Yuri II Boleslav
King's seal of Yuri II of Boleslav
King of Ruthenia
Reign	1323–1340
Predecessor	Andrew andLeo II of Galicia
Successor	Liubartas
Born	c. 1305-10
Died	c. 1340 (aged c. 30)
Spouse	Eufemia (daughter ofGediminas)
House	Piast
Father	Trojden I of Masovia
Mother	Maria of Galicia

Yuri II Boleslav (Ukrainian:Юрій-Болеслав Тройденович,romanized: Yurii-Boleslav Troidenovych;Polish:Bolesław Jerzy II;Latin:Georgius;^[1] c. 1305/1310 – April 7, 1340), wasKing ofRuthenia andDominus of theGalicia–Volhynian lands (1325–1340). He was the son ofTrojden I, Duke of Masovia, a member of thePiast dynasty and the grandson ofYuri I of Galicia. His murder prompted a war of succession, known as theGalicia–Volhynia Wars.

Bolesław was born between 1305 and 1310^[2] toTrojden I of Masovia and Maria, daughter ofYuri I of Galicia. Since his father was still a ruler of the family's Masovian lands, in 1323/1325 Bolesław succeededLeo II of Galicia and became the ruler over Ruthenia (Galicia and Volynia) as Yuri II. He also received theDuchy of Belz after the childless death ofAndrew of Galicia. He used the titles of "Georgius Dei gratia Rex Russiae", "Georgius Dei gratia Dux Russiae", "Georgius Dei gratia Dux terrae Russiae, Galiciae et Ladimeriae".^[3]

His candidacy (from a family of minor Masovian princes) pleased neighboring rulers (primarily the Tatar Khan), who did not see him as a competitor.^[4] Yuri II was aCatholic by birth, but later converted toOrthodoxy to avoid confrontation with the local aristocracy of Galicia and Volynia during his reign (the boyars resisted his rule). In 1324, Yuri granted city rights toVolodymyr andSanok in 1339, both underMagdeburg Law.^[5]

The foreign policy of Yuri II was characterized by a balance in relations with the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rome and the Tatars. However, Yuri II paid the greatest attention to relations with the Teutonic Order. In a 1325 charter, Yuri II promises the Grand Master of the Teutonic OrderWerner von Orseln to observe peace and friendship, "as our ancestors did: King Danylo, great-grandfather Lev, and dearest grandfather Yuri."^[6] In 1327, Yuri II concluded an alliance with the Teutonic Order and also granted permission to trade to Toruń merchants.^[7] Correspondence between Yuri II and Pope John XXII has also been preserved — the duke of Ruthenia pursued an active policy with Rome. In 1331, Yuri II achieved the restoration of theMetropolis of Halych (which moscovian prince Ivan Kalita and MetropolitanTheognostus tried to conquer) by the Patriarch of ConstantinopleIsaias.

In 1331, he married the daughter ofGrand Duke of LithuaniaGediminas and sister ofAldona of Lithuania, wife ofCasimir III of Poland. The name of Bolesław's wife is disputed;Teodor Narbutt claimed her pagan name was Eufemia and her Christian name was Maria.^[8] In opposition,Oswald Balzer claimed that Eufemia was a Christian name.^[8] It is widely believed that Narbutt's account was a fabrication.^[8]

Yuri II was poisoned in 1340 byOrthodox Ruthenianboyars and died without an heir.Leontiy Voytovych believes that the motives for poisoning Yuri II were not a religious issue, but a diplomatic game of the local boyars with Poland and Hungary, who agreed on their own candidate in 1338 at the Vyshgorod Congress.^[9]

Yuri's murder sparked theGalicia–Volhynia Wars fought in the years 1340–1392 over succession in the Kingdom of Ruthenia, which ultimately resulted in the kingdom ceasing to be an independent state, but instead being split between Poland (Galicia) and Lithuania (Volhynia).

• Jan Řežabek,Jiří II", poslední kníže veśkeré Malé Rusi, kritickí pokus, «Časopis musea království českého», ročnik LVII,Praha, 1883.
• Oswald BalzerGenealogia Piastów (1895) (see: Digitalbibliothek of Great Poland:[1])
• Maciej WilamowskiPiastowie. Leksykon biograficzny, Kraków 1999.

• 14th-century births
• 1340 deaths
• Kings of Ruthenia
• Dukes of Masovia
• 14th-century murdered monarchs
• Deaths by poisoning
• Eastern Orthodox monarchs
• Piast dynasty
• Romanovichi family
• Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism

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