Daniil and Maria Alexandrovich

Daniil Aleksandrovich (Даниил Александрович in Russian) (1261 – March 4, 1303) was the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky and forefather of all the Grand Princes of Moscow.
Prince Daniel of Moscow was the youngest son of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky, famous in the history of Russian State and Russian Orthodox Church, and his wife - Princess Vassa. Daniel was born in 1261 in Vladimir, the capital of the Great Vladimir principality. One of the most junior princes in the House of Rurik, Daniel is thought to have been named after his celebrated relative, Daniel of Galicia.
His father died when he was only two years old. Of his father's patrimonies, he received the least valuable, Moscow. When he was a child, the tiny principality was being governed by tiuns (deputies), appointed by his paternal uncle, Grand Prince Yaroslav III.
During the Mongol occupation and internecine wars among the Rus' princes, Daniel created peace in Moscow without bloodshed. During 30 years of ruling Daniel participated in battles only once. According to legend, Daniel was popular and respected by his subjects for his meekness, humbleness and peacefulness.
Daniel took part in his brothers' - Dmitri of Pereslavl and Andrey of Gorodets - struggle for the right to govern Vladimir and Novgorod, respectively. After Dmitry's death in 1294, Daniel made an alliance with Mikhail of Tver and Ivan of Pereslavl against Andrey of Gorodets of Novgorod.
Daniel's participation in the struggle for Novgorod in 1296 indicated Moscow's increasing political influence. Constantine, the prince of Ryazan, decided to capture the Moscow lands with the help of a Mongol force. Prince Daniel defeated it near Pereslavl. In 1300, he imprisoned the ruler of the Ryazan Principality, "by some ruse", as the chronicle says. To secure his release, the prisoner ceded to Daniel his fortress of Kolomna. It was an important acquisition, as now Daniel controlled all the length of the Moskva River. In 1302 his childless cousin and ally, Ivan of Pereslavl, bequeathed to Daniel all his lands, including Pereslavl-Zalessky.
Daniel has been credited with founding the first Moscow monasteries, dedicated to the Lord's Epiphany and to Saint Daniel. On the right bank of the Moskva River, at a distance of 5 miles from the Kremlin not later than in 1282 he founded the first monastery with the wooden church of St. Daniel-Stylite. Now it is the Danilov Monastery. At the age of 42 on the 17-th (4-th in old style) of March in 1303 St. Daniel died. Before his death he became a monk and, according to his will, was buried in the cemetery of the St. Daniel Monastery.
He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1652.

[edit] Marriage and children

His wife was named Maria. They had at least six children:

• Yury of Moscow (1281 – 21 November 1325).
• Alexander Daniilovich (died Autumn 1308).
• Boris Daniilovich, Prince of Kostroma (died 1320).
• Afanasy Daniilovich, Prince of Novgorod (died 1322).
• Fedora Daniilovna. Married Yaroslav Romanovich, Prince of Ryazan (died 1299).
• Ivan I of Moscow (1288 – 31 March 1340).

Yury Dolgoruky may have been the founder of the Kremlin, but it was Daniil Alexandrovich (1261-1303), the son of the legendary Alexander Nevsky, who had the first buildings built there. Daniil Alexandrovich was the first prince of Muscovy. After Yury Dolgoruky and throughout the 13th century, Moscow continued its rise, even though this was a tragic period in Russian history.

Unlike his predecessors who only visited Moscow now and then, Daniil Alexandrovich made it his residence and began building it up and led a holy life with his his family.

It was at this time that the first princely chambers appeared on the high Borovitsky Hill. They were located near the spot where the Borovitsky Gates stand today. From the outside they were modest and simple, but inside, they fulfilled the function more of a palace than simply a residence, with not just living quarters but also chambers for receptions and even ceremonial chambers.

As well as building the palace, Daniil Alexandrovich also built the Church of the Archangel Michael, a wooden church in which members of the prince’s family were buried. The first to be buried in the church was Yury Danilovich, Daniil Alexandrovich’s son.

Daniil Alexandrovich laid the foundations for the future royal residence in the Kremlin, and later rulers -- Ivan Kalita, Dmitry Donskoy and Ivan III -- continued the construction. The idea of making the Kremlin the residence of Moscow’s rulers arose from the fact that, as a fortress, it was the place where holy objects and churches were concentrated and where the ruler chose to stay.

Daniil Alexandrovich’s rule marked the beginning of Moscow’s rise as the center of the whole of northeastern Russia.