Rostislav of Torchesk

Who he is

Name

Rostislav Rurikovich (baptised Mikhail)

Title

Prince of Torchesk

Since

1195 (Encyclopedia of Ukraine, via en.wikipedia: prince of Torchesk 1195-1205); Torchesk was given him by Vsevolod III after Rurik handed the 1195 towns to Vsevolod

Born

1172 or 1173 (en.wikipedia gives 1173); about 27 on 1 January 1200

Family

Elder son of Rurik Rostislavich. Married to Verkhuslava, daughter of Vsevolod III, born about 1181 and married as a child in 1187 (Kievan Chronicle as usually read; 1189 in Raffensperger and Ostrowski). A daughter, Efrosinia, nicknamed Izmaragd ('emerald'), was born to them in the late 1190s (Kievan Chronicle; year not re-checked).

Confidence

high

en.wikipedia (from the Encyclopedia of Ukraine): Torchesk 1195-1205, Kiev 1204-1206, Vyshgorod 1205-1210, Galich 1207; died before 1214 (other works give 1218).

Overlord

His father Rurik; he holds Torchesk by grant of his father-in-law Vsevolod III (1195).

What it holds

• Torchesk and its district on the Ros frontier (Torchesk)
• Leadership in war of the Black Hoods of Porosye under his father (Black Hoods)

How it was acquired

Torchesk from Vsevolod III in 1195, when Rurik took the five towns (Torchesk, Trepol, Korsun, Boguslavl, Kanev) from Roman and gave them to Vsevolod at his demand, and Vsevolod passed Torchesk to his son-in-law.

Allies and rivals

Allies: his father; his father-in-law Vsevolod III; the Black Hoods. Rivals: Roman Mstislavich, whose towns he raided in 1196; the Cumans.

How things stand that morning

Holds Torchesk and leads the Black Hoods for his father; no campaign is recorded that winter.

Wealth

Torchesk's market and the Black Hoods' service and herds; booty from the steppe.

Military

His retinue and the Black Hoods' light horse; the Torchesk fortress on the Ros frontier. No numbers.

Threats

• The Cumans
• Roman Mstislavich

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200-1201 (not pinned)If Roman moves on Kiev, Rostislav and the Black Hoods are the force that decides whether Rurik can hold the Ros; Roman later (1204) makes Rostislav prince of Kiev himself.Depends on: Roman's war with Rurik. Stopped by: Peace between Rurik and Roman.

Where the sources disagree

• Birth 1172 or 1173 and marriage 1187 or 1189 differ between the chronicle as usually read and en.wikipedia's source.

Evidence: Torchesk from 1195 is in the standard lists; his raids of 1193 and 1196 are told in the Kievan Chronicle, which we could not re-check online in this run.

On the map: Torchesk's site and district are approximate.

Primary sources for Kiev (Rurik Rostislavich)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
• The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
• The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online