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Birth:          1053 of Kiev, Ukraine
Death:          19 May 1125 
Burial:         Kiev

Notes
also Grand Prince of Peresjarlaw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_II_Monomakh
Vladimir II Monomakh (Old East Slavic: ?????????? ????????, Volodimer Monomakh; 
Christian name: Vasiliy, or Basileios) (1053 – 19 May 1125) reigned as Grand Prince of 
Kievan Rus' from 1113 to 1125.
Family[edit]

He was the son of Vsevolod I (married in 1046) and Anastasia, daughter of the 
Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, from whom Vladimir obtained his 
surname.[1] Contemporary Byzantine naming practice allowed the adoption of a 
maternal surname if the mother's family was perceived to be of a more exalted origin 
than that of the father.[2]

Eupraxia of Kiev, a half-sister of Vladimir, became notorious all over Europe for her 
divorce from the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV on the grounds that he had attempted 
a black mass on her naked body.

Reign[edit]

In his famous Instruction (also known as The Testament) to his own children, 
Monomakh mentions that he conducted 83 military campaigns and 19 times made 
peace with the Polovtsi. At first he waged war against the steppe jointly with his 
cousin Oleg, but after Vladimir was sent by his father to rule Chernigov and Oleg made 
peace with the Polovtsi to retake that city from him, they parted company. Since that 
time, Vladimir and Oleg were bitter enemies who would often engage in internecine 
wars. The enmity continued among their children and more distant posterity.

From 1094, his chief patrimony was the southern town of Pereyaslav, although he also 
controlled Rostov, Suzdal, and other northern provinces (see Principality of 
Pereyaslavl). In these lands he founded several towns, notably his namesake, 
Vladimir, the future capital of Russia. In order to unite the princes of Rus' in their 
struggle against the Great Steppe, Vladimir initiated three princely congresses, the 
most important being held at Lyubech in 1097 and Dolobsk in 1103.

In 1107 he defeated Boniak, a Cuman khan who led an invasion on Kievan Rus'. 
When Sviatopolk II died in 1113, the Kievan populace revolted and summoned 
Vladimir to the capital. The same year he entered Kiev to the great delight of the 
crowd and reigned there until his death in 1125. As may be seen from his Instruction, 
he promulgated a number of reforms in order to allay the social tensions in the capital. 
These years saw the last flowering of Ancient Rus, which was torn apart 10 years 
after his death.

Vladimir Monomakh is buried in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. Succeeding 
generations often referred to his reign as the golden age of that city. Numerous 
legends are connected with Monomakh's name, including the transfer from 
Constantinople to Rus of such precious relics as the Theotokos of Vladimir and the 
Vladimir/Muscovite crown called Monomakh's Cap.

Marriages and children[edit]

Vladimir married three times. Some sources cite his first wife as Gytha of Wessex, 
illegitimate daughter of Harold of England who had fallen at Hastings in 1066 and of 
Edith Swannesha. Problems exist in that none of the sources citing this are 
contemporary, and none of the Russian sources cite the name of his first wife as the 
daughter of Harold Godwinson. They had at least five children:
Mstislav I of Kiev (1 June 1076 – 14 April 1132)
Izyaslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Kursk (c. 1077 – 6 September 1096)
Svyatoslav Vladimirovich, Prince of Smolensk and Pereyaslav (c. 1080 – 16 March 
1114)
Yaropolk II of Kiev (1082 – 18 February 1139)
Viacheslav I of Kiev (1083 – 2 February 1154)

The following daughter has been attributed to both the first and the second wife:
Marina Vladimirovna (d. 1146). Married Leon Diogenes, a pretender to the throne of 
the Byzantine Empire who claimed to be a son of Romanos IV and who rose to the 
rank of khan of the Cumans in Ossetia.

Vladimir's second wife, Eufimia, is considered[by whom?] to have been a Byzantine 
noblewoman. The Primary Chronicle and the "Testament of Vladimir Monomakh" 
record her date of death as 7 May 1107. However the Chronicle does not mention her 
name. This marriage produced at least six children:
Roman, Prince of Volhynia (d. 6 January 1119)
Eufemia of Kiev (d. 4 April 1139). Married Coloman of Hungary.
Agafia (Agatha). Married Vsevolod Davidovich, Prince of Gorodno. Her husband was a 
son of David Igorevich, Prince of Volhynia (d. 1113).
Yuri (George), later known as Yuri Dolgoruki (d. 15 May 1157).
Andrew, Prince of Volhynia (11 July 1102 – 1141).

Vladimir's third marriage is thought to have been to a daughter of Aepa Ocenevich, 
Khan of the Cumans. Her paternal grandfather was Osen. Her people belonged to the 
Kipchaks, a confederation of pastoralists and warriors of Turkic origin.

However the Primary Chronicle identifies Aepa as father-in-law to Yuri Dolgoruki, with 
Vladimir negotiating the marriage in name of his son.[citation needed] Whether father 
and son married sisters or the identity of intended groom was misidentified remains 
unclear.

Parents
YAROLAVOVIC Vsevolod I (Wsewolod) (1030 - 13 Apr 1093)
MONAMACHA Anastasia (ABT 1032 - Nov 1067)

Siblings
____ Wladimir (Vladimir) II "Monamachos (1053 - 19 May 1125)

Marriage To OF WESSEX (HARALDSDOTTIR) Gytha (Gyda) (ABT 1053 - 1097)
    m. ABT 1070 

Notes
his 1st

Parents
GODWINSSON Harold II (ABT 1022 - 14 Oct 1066)
____ Edith "Swanneshals" ("Swan neck") (ABT 1025 - ABT 1086)

Children by OF WESSEX (HARALDSDOTTIR) Gytha (Gyda) ABT 1053 - 1097
____ Mustislaw (Mstislav) I (1 Jun 1076 - 14 Apr 1132)

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