King Danylo Halitskyi

"Король Данило Романович Галицький"

Maryna Lukach

King Danylo Romanovych Halytskyi of Ukraine (1201–1264). A prominent statesman and powerful ruler of his era, Danylo Romanovych successfully established ties with Western powers, sought potential allies in the struggle against the Mongols, and—following his coronation by Pope Innocent IV—became the first King of Ukraine-Rus. The Prince of Galicia-Volhynia, Grand Prince of Kyiv (1240), and first King of Rus-Ukraine (1253), he was born in 1201 in the city of Halych. He was the son of Prince Roman Mstyslavych of the Rurik dynasty and his second wife, Anna—the daughter of Isaac II Angelos. He expanded and developed the Galician and Volhynian principalities established by Roman the Great, succeeding in uniting a significant portion of ethnic Ukrainian lands under his rule. Under Danylo Romanovych, cities such as Kholm, Lviv, Kremenets, Danyliv, and Stizhok were founded, and Dorohochyn was restored. Following the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Southwestern Rus (1240) and the establishment of vassalage to the Tatar khans, Danylo took vigorous measures to prevent further invasions. He set himself the goal of uniting Rus to repel the Golden Horde and formed an alliance with Prince Andrei Yaroslavych of Vladimir-Suzdal. His reign marked a period of immense economic and cultural flourishing, as well as the political strengthening of the Galician-Volhynian state. He was the only Ukrainian prince of the period of feudal fragmentation who managed to unite the majority of ethnic Ukrainian lands under his rule.