Ivan I of Moscow

Ivan I
Portrait in the Tsarsky titulyarnik (1672)
Prince of Moscow
Reign	1325–1340
Predecessor	Yury
Successor	Simeon
Prince of Novgorod
Reign	1328–1337
Predecessor	Alexander of Tver
Successor	Simeon of Moscow
Grand Prince of Vladimir
Reign	1331–1340
Predecessor	Alexander of Suzdal
Successor	Simeon of Moscow
Born	c. 1288 Moscow
Died	31 March 1340(1340-03-31) (aged 51) Moscow
Burial	Cathedral of the Archangel
Issue more...	Simeon of Moscow Ivan II of Moscow
House	Rurik
Father	Daniel of Moscow
Religion	Russian Orthodox

Ivan I Danilovich Kalita (Russian: Иван I Данилович Калита, lit. 'money bag'; c. 1288 – 31 March 1340) was Prince of Moscow from 1325 and Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1331 until his death in 1340.

Ivan inherited the Moscow principality following the death of his elder brother Yury. His rival, Aleksandr of Tver, was forced to flee his own principality in 1327 after Özbeg Khan of the Golden Horde dispatched a punitive force led by Ivan and Aleksandr of Suzdal to suppress an anti-Tatar uprising in Tver. The following year, the khan divided the grand principality between Ivan and Aleksandr of Suzdal. Upon the latter's death in 1331, Ivan became the sole grand prince. His heirs would continue to hold the title almost without interruption.

As the grand prince, Ivan was able to collect tribute from other Russian princes, allowing him to use the funds he acquired to develop Moscow. At the start of his reign, the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church was moved to Moscow and Ivan formed an alliance with the metropolitan. This decision would later allow Moscow to become the spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy. Aleksandr of Tver was executed at the Horde in 1339, marking the end of a 35-year-long struggle between the princes of Moscow and Tver. Ivan died the following year and was succeeded by his son Simeon.