When did Rostov-Suzdal exist?

Rostov-Suzdal existed 1093–1157. On this map it is drawn 1056–1240.

How large was Rostov-Suzdal?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Rostov-Suzdal covered about 251,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Northern Eurasia · The medieval principalities

Rostov-Suzdal

1093–1157

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗

Existed: 1093–1157
Shown on the map: 1056–1240
Peak area: 251k km²
Region: Northern Eurasia

Origins

The north-eastern land of Rostov-Suzdal grew from the old towns of Rostov the Great and Suzdal. Vladimir Monomakh inherited rights to the region in 1093 and appointed his son Yuri Dolgoruky ("Long-Arm") to rule it. Yuri (Prince of Rostov-Suzdal c. 1113/1125–1157) moved his capital from Rostov to Suzdal, curbed the boyar aristocracy, pursued an ambitious town-building program (he is traditionally credited with the first mention of Moscow in 1147), and twice seized Kiev (1149–1151; 1155–1157), where he died and was buried.

Andrei Bogolyubsky

Yuri's son Andrei Bogolyubsky (Prince from 1157–1174) transferred the seat from Suzdal to Vladimir in 1157, transforming the principality into Vladimir-Suzdal. He ousted his brothers to rule as sole autocrat (samovlastets), sacked Kiev in 1169 (installing a subordinate rather than moving there — a decisive symbolic shift of power northward), and adorned Vladimir with the Golden Gates and the Dormition (Assumption) Cathedral. He was assassinated by boyar conspirators at Bogolyubovo in 1174.

This principality is treated as a distinct entry (see §9) in its grand-princely form; here it stands for the foundational Rostov-Suzdal phase and the dynasty of Yuri's line (the Yurievichi), from which the Muscovite ruling house descended.

Common questions

What was Rostov-Suzdal?: The north-eastern land of Rostov-Suzdal grew from the old towns of Rostov the Great and Suzdal. Vladimir Monomakh inherited rights to the region in 1093 and appointed his son Yuri Dolgoruky ("Long-Arm") to rule it.
When did Rostov-Suzdal exist?: Rostov-Suzdal existed 1093–1157. On this map it is drawn 1056–1240.
How large was Rostov-Suzdal?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Rostov-Suzdal covered about 251,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each polity, ruler and battle as the basis of these profiles, cross-checked against Encyclopaedia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Russian History, and against the scholarship of Janet Martin, Charles Halperin, Serhii Plokhy, Simon Franklin and Krivosheev. The article this entry is anchored on:

Wikipedia — Vladimir-Suzdal en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir-Suzdal

This entry was last updated 20 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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