Leo I of Galicia

Leo I of Galicia (Ukrainian: Лев Дани́лович, Lev Danylovych) (c. 1228 – c. 1301) was a Knyaz (prince) of Belz (1245–1264), Peremyshl, Halych (1264–1269), Grand Prince of Kiev (1271–1301) and King of Galicia-Volhynia.
He was a son of King Daniel of Galicia and his first wife, Anna Mstislavna Smolenskaya (daughter of Mstislav Mstislavich the Bold). As his father, Lev was a member of the senior branch of Vladimir II Monomakh descendents. He was a first cousin of Alexander Nevsky, as their mothers were sisters.

Reign

Lev moved his father's capital from Halych to the newly founded city of Lviv. This city was named after him by its founder, Lev's father, King Daniel of Galicia. In 1247 Lev married Constance, daughter of Béla IV of Hungary. Unlike his father, who pursued a Western political course, Lev worked closely with the Mongols and together with them invaded Poland. However, although his troops plundered territory as far west as Racibórz in Silesia, sending many captives and much booty back to Galicia, Lev did not ultimately gain much territory from Poland. Lev cultivated a particularly close alliance with the Tatar Nogai Khan. He also attempted, unsuccessfully, to establish his family's rule over Lithuania. Soon after his younger brother Shvarn ascended to the Lithuanian throne in 1267, Lev organized the murder of Grand Duke of Lithuania Vaišvilkas. Following Shvarn's loss of the throne in 1269, Lev entered into conflict with Lithuania. In 1274–1276 he fought a war with the new Lithuanian ruler Traidenis but was defeated, and Lithuania annexed the territory of Black Ruthenia with its city of Navahrudak.

In 1279, Lev allied himself with King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and invaded Poland, although his attempt to capture Kraków in 1280 ended in failure. That same year, however, Lev defeated the Kingdom of Hungary and temporarily annexed part of Transcarpathia, including the town of Mukachevo. In 1292, he defeated Poland and added Lublin with surrounding areas to the territory of Galicia-Volhynia. At the time of Lev's death in 1301, the state of Galicia-Volhynia was at the height of its power.

Marriage and children

Lev I married Constance of Hungary, daughter of Béla IV of Hungary and Maria Laskarina. They had three children:

• Yuri I of Galicia (24 April 1252/1257 – 18 March 1308).
• Svyatoslava Lvovna of Halych (died 1302), a nun
• Anastasia Lvovna of Galicia (died 12 March 1335), who married Siemowit of Dobrzyń.

Ancestry