Dmitry Shemyaka: Difference between revisions

'''Dmitriy Yurievich Shemyaka''' ({{langx|ru|Дмитрий Юрьевич Шемяка in [[Russian language|Russian]]}}) (died 1453) was the second son of [[Yury of Zvenigorod]] by Anastasia of [[Smolensk]] and grandson of [[Dmitri Donskoi]]. His hereditary patrimony was the rich Northernnorthern town [[Galich-Mersky]]. ShemyakaWhen (1445his brother prince [[Vasily I of Moscow]] died in 1425, 1446–1447he and his 10-year-old nephew [[Vasily II of Moscow|Vasily]] started fighting over the right to the throne, causing the [[Muscovite War of Succession]] (1425–1453). wasIntermittently, Shemyaka managed to be recognised twice Grandas [[Prince of [[Moscow]] (1445, 1446–1447).

The causes of the [[Muscovite Civil War of Succession]] waged in the second quarter of the 15th century are still disputed. No small part, however, was played by [[Dmitri Donskoi]]'s will, which ran contrary to Rurikid dynastic custom whereby the throne would pass from an elder brother to a younger one ([[agnatic seniority]]), rather than from father to son ([[primogeniture]]). The testament provided for the accession of his son, Vasily I, which was still in keeping with the tradition of lateral succession since Vasily was the eldest of his generation.

After Yury's death, Shemyaka continued to press his branch's claim to the grand princely throne, and was seldom at peace with Vasily II. Initially, Dmitry and his younger brother [[Dmitry KrasnyiKrasny]] concluded an alliance with Vasily against their elder brother [[Vasily Kosoy]], who had proclaimed himself grand prince. They succeeded in driving Kosoy from [[Moscow]] and were rewarded with the towns of [[Uglich]] and [[Rzhev]]. The following year Shemyaka came to [[Moscow]] in order to invite [[Vasily II]] to his impending wedding with a princess of [[Yaroslavl]], but was accused of siding with Kosoy and taken prisoner. He was released on the eve of a decisive clash between Vasily II and Vasily Kosoy. This action of Vasily II was successful - Shemyaka and his people did not help Vasily Kosoy and so he was completely defeated in the battle on the Cheryokha River in 1436, captured and blinded. Soon after, Shemyaka entered into an agreement with Vasily II, recognizing him as his suzerain ("older brother"). Next year, he was sent by Vasily II to expel the exiled Golden Horde Khan [[Ulugh Muhammad]], but was defeated in the [[battle of Belyov]]. When Ulugh Muhammad in his turn besieged Moscow in 1439, Dmitry didn't send his troops to Vasily and only the mediation of a [[Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra|Trinity hegumen]] could forestall a new civil war between the cousins.

The two men maintained an uneasy peace for much of the next decade until 1445, when Vasily II was taken prisoner by Olug Moxammat after the Muscovite forces were surprised by the Tatar prince outside Suzdal, Shemyaka seized [[Moscow]], had the recently released Vasily blinded and proclaimed himself the Grand Prince of Vladimir. He could claim this by right of lateral inheritance since his father had sat on the throne. (A prince was excluded from the succession (izgoi) if his father had not sat on the throne before him.{{cn|date=December 2022}}) Shemyaka's lack of support among the Muscovite boyars forced him, however, to leave the city for [[Lake Chukhloma]], but he continued to press his claim to the grand princely throne.

In the aftermath of Shemyaka's murder, his wife and son fled [[Novgorod]] to the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], where they were given [[Rylsk, Russia|Rylsk]] and [[Novgorod-Seversky]] in appanage.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

Shemyaka's male line died out by 1561, but there are many living descendants from his daughter's marriage to Prince [[Czartoryski|Alexander Chertoryzhsky]].{{original research inline|date=December 2022}}

Shemyaka's name survives in the [[Russian language|Russian]] expression "Shemyakin sud" ("Shemyaka's Justice", "Shemyaka's Judgement"), which means hasty and unfair judgement. It comes from the 17th century literary work ''The Tale of Shemyaka's Judgement'' (see its translation here<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tV-27KrCerYC&pg=PA183&lpg=PA183&dq=%22shemyaka+judg%22&sourcepg=bl&ots=QKVxCHn4Tx&sig=b26Km3iVYpgoybxpRtrCwelsfv4&hl=en&ei=eruTTL2nKI7CsAPSyojBCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=falsePA183 "The Judgment of Shemyaka"]</ref>). However modern researchers question the identification of Dmitry Shemyaka with Judge Shemyaka in the tale. <!-- one may pick refs for this claim (and expand this bit) from the well-referenced page in Russian Wikipedia -->

[[Category:15th-century Grand Princesprinces of Moscow]]

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