Study materials
A hundred and fifty years — from the unification of the Galician and Volhynian principalities by Roman Mstyslavovych in 1199 to the annexation of Galicia by the Polish king Casimir III in 1349 — to the west of the ruins of Kyiv, which had fallen to the Mongols, the second great epoch of the statehood of Rus' endured. The Galicia-Volhynia state received the royal crown from the hands of a papal legate, founded Lviv, held the line against the Horde, the Lithuanians, the Hungarians and the Poles, gave Europe the first "King of Rus'" — and fell when its last prince was poisoned by his own boyars. On its ruins Western Ukraine has grown, which for six centuries already has carried the memory of Danylo's lost kingdom.
What the Principality of Galicia-Volhynia was
The Principality of Galicia-Volhynia was a great state in the west of modern Ukraine, which existed in the 13th—14th centuries. It arose on the lands of Galicia and Volhynia and became the chief heir of Kyivan Rus' after Kyiv was destroyed by the Mongols. It was, in essence, the second great Ukrainian state of the Middle Ages.
Who united these lands
The separate Galician and Volhynian principalities were united into one state by Prince Roman Mstyslavovych in 1199. He was a strong ruler, curbed the wilful boyars and made his state one of the most powerful in the region. But in 1205 Roman perished in battle, leaving young sons — Danylo and Vasylko.
Danylo of Halych — the greatest prince
The most outstanding ruler of the state was Danylo of Halych. As a child he lost his father and had to fight for years for the throne against the boyars and neighbours. Having gained power, he built up the state: he raised cities and fortresses, strengthened the army and defended the land from the Mongols. Danylo is a true hero of Ukrainian medieval history.
King of Rus'
In 1253 Danylo accepted the royal crown from the Pope and became the first and only "King of Rus'". The coronation took place in the town of Dorohychyn. The Pope promised help against the Mongols in exchange for a church union with Rome, but the West never gave any real military support.
The founding of Lviv
Danylo founded many cities, and the most famous of them is Lviv, named after his son Lev. In time Lviv became the chief city of the whole western Ukrainian land and remains so to this day. Thus Prince Danylo gave Ukraine one of its most beautiful and important cities.
The struggle with enemies on all sides
The state had to defend itself against many enemies at once — the Mongols, Lithuanians, Hungarians and Poles. The most dangerous was the Horde: the princes had to acknowledge its power, but at the same time seek allies in the West. Despite constant wars, the Galicia-Volhynia state preserved Ukrainian statehood for another whole century.
Decline and the end of the state
After Danylo the state was still held by his son Lev and his grandsons. But gradually it weakened through boyar quarrels. The last prince, Yuri II Boleslav, was poisoned by his own boyars in 1340. Taking advantage of this, in 1349 the Polish king Casimir III seized Galicia. Thus the history of the state ended.
The legacy
The Principality of Galicia-Volhynia preserved Ukrainian statehood for over a century after the fall of Kyiv. It gave Ukraine Lviv, the title "King of Rus'" and the memory of its own medieval kingdom. Historians consider this state an important link between Kyivan Rus' and later Ukrainian states — a direct ancestor of modern Western Ukraine.