Zvenigorod

Zvenigorod (in ancient times sometimes: Zvenigorod-Moscow) is one of the oldest cities in the Moscow region. Archaeological data indicate the presence of a fortified settlement on the site of the Zvenigorod town in the second half of the 12th - early 13th centuries [2]. A number of studies state that Zvenigorod was founded in 1152 by Yuri Dolgoruky[3]. According to the hypothesis of academician B. A. Rybakov, Zvenigorod of the XII century was the

northeastern outpost of the Chernigov principality.

However, for the first time Zvenigorod was mentioned only in the spiritual letter of the Moscow prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita in 1339: “And now I give to my son Ivan Zvenigorod”[4], and in the annals the first information appeared under 1382. So the city became the center of the Zvenigorod specific principality (existed in 1339-1492) of Ivan Ivanovich, the son of Kalita. However, the first Zvenigorod princes lived in Moscow, and within the principality they built strongholds, kept a squad and tribute collectors.