Yaroslav the Wise takes Kiev

1019

After years of fratricidal war following Vladimir's death, Yaroslav defeated his brother Svyatopolk at the Alta River and secured the grand principality. His reign would give Kievan Rus its first written law code, its greatest cathedral, and dynastic marriages reaching from France to Byzantium. His daughters married the kings of Norway, Hungary, and France, making Yaroslav the father-in-law of half of Europe.