Русь, Византия и Западная Европа: Из истории внешнеполитических и культурных связей XII—XIII вв.

To begin with Roman Mstislavich the princes of Galich and Volyn took permanent care of giving their power sacral air through gathering highly worshiped Christian relics. Byzantine emperors conducting such a policy for many centuries collected almost all known relics of the Christian East in Constantinople. The Byzantine capital having been plundered many European monarchs thought about «translatio imperii» (the translation of the Empire) through acquisition and translating the Constantinople relics to their capitals. The Moscow Great Princes and the Tsars continued this practice for centuries afterwards.

The seizure of Constantinople by the crusaders was reflected in «the Tale of capture of Tsar-grad by the Franks». Dobrynya Yadreycovich, boyarin of Novgorod and the future archbishop of Novgorod, is thought to be the most probable author of the text. Closely connected with Roman Mstislavich, the prince of Galich and Volyn, Dobryanya was sent by him to Constantinople, where he spent several years and saw the devastation of the Byzantine capital in April, 1204. It was the tense connection with the prince of Galich and Volyn that appeared in Dobryanya's attention to the prince's in-law, the German king Philip the Schwab, who had played a role in the organization of the Fourth Crusade. Dobrynya could have been informed by one of the king's partisans archbishop of Salzburg Conrad von Krosig who took part in the siege of Constantinople in 1203–1204.

The Byzantine heritage of Roman Mstislavich and «great princess» Euphrosine-Ann displayed in their sons' and grand-sons' foreign policy. It appeared first of all in the struggle for Austria led by Daniel Romanovich and his son Roman's attempt to seize the throne of the dukes of Austria in 1252–1253. The princes of Galich and Volyn were among the main claimants to the «Austrian heritage» thanks to their relationship with the Babenbergs by the distaff side: Euphrosine was a cousin of Duchess of Austria Theodora Angelina, and the childless Duke Frederick II the Quarrelsome was the cousin of Daniel.

The Austrian knot of Galician prince's foreign police could have got tied in the late 1230s already, when Frederick the Quarrelsome was actually deprived of power by the German Emperor Frederick II. At first Daniel Romanovich intended to support his Austrian relative, but after meeting the Emperor Frederick II in Vienna in spring of 1237 turned to his side. He was given a pecuniary award of 500 silver marks and the title of king of Rus' (rex Russiae) for that.

The union with Bela IV, King of Hungary, brought Daniel of Galich to the enemies of Frederick Babenberg. There are many reasons to suggest Daniel to take part at the king's side in the battle on the Leita river, where Frederick perished. Moreover, the prince of Galich could have had personal attitude to the death of the Duke who fell in the fight with a «king of Rus'». According to one version Frederick the Quarrelsome perished due to Count Henry von Hassbach who afterwards helped Daniel's son Roman to take hold of the throne of Austria. The Romanovichi could have broken with Frederick because of his hard conflict with his own mother Theodora Angelina who sought for the shelter at her foreign relatives.

The fight for the «Austrian heritage» is directly connected with the coronation of Daniel of Galich by the Pope Innocent IV. Some friendship of Daniel with the Apostolic Siege began in 1246–1248 already because of the Pope's promises to back the Romanovichi's claim for Austria which was announced in his messages and through the archbishop of Salzburg Philip von Schpangeim at the negotiations in Pressburg. It developed in 1252–1253 with the mediation of the king of Hungary Bela IV, who also aimed at the share of the «Austrian heritage».

At the same time the Byzantine factor continued to play a great role in the Romanovichi's foreign policy. Daniel's coronation and the negotiations about the Church Union with Rome went on at the background of the wider political process initiated by the Pope Innocent IV and the Emperor of Nikea Johm III Vataz. The authorities of Nikea agreed to admit the superiority of the Pope in the Church affairs and subordinate to him the Orthodox clergy in exchange for the return of Constantinople to the Greeks.

The interests of Nikea were pursued in Galich and Volyn still by Daniel's mother Euphrosine-Ann. The union of the mightiest prince of Rus' with Rome was profitable for that time Nicean rulers since it helped to achieve their own political aims. The denial of the new Emperor of Nikea Theodore II Laskaris to cede to the Pope together with his decision to take Constantinople by led to the immediate break of the princes of Galich and Volyn with Rome.

Zusammenfassung