Vsevolod I of Kiev
Vsevolod I Yaroslavich (1030 – 13 April 1093) ruled as grand prince of Kiev from 1076 until his death. He was the fourth and favourite son of Yaroslav I the Wise by Ingigerd Olafsdottir. To back up an armistice signed with the Byzantine Empire in 1046, he married a daughter of the Emperor Constantine IX and had by her a son, the future Vladimir Monomakh. Upon his father's death in 1054, he received in appanage the towns of Pereyaslav, Rostov, Suzdal, and Beloozero which would remain in possession of his descendants until the end of Middle Ages. Together with his elder brothers Izyaslav and Svyatoslav he formed a sort of princely triumvirate which jointly waged war on the steppe people and compiled the first East Slavic law code. In 1067 Vsevolod's Greek wife died and he presently married a Kypchak princess. She brought him another son, who drowned after the Battle of the Stugna River, and two daughters, one becoming a nun and another Empress of Germany. Upon Svyatoslav's death in 1077 he inherited the Kievan throne, but ceded it to the banished Izyaslav in return for his patrimony of Chernigov. Izyaslav died next year and was succeeded by Vsevolod. He was versed in Greek learning and spoke 5 languages. Last years of his reign were clouded by grave illness, and Vladimir Monomakh actually presided over the government.
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