Essay On Yaroslav The Wise

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Yaroslav the Wise

Yaroslav, son of Vladimir, took over full control of Kyiv in the year 1036. This did not occur until after the deaths of his father and many brothers. Upon Vladimir’s death in 1015 his son Sviatopolk rushed in and took control over Kyiv, killing three of his own brothers in the process. Yaroslav could not let this stand. Joined by Mstislav, another brother, and hired Scandinavian mercenaries, they ousted Sviatopolk and split the empire between themselves. Mstislav controlled Chernigov and Yaroslav went to Novgorod, as he preferred that to Kyiv. Mstislav died in 1036, and at that time Yaroslav became the undisputed ruler of all Kyivan Rus lands. At this time he moved his capital back to the traditional city of Kyiv. [2]

Yaroslav did much for the betterment of the Ukrainian state during his reign. He settled the problem of having unruly neighbors to the south. He led a sound defensive stand against an attack of the marauding Pechenegs.[3] These southern folk had been a pestering nuisance for a number of years. After the defeat of these troublesome foes, there was nothing else to worry about in the south because the people that moved in next were much more peaceful. He could now worry about the Polish problem in the …show more content…

He nominated and put into Kyiv the countries own metropolitan bishop. This meant that the Kyivan church was now independent under the rule of Constantinople. He also commissioned architects from Byzantium to come and build churches. This is when the elaborate St. Sophia was made. He wanted to beautify the city and countryside to make it an important religious center. Over 400 churches were also erected. Organization of the church was set up primarily by Yaroslav and it was to be set that way for many years to come. He had a tremendous influence on how religion was done in this

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