Danylo Romanovych
Danylo Romanovych [Danylo Romanovyc], 1201–64. Prince of Volhynia and Galicia
(see Principality of Galicia-Volhynia), king of Rus' (from 1253). After the death
of his father, Prince Roman Mstyslavych, in 1205, unrest among the boyars forced
Danylo to take refuge at the Hungarian court, and later, with his mother and brother,
Vasylko Romanovych, in small principalities in Volhynia. Following a long struggle
with neighboring princes and Galician boyars (1219–27) Danylo unified Volhynia.
He failed in several attempts to gain control of Halych, but finally succeeded
in 1238, with the support of the burghers. The next year he took Kyiv, which had
entered his sphere of influence earlier, and placed Voivode Dmytro in charge of
the principality. As a result of Danylo's influence, which extended to the Turiv-Pynske
principality and the Dorohychyn land, the advance of the Teutonic Knights was
checked in 1238.
However, the Mongol invasion of 1240–1, during which Kyiv, Volodymyr (Volodymyr-Volynskyi),
and Halych were destroyed, interfered with Danylo's plans for the unification
of Ukrainian territories. He was nevertheless able, on 17 August 1245, to defeat
a coalition of the Chernihiv princes, disaffected boyars, and their Hungarian
and Polish allies at Yaroslav (now Jaroslaw) (see Battle of Yaroslav) and finally
to establish his control over Galicia. In order to save his state, Danylo was
compelled to recognize the khan's suzerainty, which he did in a visit to the
khan's court at Sarai in 1246. Yet he prepared to overthrow his Mongol overlords.
He sent raids against the Mongols' vassals (see Tatars' people) who lived along
the Sluch River and the Horyn River, built fortifications, and sought alliances
in the West, particularly with Pope Innocent IV. To get the support of the pope,
Danylo agreed to acknowledge him as head of the church in his principalities
and accepted a crown from him in 1253. But these steps did not bring the aid
Danylo had hoped for and had no practical consequences. In 1254 Danylo repulsed
a Mongol attack on Ponyzia and Volhynia. The Mongol leader Burundai led a new
campaign in 1260, forcing Danylo to dismantle his fortifications and to abandon
his plans for independence.
Danylo was an exceptionally gifted ruler. For a time he unified the western
territories of Ukraine. He built a number of new cities, including Kholm (his
new capital) and Lviv; reformed the military forces, creating a heavy infantry
based on the peasantry; and gained control over the boyars. Under his reign
Western European cultural influences were strong in Ukraine, and Western European
political and administrative forms took hold, particularly in the towns.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dashkevich, N. Kniazhenie Daniila Galitskogo po russkim i inostrannym izvestiiam
(Kyiv 1883)
Hrushevs'kyi, M. Istoriia Ukrainy, 3 (Lviv 1905)
Huslystyi, K. Danylo Halyts'kyi (Saratov 1942)
'Korona Danyla Romanovycha', ZNTSh, 164 (Rome–Paris–Munich 1955)
Hrytsak, P. Halyts'ko-Volyns'ka derzhava (New York 1956)
P. Hrytsak
Source: http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com
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