Ryazan Oblast - History

History

As early as 1096, Ryazan had the status of a country, but the name of its capital appears only in the Nikonov chronicle. The first Olgovsky Uspensky Monastery, one of the oldest in Russia, was built in Ryazan land in the 12th century. A new round of history began in 1198, when the Murom-Ryazan principality left the jurisdiction of the Chernigov bishopric (eparchy) and became an independent eparchy with its seat in Ryazan.

In the 13th century, the principality was centered in the middle reaches of the Oka River and lasted for a considerable time. In the words of historian D. Ilovaisky, "The Ryazan principality was the most warlike and restive branch of the house of Rurik". The Russians who began settling the right bank of the Oka in the 10th century were faced with the onslaught of nomadic cattle-herding tribes that repeatedly invaded the forests from the south.

The most dramatic events in the history of the grand princedom are linked with the name of Oleg Ryazansky, at a time when it cherished the hope of being Moscow's equal. This was in the 14th century, in the time of Dmitry Donskoy, when what is now Ryazan (called Pereslavl-Ryazansky at the time) had already become the capital of Ryazan land. As far as Moscow was concerned, late Muscovite chronicles invariably portrayed Oleg Ryazansky as a bitter enemy who had betrayed the common Russian cause. From the chronicles of 1350-1402, it is clear that the Ryazan principality acquired real power under Prince Oleg Ivanovich Ryazansky, who had a great advantage over the Muscovite princes in governing the principality. In 1778, the Pereslavl-Ryazansky received the shorter name of Ryazan by Decree of Empress Catherine II (Catherine the Great).