said to Ivan, "God
will bless you and raise you above all other dukes, and this city
above all other cities. Your house will reign in this place during
many centuries; their hands will conquer all their enemies; the saints
will make their dwelling here, and here my bones shall rest."

When Ivan with the Alms-bag died in 1341, he left the bulk of his (p. 088)
possessions to his eldest son Simeon, and gave only small estates to
his other children; he also forbade that Moscow's territory should be
divided. His body was scarcely in the grave before the dukes of Tver
and Souzdal were on the way to Sarai to claim the grand dukedom of
Vladimir; they were supported by other dukes who disliked and dreaded
the Muscovite family. Simeon hurried after them, well provided with
some of his father's treasure. He used it so well, that he received
the iarlikh, and was installed at Vladimir. Servile toward the khan,
he was overbearing toward the other Russian dukes, which procured for
him the surname of the Proud. He was the first to assume the title of
Grand Duke of all the Russias; and, acting in that capacity, he
graciously confirmed the charter of Novgorod, for which he demanded
and obtained payment. Simeon died in 1353 of the "black death," a
pestilence which was imported from Asia.

Great changes were taking place at Sarai, in the Khan of the Golden
Horde. Its power was broken by internal discord, when Mourout, the
legal heir of Bati, was attacked by a rival Mamai, who succeeded in
establishing himself at Sarai. Simeon was succeeded by his brother,
Ivan II, an easy-going, good-natured man whose reign of six years did
not increase the influence of Moscow. At his death, in 1359, he left
several minor children, the oldest of whom was Dmitri, a boy of
twelve. Dmitri of Souzdal went to Sarai--and secured the iarlikh,
which made him Grand Duke of Vladimir, but Alexis, the Metropolitan,
was loyal to Ivan's children, and appealed to the khan in the name of
his young ward. Mourout, the heir of Bati, declared in his favor, (p. 090)
and young Dmitri was taken to Vladimir escorted by an army, and
installed. (1363.)

[Illustration: Dmitri Donskoi]

The appointment was disputed by the dukes of Tver, Souzdal, and
Riazan. Dmitri of Souzdal held an iarlikh from Mourout's opponent, and
tried to enter in Vladimir, but was expelled. The Metropolitan
excommunicated the opponents of Ivan's son, who held the fort as Grand
Duke. Young Dmitri made wa