Daniel, though deceived and disappointed most cruelly, did not utter a word of complaint. He remained true to Mystislav, and grew stronger and stronger in Volynia. Mystislav the Silent who admired Daniel greatly, left him the province of Lutsk, but Daniel had to use force to obtain this inheritance, for not only Bailski but Yaroslav, the nephew of Mystislav the Silent, raised arms against him. Knowing Mystislav the Gallant’s affection for these princes Daniel sent his own trusty friend to explain the situation to his father-in-law, who was glad to communicate directly with Daniel, from whom he had allowed himself to be separated by false and intriguing boyars. Explanations made, Mystislav sent a secret message to Daniel: “My son,” said he, “I sinned in not giving thee Galitch. The boyars deceived me through Sudislav the Traitor. Go with God’s assistance against them. I will summon the Polovtsi to aid thee, and do thou move with thy own men. God give thee Galitch, and I will stay here.”
In this way the old man hoped to repair his shortcomings, but he died soon after in Torchesk. Aware that death was approaching he begged to see Daniel; he wished to commit all his house to him, since he had perfect trust in his honesty. The crafty boyars, however, prevented this meeting, and Mystislav the Gallant died in lonely Torchesk, without seeing his son-in-law. Of his end it is only known that when he fell ill, in 1228, he retired to a monastery and assumed the monk’s habit. He left all Podolia to Daniel, but for this inheritance a general war broke out quickly in Volynia, Galitch, Kief and Chernigoff, involving all Southern Russia in bloodshed. [[225]]
CHAPTER X
THE MONGOL INVASION
After Vladimir of Smolensk had perished at the Kalka, Vladimir, son of Rurik, who returned from that disastrous battle, took the Kief throne as the senior prince and favorite cousin of Mystislav, whose support he enjoyed till the death of the latter. But no sooner had Mystislav gone from the world than there rose storms of trouble because of the Kief principality. Vladimir called to mind quickly the offense of Daniel’s father, who had forced the tonsuring of Rurik. And for this act of the dead Roman he went now to take revenge on the living.
As Prince of Kief, Vladimir concluded an alliance with Michael of Chernigoff, and both began war against Daniel. They would not let him have Podolia, and were jealous of his claim upon Galitch. Daniel now made an alliance with the Poles, and, since the chief troops brought against him were Polovtsi, Daniel asked Kotyan, who was his wife’s grandfather, to put a stop to the war. “Oh, father,” begged he, “stop this war; take me into thy friendship.” The Khan immediately dropped his allies and made a movement in favor of Daniel, crushing all that he met on his way. Then he vanished, and the war ceased of itself, without much injury to Daniel.
Thankful for this service, Daniel made no use of the Poles, and dismissed his ally, who had not lost a warrior. Vladimir, son of Rurik, deserted by the Polovtsi, made peace with Daniel, and soon after begged his aid against Michael. This Michael of Chernigoff, so recently an ally of Vladimir, was now trying to force him from Kief, since he greatly desired that ancient city for his own use.
From 1230 to 1240 war raged throughout Galitch and Volynia, Chernigoff, and Kief. More than once did Vladimir flee from Kief [[226]]to be succeeded by Michael; more than once was Michael deprived of his possessions. All Southern Russia, from the San and the Dniester to the Desna, was the alternate and fleeting possession of Michael and his brothers, or of the men who opposed them, namely, Vladimir and Daniel. Each side had its victory, but each met defeat somewhat later. Daniel brought aid many times to Vladimir. In one of these campaigns the two men crossed the Dnieper and captured Chernigoff; they warred on the Desna, and captured many towns in other places. More than once Michael appeared with his troops on the San and the Dniester. He seized Galitch and left his son and heir, Rostislav, to reign there. At times Michael gave towns to Daniel; at times he drove him unsparingly from Galitch regions. At times one of them fled from the other to Hungary, alternately they were hostile and friendly to each other. Once Daniel and Vladimir were defeated by Michael and the Polovtsi, which he led in. Vladimir was captured by those same Polovtsi and could not, for some time, buy his freedom. On the day that Vladimir was captured a horse was killed under Daniel, who barely escaped with his life from that battle-field. Then again not only did Michael lose Kief and Galitch, he lost Chernigoff also. At last Michael was brought to such straits that he begged for peace earnestly, and made amends to Daniel. “Much have I sinned against thee,” said he. “I have not held to my promises, I have done great harm to thee, but how many times have I wished to act otherwise, though unable, for the faith-breaking boyars of Galitch would never permit me. Now I take oath that with thee I will never have enmity.” So Daniel, with his brother Vassilko, received Michael as a relative.
But this happened in 1239, when Michael’s dominions had been turned to a terrible wilderness, and the city of Chernigoff was a ruin. Up to that ghastly period wars and dissensions were constant in Southern Russia. During that troubled time Kief was without a prince really, for it passed from one hand to another so frequently that the interval during which one prince was winning the place from another was often far longer than the time he sat on the throne after winning it. Instead of asking who in that period of unrest ruled Kief, one might better ask who of prominent princes was not its ruler. The same was true of Galitch. It was difficult to say who reigned there. [[227]]