Tsar Aleksandr Yermolayevich Zivanov

A middle aged Aleksandr

### Relatives

Younger Brother (Bebneva Yermolayevich [Bebneva is a monk]), Two Sisters (Grishina and Gilyova [Grishina is deceased, Gilyova is alive and has one daughter in her 20s]) Ipolyds daughter (Aleksandrs niece) was made a nun and resides at Belosta near Bebneva)

## Physical description

### Eye color

Gray

Aleksandr Yermolayevich Zivanov (1198 - 1254) was the first Tsar of Curaw from 1238 to 1254. He was also the Grand Prince of Curaw and Khudan. He is known for centralizing his realm and expanding his borders and his zealotry. He supported the proselytization of Orthodox Makerism and empowered the church, donating lands and funds to the church. He also introduced a law codex known as the Sudebnik in 1246. This had inspiration from traditional Vaegir laws, as well as Calradic and contemporary Calrad laws. Among other reforms, the Sudebnik overhauled the structure of Curaw's aristocracy, entirely removing the druzhina and replacing them with the dvoryane and boyar scions. He is a saint in the Orthodox Church, known as "Aleksandr the Right-Believing" or 'Aleksandr the Enlightener".

## Early life

Aleksandr was born into the Zivanov family on a clear, tranquil January night, with a vase supposedly shattering the moment of his birth. He was born to Grand Prince Yermolayev and to Zheglova, and was the eldest surviving son of his parents, his sisters were born a few years after.

Grand Prince Yermolay was a fearsome warrior; however his rule as prince suffered from poor relations with his subjects, as well as his vices of gambling and drinking. Yermolay took the throne after overthrowing his older brother, banishing him to a monastery. He waged multiple wars against his neighbors, particularly Khudan. He expanded the city of Curaw significantly and worked to expand his power, although his achievements would be dwarfed by his son's.

As a child, Aleksandr was rash and belligerent, nearly maiming himself in the left leg in a horseback accident when he was 12. As a child, he had a strained relation with his father. When he was 16, his father died from dysentery, after contracting it from the swampy territory he had just conquered from Khudan. For the next few years, Aleksandr mentality changed little, resulting him in invading Khudan to fulfill his fathers destiny, this would prove to be a disaster as Curaw's army was defeated by the Khergits.

## Grand Prince of Curaw

Aleksandr was only 16 when he became Grand Prince and had little knowledge of how to run a state, thus Boyar Ivan controlled many aspects of the principality and became one of the most powerful men in Curaw. A tense rivalry developed between the two, with Boyar Ivan undermining nearly everything the young prince did. After Aleksandr's disastrous defeat against the Khergits, he sought to

### Foreign Wars

In 1221, Aleksandr invaded Khudan, which was ruled by the oppressive and ineffective Grand Prince Ivan. Meanwhile, both the Khuzaks and the Khergits entered Khudan. The Khuzaks were largely peaceful, their leader Ruslan converted to Makerism and allied with Aleksandr, while the Khergits rampaged through Khudan. At the Battle of Lake Vadim, Naranbaatar Khan dealt a decisive defeat on Aleksandr and Ruslan. The Blue Horde conquered Khudan, Aleksandr was forced to pay tribute to the Khergits, and the Khuzaks fled north, becoming vassals of Rivacheg.

In 1234, Aleksandr conquered Sungetche, a formerly Khudanese land, from the Khergits, renaming it to Belosta and fortifying the mountain pass. After the Khergits were driven off, Belosta became an important mining region. Many exiles were also sent there.

In 1237, Aleksandr waged a war with Rivacheg and Reyvadin, claiming all of the lost Khudanese land as his own. The war lasted about two months, ending in Mikhail's defeat at Sluchosta and his subsequent deposition. It was impossible for Rivacheg and Reyvadin to coordinate anything, due to the distances between them and the fact they did not share any borders. As such, the Reyvads only saw limited fighting at Kiselov.

## Religious Significance

Aleksandr is recognized as a saint in the Orthodox Church, due to his piety, as well as his efforts to spread and strengthen the Orthodoxy.

### Controversies

Aleksandr is heavily controversial for the part in the Vaegir Schism that lasted from 1235 to 1256. This schism originated from the differences between the Vaegir churches and the Calradic churches, which Patriarch Theodoros V strove to change. He ordered several reforms be done to the Vaegir liturgy and issued a revised version of the Old Book to the Vaegirs, with the help of several Vaegir. When Patriarch Svyatopolk objected, Theodoros emphasized his supremacy and authority over the Orthodox Vaegirs, stressing that he had the authority to change their customs as he saw fit. He also stressed that as he allowed for the Patriarchate of Curaw to be created, he had the authority to make Curaw a Metropolitanate, as it used to be. Svyatopolk and Aleksandr's vehement opposition to these changes led to both of them being excommunicated. Both churches also broke communion with each other (Although the Curavats reopened communion with Reyvadin in 1252).

While Khudan followed Curaw into the schism, Rivacheg and Reyvadin followed Theodoros and adopted several changes. Not long after, they were given full independence from Almaros. The Council of Almaros (1240), held by Basil III (And attended by Ioannis and Alayne), attempted to mend the division but went nowhere. With the Calradic Empire becoming Corist, the Ecumenical Patriarchate lost much of its power and became focused with local affairs. Aleksandr died in 1254, while the churches were still in schism, and shortly after was canonized by Patriarchh Andrey. It was only through the Synod of Reyvadin (1256) and the pan-Orthodox Council of Almaros (1256) that the schism was finally mended and the Orthodoxy was reunited, taking a hardline stance against infighting and ecumenism.

The Curavats made some minor alterations to their rituals (that while extremely insignificant, caused a tiny minority to reject the patriarch), while the Calradics unexcommunicated Aleksandr and posthumously recognized him as a saint. The Calradics recognized all of the Curavat saints canonized during the schism and the Curavats, in turn, recognized all of the Calradic saints canonized during the schism. While Aleksandr's canonization is mostly in the Calradic Empire and Reyvadin, it remains extremely contentious and unpopular with the Church of Rivacheg, despite Metropolitan Makariy's cries for unity and brotherhood.

There is also rumors that Aleksandr bribed his clergy to vote for Patriarch Andrey and that he sired bastard children with his female servants, although there is no evidence to back any of this up.

## Trivia

According to St. Dmitriy of Belogorsk, Aleksandr constructed 10,000 churches during his reign.

He is known for making Orthodoxy far more accessible in his realm, ending the pagan influences which his people previously held.

Aleksandr was the godfather of St. Peter the Khuzak.

Aleksandr compiled three books during his reign, including *The Curavat Chronicles*, *The Church Fathers and their Writings*, and *On The Nature of Theosis*.

By 1240, Aleksandr lifted any and all of the restrictions placed against the Khuzaks.

Aleksandr had a very poor relationship with his father, in no small part due to Yermolay's strained relationship with Zheglova. Unlike Aleksandr, the rest of Yermolay's children either have a neutral or positive memory of him.

Aleksandr never learned any other languages besides his own native tongue.

Aleksandr made the trade and selling of slaves illegal, as well as decreeing that all children of slaves will be freemen. He also wrote that the rape of slaves will be punished by castration. Despite this, he never abolished slavery in of itself and it continues to persist in a small scale in Curaw, mainly with criminals becoming enslaved.