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The Rostislavichi of Smolensk were one of the four dominant princely clans of Kievan Rus' in the 12th and 13th century. They are named after Rostislav I Mstislavich of Kiev (died 1167), prince of Smolensk (r. 1125–1160) and intermittently prince of Kiev (modern Kyiv) since 1154. They were closely related to the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia, which descended from Rostislav's brother Iziaslav II Mstislavich of Kiev. The Rostislavichi would reign in their main patrimony, the Principality of Smolensk, from 1126 to 1404, intermittently as Grand Princes of Kiev, in Novgorod, in Pereyaslavl, in Polotsk, and Galicia. In the 14th and early 15th century, the Rostislavichi clan lost its prominence when it was defeated and subsumed into the Ruthenian nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Notes

1. In 12th- and 13th-century Kievan Rus', the four dominant princely clans were the Olgovichi of Chernigov, the Rostislavichi of Smolensk, the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia (based in modern Volodymyr in Volyn'), and the Yurievichi of Suzdalia (alias the Vsevolodichi of Vladimir on the Klyazma). 'Three of these clan founders – Vsevolod, Rostislav, and Iziaslav – were the grandsons of Volodimer Monomakh. The outlier from this set is Oleg, who was instead a cousin of Volodimer Monomakh.'

References

1. Raffensperger & Ostrowski 2023, pp. 116–117.
2. Raffensperger & Ostrowski 2023, p. 117.
3. Martin 2007, pp. 112, 124, 145, 501.

Bibliography

• Martin, Janet (2007). Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-511-36800-4.
• Raffensperger, Christian; Ostrowski, Donald (2023). The Ruling Families of Rus: Clan, Family and Kingdom. London: Reaktion Books. p. 309. ISBN 978-1-78914-745-2. (e-book)

• Rostislavichi family (Smolensk)