Principality of Polotsk

Principality of Polotsk ( княжество Полоцкое Russian, Belarusian Полацкае княства ) was an old Russian principality of Polotsk with the center in the Association of Kievan Rus. It originated in the 10th century on the territory of the East Slavic tribe of the Polo Tschanen and lay between the rivers Dvina, the Berezina and Memel on a page Get the strategically important trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

The situation promoted the early independent development of the economy and culture. The Polotsk layer of feudal lords always strove for more autonomy from Kiev. End of the 10th century took the Kiev Grand Prince Vladimir the Great a campaign against Polotsk, killed the tribal princes of Polo Tschanen Rogwolod with his sons and took by force his daughter Rogneda who had previously dismissed him as a wife. Rogneda bore him the son Izjaslav, who later received the princely throne of Vladimir in Polotsk.

A renewed struggle of the Polotsk Principality for independence began under Brjatschislaw I. and led from 1041 to detachment Polozks of Kiev. The most important erlang the principality under his son Vseslav II in the second half of the 11th century. A large part of the trade between the Baltic Sea and Byzantium was settled over Polotsk. For this, the Daugava was of great importance, whose term controlled the princes of Polotsk to the mouth of the Baltic States.

After the death Wseslaws II began, however, among his sons Feudalfehden and the process of fragmentation. From the Principality of Polotsk, the principalities of Minsk, Vitebsk, Druzk, Grodno, Logoisk and other dissolved out. Wars with the princes of Kiev completed the decline of the Polotsk principality. His areas in the east came to the Principality of Smolensk areas in the lower reaches of the Daugava were conquered by the knights of the Livonian Order. From the middle of the 13th century the meaningless residual areas of Polotsk placed themselves under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from which they hoped to protection against the Mongols. 1307 Polotsk became part of the Grand Duchy abolished its initial autonomy in 1383.