Tver, originally a minor settlement of Novgorodian traders, passes to the Grand Prince of Vladimir in 1209.

In 1246, Alexander Nevsky grants it to his younger brother Yaroslav Yaroslavich (d. 1271), from whom a dynasty of local princes descends.

Four of them are killed by the Golden Horde and are proclaimed saints by the Russian Orthodox church.Formerly a land of woods and bogs, the Principality of Tver is quickly transformed into one of the richest and most populous Russian states.

As the area is hardly accessible for Tatar raids, there is a great influx of population from the recently devastated south.

By the end of the century, it is ready to vie with Moscow for supremacy in Russia.

Both Tver and Moscow are young cities, so the outcome of their rivalry is far from being certain.