# Grand Prince of Moscow

The Grand Prince of Moscow (Russian: великий князь Московский, romanized: velikiy knyaz Moskovskiy), known as the Prince of Moscow until 1389, was the ruler of the Grand Principality of Moscow. The Moscow principality was initially established in the 13th century as an appanage within the Vladimir-Suzdal grand principality. By the late 14th century, the grand principality became a family possession of the princes of Moscow; the monarch bore the title of grand prince of Vladimir and Moscow and later the title of grand prince of Vladimir, Moscow and all Russia.

## History

The grand principality of Vladimir-Suzdal fell apart into feuding appanages over the course of the 13th century. The princes of Moscow were descendants of Daniel. As Daniel never became grand prince of Vladimir before he died in 1303, this meant that according to traditional succession practices, his descendants were izgoi: his son and successor Yury of Moscow had no legitimate claim to the throne of Vladimir. This is why Tokhta Khan granted Mikhail of Tver the grand princely title when Andrey of Gorodets died the next year (27 July 1304). Nevertheless, the princes of Moscow managed to play towards the favour of the Mongol khans of the Golden Horde in order to be awarded the grand princely title through a yarlik by the second quarter of the 14th century, in disregard of dynastic traditions. The Horde sought to use Moscow to weaken the Principality of Tver (the strongest principality), but by the second half of the 14th century, when the Horde got embroiled in a decades-long war of succession known as the Great Troubles, the Muscovite princes managed to grow too powerful, and the khans were too late to start awarding the yarlik of grand prince of Vladimir to the princes of Tver instead in order to keep Moscow in check. Dmitry Donskoy passed the grand principality to his son Vasily I in his 1389 will, thus usurping the right of the khan to choose the grand prince.

## List
### Princes of Moscow

| Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family |
| DanielДаниил Александрович | 1261 – 4 March 1303 | 1283 | 4 March 1303 | Son of Alexander Nevsky and Maria | Rurik |
| YuryЮрий Данилович | 1281 – 21 November 1325 | 4 March 1303 | 21 November 1325 | Son of Daniel Elder brother of Ivan I | Rurik |
| Ivan IИван I Даниилович Калита | 1288 – 1340 | 1332 | 31 March 1340 | He was a successor of Alexander of Suzdal as Grand Prince of Vladimir and a successor of Yury of Moscow as Grand Prince of Moscow | Rurik |
| SimeonСемён Иванович Гордый | 7 November 1316 – 27 April 1353 | 31 March 1340 | 27 April 1353 | Son of Ivan I and Helena | Rurik |
| Ivan IIИван II Иванович Красный | 30 March 1326 – 13 November 1359 | 27 April 1353 | 13 November 1359 | Son of Ivan I and Helena Younger brother of Simeon of Moscow | Rurik |
| Dmitry DonskoyДмитрий Иванович Донской | 12 October 1350 – 19 May 1389 | 13 November 1359 | 19 May 1389 | Son of Ivan II and Alexandra Vasilyevna Velyaminova | Rurik |

### Grand princes of Moscow

| Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family |
| Vasily IВасилий Дмитриевич | 30 December 1371 – 27 February 1425 | 19 May 1389 | 27 February 1425 | Son of Dmitry I and Eudoxia Dmitriyevna | Rurik |
| Vasily IIВасилий Васильевич (Василий Тёмный) | 10 March 1415 – 27 March 1462 | 27 February 1425 | 30 March 1434 | Son of Vasily I and Sophia of Lithuania. DeposedRegent: Sophia of Lithuania (1425–1432) | Rurik |
| Yuryof Zvenigorod Юрий Дмитриевич | 26 November 1374 – 5 June 1434 | 31 March 1434 | 5 June 1434 | Son of Dmitry I and Eudoxia Dmitriyevna Younger brother of Vasily I | Rurik |
| Vasilythe Squintof Zvenigorod Василий Юрьевич (Василий Косой) | 1421 – 1448 | 5 June 1434 | 1435 | Son of Yury of Zvenigorod and Anastasia of Smolensk | Rurik |
| Vasily IIthe DarkВасилий Васильевич (Василий Тёмный) | 10 March 1415 – 27 March 1462 | 1435 | 1446 | Restored | Rurik |
| DmitryShemyakaДмитрий Юрьевич (Дмитрий Шемяка) | 1400s – 17 July 1453 | 1446 | 26 March 1447 | Son of Yury of Zvenigorod and Anastasia of Smolensk, brother of Vasily the Squint First to use the title of Ospodar of all the Rus' | Rurik |
| Vasily IIthe DarkВасилий Васильевич (Василий Тёмный) | 10 March 1415 – 27 March 1462 | 27 February 1447 | 27 March 1462 | RestoredCo-ruler: Ivan (since 1449) | Rurik |
| Ivan IIIthe GreatИван Васильевич (Иван Великий) | 22 January 1440 – 6 November 1505 | 5 April 1462 | 6 November 1505 | Son of Vasily II and Maria of BorovskCo-rulers: Ivan the Young (1471–1490), Dmitry the Grandson (1498–1502), Vasily (since 1502) | Rurik |
| Vasily IIIВасилий Иванович | 25 March 1479 – 13 December 1533 | 6 November 1505 | 13 December 1533 | Son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue | Rurik |
| Ivan IVthe TerribleИван Васильевич | 25 August 1530 – 28 March 1584 | 13 December 1533 | 26 January 1547 | Son of Vasily III and Elena GlinskayaRegent: Elena Glinskaya (1533–1538) | Rurik |