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He was the son of Vasil'ko Konstantinovich, appanage prince of Rostov
and Maria Mikhailovna, princess of Chernigiv. He became appanage prince of
Beloozero from about 1251 until he died. He is shown on this family chart and on this one
with his descendents. He married about in 1257 with a Tatar Horde princess
(baptized Feodora). Their sons were Dem'yan (or
Vasilii) prince of Beloozero; Mikhail, appanage
prince of Beloozero; and Roman, crown prince of Beloozero who died without
heirs.
The Beloozero principality was located around present day Beloozero and the
Belo lake, north of the Volga. There was a settlement or settlements around the
lake since prehistoric times. In the 7th and 8th centuries the Meri tribes
lived in the region. Alerady at the beginning of the 9th century the
Finno-Ugric tribes had villages. The Slavs began arriving at the end of the 8th
and start of the 8th centuries. The location of the town of Beloozero has
shifted over the centuries. In 862 it is first mentioned in the Tale of Ancient
Times" on the north bank of the lake near present-day Kisnem. It was well
known to the Varangians. Rurik gave the village to his brother Sineus, and then
to Truvor. It was controlled as part of the Kyivan lands by agents sent by the
prince from Kyiv. At the end of the 10th century Vladimir Svyatoslavich moved
Beloozero toa tributary of the Sheksna river. But in the middle 14th century it
was about 20 km further west. Little was heard of this ancient far northernly
town during the early middle ages. In 1207 Vsyevolod III Yur'yevich gave Beloozero with Rostov
and other towns in the area to Konstantin who passed it on to Vasil'ko as part
of the Rostov principality. The Rostov principality suffered greatly during the
initial Mongol invasion. After Vasil'ko was killed Gleb received the Beloozero
territories. Due to its far northen location this region was not damaged by the
Tatars. In fact it was a location to which people fled to escape the Tatars.
Gleb worked to strengthen and defend the region. Gleb also maintained ties to
the Rostov principality. In 1277 he was the senior remaining prince of the
Rostov line, so he brought both principalities back under his rule. The reunion
didn't last. After Gleb died in 1278, his son, Mikhail, regained an independent
throne at Beloozero in 1286. (See Mikhail).
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