One of the largest and most powerful successor principalities of Kievan Rus', founded 1024 when Mstislav of Chernigov (son of Vladimir the Great) established rule from Tmutarakan; from 1076 secured for the Olgovichi line, a branch of the Rurikids, who held it as second only to Kiev in influence.
Reduced to a Golden Horde vassal after the Mongol conquest (1240s); progressively absorbed into the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania through the 14th century, ceasing to exist as an independent principality by 1402.
Standard scholarly account of the political fragmentation of Kievan Rus' into successor principalities including Chernigov.
Survey covering Chernigov's rise, Mongol vassalage, and absorption into Lithuania.