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Group: Pereslavl, Principality of
People: David Leslie
Topic: Naissus, Battle of

Pereslavl, Principality of

Years: 988 - 1239

The Principality of Pereslavl is a regional principality of Kievan Rus from the end of 9th to 1302 based on the city of Pereyaslavl (now Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi) on the Trubezh river.

It is usually administrated by younger sons of the Grand Prince of Kiev.

It stretches over some extensive territory from the left banks of the middle Dnieper river on the west to its eastern frontier that lies not far west from the Seversky Donets where presumably is situated a legendary Cuman city of Sharuk(h)an.The Primary Chronicle dates the foundation of the city of Pereyaslavl' to 992; the archaeological evidence suggests it was founded not long after this date.

In its early days, it is one of the important cities in Kievan Rus behind the Principality of Chernigov and that of Kiev.

The city is located at a ford where Vladimir the Great fights a battle against the nomad Pechenegs.

The principality can be traced as a semi-independent dominion from the inheritance of the sons of Yaroslav the Wise, Svyatoslav receiving Chernigov, Vsevolod getting Pereyaslavl, Smolensk going to Vyacheslav and Vladimir-in-Volhynia going to Igor.The Primary Chronicle records that in 988 Vladimir had assigned the northern lands (later associated with Pereyaslavl) to Yaroslav.

The townis destroyed by the Mongols in March 1239, the first of the great Rus' cities to fall.