Alexander Nevsky dies returning from the Horde

1263

The prince of Vladimir and hero of the Neva died in the town of Gorodets on his way home from negotiating with the Golden Horde on behalf of Rus taxpayers. The Orthodox church would canonize him; Russian memory would later recast him as a national symbol of resistance. His pragmatic collaboration with the Mongols, however distasteful, preserved Novgorod and Vladimir from the total destruction visited on other Rus cities.