Grand Duchy of Moscow (1283–1547)
Main article: Grand Duchy of Moscow
Rise of Moscow
During the reign of Daniel, Moscow was little more than a small timber fort lost in the forests of Central Russia.
Daniil Aleksandrovich, the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, founded the principality of Moscow (known as Muscovy in English),[46] which first cooperated with and ultimately expelled the Tatars from Russia. Well-situated in the central river system of Russia and surrounded by protective forests and marshes, Moscow was at first only a vassal of Vladimir, but soon it absorbed its parent state.
A major factor in the ascendancy of Moscow was the cooperation of its rulers with the Mongol overlords, who granted them the title of Grand Prince of Moscow and made them agents for collecting the Tatar tribute from the Russian principalities. The principality’s prestige was further enhanced when it became the center of the Russian Orthodox Church.