principality · Poland, Lithuania and Russia
Principality of Belz
Origins
Belz, on a tributary of the Bug, was one of the Cherven towns contested between Poland and Rus'. It became the seat of an appanage of the Volhynian princes in the later 12th century, when Vsevolod Mstislavich, a brother of Roman Mstislavich, ruled there.
Rule and society
It was a border land of fortified towns and farmland, part of the Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia in the 13th century. After that state collapsed in the 1340s Belz was contested by Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, then from 1388 held as a fief by the dukes of Masovia, beginning with Siemowit IV.
Decline and legacy
When the Masovian line of Belz died out in 1462, King Casimir IV incorporated it into the Kingdom of Poland (1385-1569) as the Belz Voivodeship. The town later became famous as the seat of the Belz Hasidic dynasty.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Principality of Belz was part of Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia1234 CE – 1340 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Belz. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-belz
- MLA
- “Principality of Belz.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-belz. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Belz.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-belz.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Belz’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-belz (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻