Sviatoslav II of Kiev
Sviatoslav II Iaroslavich or Sviatoslav II Yaroslavich (Old East Slavic: Ст҃ославь Ӕрославичь; Russian and Ukrainian: Святослав Ярославич; 1027 – 27 December 1076) was Grand Prince of Kiev between 1073 and 1076. He was born as a younger son of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, and became the progenitor of the Sviatoslavichi (Svyatoslavychi). His baptismal name was Nicholas.
| Sviatoslav II | |
|---|---|
Portrait commissioned by himself | |
| Prince of Volhynia | |
| Reign | c. 1040–1054 |
| Prince of Chernigov | |
| Reign | 1054–1076 |
| Grand Prince of Kiev | |
| Reign | 1073–1076 |
| Predecessor | Iziaslav I |
| Successor | Vsevolod I |
| Born | 1027 |
| Died | 27 December 1076 (aged 48–49) Kiev |
| Burial | |
| Wives |
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| Issue |
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| House | Mojmir Sviatoslavich (founder) |
| Father | Yaroslav the Wise |
| Mother | Ingegerd of Sweden |
He ruled the Principality of Vladimir in Volhynia in his father's lifetime (from around 1040 to 1054). Yaroslav the Wise, who divided the Kievan Rus' among his five sons in his testament, willed the Principality of Chernigov to Sviatoslav. Sviatoslav joined his brothers, Iziaslav of Kiev and Vsevolod of Pereyaslav, in forming a princely "triumvirate" that oversaw the affairs of Kievan Rus' until 1072. The three brothers together fought against their enemies, including the nomadic Oghuz Turks, and their distant relative, Prince Vseslav of Polotsk. The Cumans defeated their united force in the autumn of 1068, but Sviatoslav routed a Cuman band plundering his principality.
The "triumvirate" broke up, when Sviatoslav, supported by his younger brother Vsevolod, dethroned and replaced their older brother Iziaslav in 1073. He commissioned the compilation of at least two miscellanies of theological works. Otherwise, his short reign was uneventful.