captured this event in chronicles, legends, and folk art.

However, two years later, Moscow was invaded by the Mongol-Tatars, who by cunning persuaded the townspeople to open the gates of the city and, going inside, plundered it and killed many people. Nevertheless, the battle of 1380 marked the beginning of the liberation of Russian lands from the yoke.

The reign of Ivan Kalita

An important milestone in Russian history was the 14th century. What years are these? Period from 1301 to 1400 Julian calendar. It was during this period of time that Ivan Kalita laid the foundation for the power of Moscow.

He secured the status of the grand-princely center of North-Eastern Rus' for the city. This ruler, thanks to the skillful Horde policy, saved his possessions from the attack of the Mongol-Tatars. He regularly paid tribute to the khan's headquarters, maintained neutral relations with the Horde ruler, which saved the Moscow principality from the emergence of Baskaks. He cared a lot about strengthening his possessions. The prince was actively engaged in construction, encouraged the development of land ownership, which, in turn, led to the economic upsurge of the state.

Reign of his sons

An important time for the unification of the lands around Moscow was the 14th century. "What years are these?" - a question, the answer to which should include a description of the most important events of the specified period.

Two successors of Ivan Kalita continued his work to strengthen the position of the principality in North-Eastern Rus'. The eldest son of the ruler, Semyon the Proud, sought to subjugate the neighboring lands, and the youngest, Ivan Krasny, consolidated the achievements of his predecessors.

The merit of these princes lies in the fact that they managed to maintain the leading positions of their possessions, which prepared the prerequisites for victory on the Kulikovo field.

Dmitry Donskoy and Vasily I

The 14th century in the history of Russia is important because it laid the foundation for the formation of a centralized state. In the second half of the century, the Moscow rulers achieved significant success in strengthening their power, which was manifested during the reign of these two princes. Dmitry Ivanovich in his will handed over to the heir the great principality of Vladimir without the sanction of the Horde Khan, which strengthened Moscow's position in the matter of land unification.

His son Vasily Dmitrievich also gave this territory to his heir, and although he did this with reservations, nevertheless, the very fact of such an order meant the final transfer of the initiative to unite the territories to the Moscow principality.

Tver Principality

The 14th century in the history of Rus' became a time of overcoming fragmentation in other lands. The Tver principality was the main opponent of Moscow. His princes successfully strengthened their power and claimed leadership in North-Eastern Rus'. After the anti-Mongol uprising in 1327, the position of Tver was greatly shaken.

However, by the middle of this century, the new Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich led an energetic policy to strengthen his power not only within his principality, but also in North-Eastern Rus'. The confrontation between the two opponents resulted in the war of 1375, in which Tver lost and was forced to sign an agreement in which Mikhail Alexandrovich recognized Dmitry Donskoy as the ruler of North-Eastern Rus'.

However, the positions of the Tver principality had not yet been completely undermined, and it continued to play a prominent role in the political history of Rus' until 1485, when it was annexed to Moscow by Ivan III.

Other principalities

One of the most important in the medieval period is the topic "14th century in the history of Russia." Briefly, this century should be studied by principalities, since the lands, despite the unification process that had begun, continued to be fragmented. The Ryazan principality, although it did not claim to be the center of a single state, nevertheless played an important role in the political history of the century under consideration. It was also Moscow's main adversary, and there was a long confrontation between the two centers. The Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal principality was also a serious competitor of Moscow, its prince, even in the years of Dmitry Donskoy's infancy, received the grand duke's label.

So, the history of Russia in the 14th century, the dates of which are 1301-1400, should be studied as the era of the formation of a single state. At the same time, attention should be paid to the beginning of the liberation of the principalities from the Horde yoke.

The most complete reference table main dates and events in the history of Russia from the 13th to the 14th century. This table is convenient to use for schoolchildren and applicants for self-study, in preparation for tests, exams and the exam in history.

The heyday of Russian culture in XIV-XV centuries associated not only with the economic and political development country, with the growth of popular resistance, with the victorious Battle of Kulikovo, but also with the penetration of the Pre-Renaissance on Russian soil, which gave rise to a new vision of the world, increased interest in the human personality and spiritual development.

The art of Russian painting reached a high level of development. A wonderful school was created, the outstanding representative of which was the Russian artist Andrei Rublev.

Using and reworking the artistic heritage of the previous period, Andrei Rublev brought it to unprecedented perfection with his genius. Rublev’s brush belongs to the icon of the “Savior” from the cathedral of the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery and the wonderful iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.

The Monk Sergius of Radonezh, under the influence of whose ideas the worldview of Andrei Rublev was formed, was an outstanding personality of his time. He stood up for overcoming internecine strife, actively participated in the political life of Moscow, contributed in every possible way to its rise, reconciled the warring princes, and contributed to the unification of Russian lands around Moscow.

A special merit of Sergius of Radonezh was his participation in the preparation of the Battle of Kulikovo. With his advice and spiritual experience, he helped Dmitry Donskoy, strengthened his confidence in the correctness of the chosen path. Finally, it was he who blessed the Russian army before the Battle of Kulikovo. The personality of Sergius of Radonezh had special authority for his contemporaries; a generation of people from the era of the Battle of Kulikovo was brought up on his ideas. Andrei Rublev, as the spiritual heir to these ideas, embodied them in his work.

A remarkable creation of Rublev is the iconostasis of the Trinity Cathedral in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and especially the icons of the Trinity and the Myrrh-Bearing Woman at the Tomb of Christ.

Andrei Rublev's friend and closest assistant was Daniil Cherny. They brought up a whole galaxy of Russian painters.

The works of Andrei Rublev and the artists of the Rublev school were created at the time of the highest flowering of Moscow art in the 15th century. Joining the force historical conditions To Byzantine art, which had an impact on the culture of most countries of the Eastern Christian world, Moscow masters managed to overcome the Byzantine heritage, assimilating its individual elements and techniques.

Andrei Rublev and the artists of his school abandoned the asceticism and severity of Byzantine images, their abstractness, but they implemented their ancient, Hellenic basis in their art. They filled traditional images with new content, correlating it with the main ideas of the time: the unification of Russian lands into a single state and universal peace and harmony.

Leading role in all Russian fine arts of that time belonged to icon painting, without which no church could do. In the 70s of the XIV century in Novgorod, where an original art school of painting had already been formed, a native of Constantinople, Theophanes the Greek, appeared. The role of this artist in the development of the first Novgorod, and then the Moscow school of painting is enormous.

The artist Dionysius with his sons Theodosius and Vladimir became the successor to the high traditions of painting by Andrei Rublev. They painted the church in the Paf-Nutevo-Borovsky Monastery and the Cathedral of the Joseph-Volokolamsky Monastery. The most outstanding monument of Dionysius' creativity are the frescoes of the Ferapontov Monastery.

The era when Dionysius worked was different from Rublev's. Fragmented Rus' gave way to a centralized state. Art was called upon to express the greatness and glory of the Moscow state, and especially its supreme power, which largely determined the work of this artist.

The formation of the Russian centralized state put forward the task of widely deploying the construction of fortifications in cities and monasteries, and in Moscow to build temples and palaces that correspond to its significance. For this, architects and masons from other Russian cities, Italian architects and fortification engineers were invited to the capital.

The main building material was brick. The Moscow Kremlin, which contained the residence of the Grand Duke, Metropolitan, cathedrals, boyar courts, monasteries, was expanded to its current size, and the settlement covered it from three sides and was cut through by radial streets.

Red Square arose, part of the settlement - Kitay-Gorod - was surrounded by a stone wall, and then the stone wall of the White City and the wood-earthen wall of the Earthen City surrounded the capital with two rings. This determined the radial-circular layout of Moscow.

The monasteries-fortresses that protected the approaches to the city were in tune with the Kremlin in their silhouette. Over time, they became the compositional centers of the outskirts of Moscow.

Radial streets with log pavements led to the center through the towered gates of Zemlyanoy and Bely Gorods. Residential development of city streets consisted mainly of two or three storey houses.

The Kremlins of other cities, as in Moscow, followed the terrain in their plans, and on flat areas they had regular rectangular plans. Hinged loopholes and battlements in the form of a dovetail, used by Italian architects in the Moscow Kremlin, also appeared in the Kremlins of Novgorod, Tula, Kolomna and other cities.

The fortresses of the distant Kirillo-Belozersky and Solovetsky monasteries were freer from new influences. Their powerful walls and towers are built of large boulders and are almost devoid of decorative ornaments.

The surviving part of the Grand Duke's Palace in Moscow, created by architects Mark Fryazin and Pyotr Solario, is endowed with features of Western architecture, but in composition it is close to wooden mansions.

In the architecture of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, which was proposed to be built like the cathedral of the same name in Vladimir in order to emphasize the continuity of Moscow's power, the architect Aristotle Fioravanti significantly rethought the traditions of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture. The cathedral in Moscow is more powerful in proportion and more monumental than its prototype.

An attempt to transfer the motifs of the early Venetian Renaissance to the Russian temple was made by the architect Aleviz Fryazin during the construction of the Archangel Cathedral.

Several wooden churches have survived from the 14th-15th centuries. The earlier ones - “kletsky” ones - resemble a hut with a gable roof and outbuildings. Later ones are tall, octagonal, covered with a tent. Their slender proportions, contrasts of austere chopped walls and carvings of galleries and porches, their inseparable connection with the surrounding landscape are evidence of the high skill of folk craftsmen.

The growth of scientific knowledge and enlightenment was facilitated by the process of centralization of the Russian state. Extensive civil and church construction helped develop skills in the field of technology. The introduction of wall and throwing guns and artillery into practice required the calculation of the strength and range of stones and cannonballs. Shotguns operated with a lever. The appearance of clocks in Moscow and Novgorod indicates that Russian craftsmen were familiar with the system of gears.

Blacksmithing, gunsmithing, coinage, the construction of pipes for extracting salt, which operated with a piston pump, the preparation of lime soil for wall painting - all this was associated with the growth of applied knowledge.

In Russia, attempts were made to explain the real phenomena of the surrounding world, and works devoted to individual branches of knowledge appeared. The chroniclers noted the observed astronomical phenomena - they described the passage of comets, solar eclipses. Special astronomical treatises “On latitude and longitude in winter”, the distance between heaven and earth” and the like began to appear. Medical knowledge developed.

The inclusion of new lands in the Russian state contributed to an increase in interest in the geographical sciences. Russian merchants and travelers, establishing contacts with near and far countries, made a significant contribution to the development of geographical knowledge, leaving records of the countries they saw.

These are the records of the journey of the Novgorodian Stefan to Constantinople, Ignatius Smolnyanin to Constantinople, Palestine and Athos. There was a diary of the trip of the Russian embassy to Ferrara and Florence to the church cathedral in 1439 and a description of the trip of Ambassador Tolbukhin to Venice.

Novgorodian Stefan pays great attention in his notes to building material, especially marble, noting its properties and color. The author of the description of the trip of the Russian embassy to Ferrara and Florence carefully studied European cities: Lübeck. Lüneburg, Augsburg, Braunschweig, Venice, Florence. He interestingly describes the crafts, trade, improvement of cities and construction equipment existing there.

One of the outstanding travelers of the second half of the 15th century was the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin. In 1466, together with other merchants, he went to the eastern countries. Through Shemakha, Baku, Hormuz, he managed to get to India. Afanasy Nikitin left interesting vivid description his wanderings on the basis of personal observations of India and Iran, and on the basis of inquiries - also of Ceylon, China and other countries.

In the Russian state, the works of ancient writers and philosophers were known. The author of the "Life" of Dmitry Donskoy was well acquainted with the philosophical ideas of Pythagoras and Plato, Archbishop Vassian Rylo - with the ideas of Democritus.

For Kievan Rus this period was one of the most difficult. The once powerful state crumbled in the 12th century as a result of internal strife. In the 13th century, this led to disastrous consequences - most of the Russian principalities found themselves under the yoke of the Mongol-Tatars of the Golden Horde, only Novgorod and several other principalities managed to maintain their independence. The western and southern regions of the former Kievan Rus were captured by Lithuania, Poland and Hungary. Kyiv lost its political significance, the most influential ruler in Rus' was the prince of the city Vladimir.

Most of the Russian principalities were forced to pay tribute to the Golden Horde, despite successful campaigns against the Tatars from Galician Rus and the Principality of Lithuania. Under this oppression, Moscow began to receive its benefits. Separated Muscovite Rus began to fight with other principalities, in the 14th century a bloody struggle of Tver Rus against Moscow unfolded. The latter won, which predetermined the future development of the Russian state. To win, Moscow used the uprising, which was raised against the Mongols by the inhabitants of Tver. Ivan Kalita, Prince of Moscow, enlisted the support of the Horde, and to please the Mongols, they helped to pacify the recalcitrant Tver, simultaneously annexing it to their lands.

This policy made it possible for Moscow to begin to unite the Russian principalities by way of capture. United Rus' became able to resist the iron grip of the Mongol-Tatars, and Moscow periodically began to rebel against the oppressors. In 1377, the Moscow army was defeated in the battle on the Pyan River, and on next year Dmitry Donskoy defeated the Mongols on the Vozha River. Later, Moscow took advantage of the political instability in the Horde itself, taking the side of one of the khans fighting for power.

However, when the Russians tried to refuse to pay tribute to the Mongols, a former ally, Khan Tokhtamysh, took Moscow by storm and ravaged the city. In 1395, a new threat rolled in from the east - the army of Tamerlane. This conqueror defeated the army of the Golden Horde, and then moved into the borders of Rus'. The city of Yelets and a significant part of the lands around Ryazan were plundered. However, for unknown reasons, Tamerlane deployed his army and left the Russian lands. At the same time, the image of the Mother of God from Vladimir was brought to Moscow, therefore, in the annals, getting rid of the terrible threat was associated precisely with this event, and the intervention of forces from above.
Thus, Rus' in the 14th century, in short, tried with all its might to throw off the Mongol yoke, and in the same period Moscow began to seize other Russian principalities, uniting them into one powerful state.

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