The Vladimir principality came to Nevski as Yaroslav’s eldest son. Though Sviatoslav had taken Vladimir as against his brother’s children, and had been confirmed in this by Batu, the “Plucky” had not been slow in ejecting his uncle. Now, after Michael’s death, Vladimir was princeless. Nevski did not care, as it seems, for Vladimir at that time, and would not contend for it. Andrei had a different view of the question; he would not yield to his uncle, and strove at the Horde to supplant him. Batu for some reason found it unjust to return the principality to Sviatoslav; so he gave it to Andrei. But he remembered that Nevski was older, and Andrei did not deny the fact, hence the Khan made this decision: let Nevski be Grand Prince of Kief and at the head of all princes; let Andrei be Prince of Vladimir. Thus, because of the title given Nevski at the Horde and by his seniority, there were two so-called Grand Princes in Russia in 1250, but the Prince of Vladimir was the real Grand Prince, since his was the Grand Principality. That such a position was impossible became clear very quickly even to Mongols. But for the time Nevski was silent, and ruled not in Kief, but in Pereyaslavl, when not in Novgorod. His heart was too heavy and his soul too greatly tortured to fight about places with his uncle or his brothers. He would not contend at the Horde with other princes. He had an important object of his own, though at that time he thought it not attainable. To Novgorod, where Alexander lived mainly, came an embassy from Rome like that which had once gone to Daniel of Galitch. The envoys were two cardinals of distinction. The Pope informed Nevski that these men were skilled in speech and fitted to teach the law of God perfectly. They brought a letter from “His Holiness,” which mentioned the Livonian Knights and Rome’s ceaseless care in protecting Christian lands from savage races, and stated that the Pope wished to incline Prince Alexander to receive the teachings of the Latin Church, and show obedience to the See held by God’s vicegerent. “The greatest ruler,” wrote the Pope, “is not lessened, but exalted through obedience. Hence we persuade thee, O prince, to recognize the Roman Church as thy mother, obey her first priest, and bring all thy subjects to join us. Know if thou take advantage of our disposition we will exalt thee among other princes to the very pinnacle of glory.” To convince him the more, the Pope assured Nevski that Yaroslav, his father, had died in the Latin communion. “From Plano Karpini, our envoy sent to the Mongols,” wrote the Pope, “we received news that thy father gave obedience to the Church. This would have been known to the world had not sudden death seized him. In view of that happy death it is clear that he is in communion with the blessed, a happiness which we wish thee to share with him finally.”