Rus’, Byzantium and Western Europe in the late twelfth — early thirteenth centuries

Abstract

The paper discusses the little known facts of the history of political relations between Old Rus’, the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe in the time between 1163 and 1253. It analyzes the evidence that the Russian and foreign sources provide concerning the long stay of the Russian prince Mstislav Yurevich in the Holy Land as the governor for the Byzantine emperor Manuel I in Ascalon, the military- political and dynastic union between the Galician-Volhynian prince Roman Mstislavich and the Byzantine emperor Alexios III, Daniel of Galicia’s foreign policy, and, in particular, his relationship with the German emperor Frederick II, the Austrian duke Frederick the Quarrelsome. The paper reveals the influence that the Nicaean Empire had on the relations between the Russian princes and the Apostolic See. Refs 62.