- Sviatoslav II of Kiev
Sviatoslav Iaroslavich (1027 –
December 27 ,1076 ,Kiev ) was the Prince (Kniaz ) ofChernigov from 1054 to 1073 and Grand Prince (Veliki Kniaz ) ofKiev from 1073 until his death. A son of Iaroslav I the Wise, he was a founder of the Chernigov princely line and is sometimes referred to as Sviatoslav of Chernigov.Upon his father's death in 1054, Sviatoslav joined his brothers Vsevolod and Iziaslav in forming a kind of a princely
triumvirate that oversaw the affairs ofKievan Rus' until 1072. In 1067, they defeated Vseslav ofPolotsk , on the Nemiga River and took him prisoner. A year later, the brothers were defeated by thePolovtsi on theAlta River . After a while, Sviatoslav returned to defeat these steppe nomads with a smaller force at the town ofSnov , thus enhancing his prestige among the populace.The second part of the first Russian legal code "
Russkaya Pravda " is assigned to the brothers.Sviatoslav's first wife was named Kilikia, a lady of unknown origin, but possibly a princess from the
Caucasus . Their sons were Oleg, Gleb, Roman, and David. In 1072, Sviatoslav married Oda, daughter of a certain "Count Lippold", and the sister of Burkhard, provost ofTrier . Oda's grand-uncles werePope Leo IX andHenry III, Holy Roman Emperor .In 1073, the triumvirate broke up, when Sviatoslav, supported by his younger brother Vsevolod, dethroned and replaced his older brother Iziaslav. Three years later, Russian scribes compiled the so-called "Izbornik Sviatoslava" at his request. One of the oldest relics of the
Old East Slavic language , the book is a compilation of articles on grammar, logic, poetics, church matters, sermons, riddles, and parables. One of the miniatures represents Sviatoslav himself, standing with his second wife Oda and sons.Sviatoslav's son
Oleg of Chernigov had a posterity which continues in the male line to the present day. His son by Oda, Yaroslav, founded the great dynasty ofRiazan , and the Seljuk SultanKilij Arslan II claimed to descend from one of Sviatoslav's daughters.
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