The prince asked Rostislav, his brother, to bring Smolensk forces from all sides. He sent to Kief also, explaining the conduct of the sons of David, and reminded the people of what they had promised. The Kief men decided immediately to go forward in boats and on horseback to help him. “We rejoice,” declared they in a message, “that God has preserved thee. We come and bring our sons with us, according to promise!” When thus excited, some man in the throng called out loudly: “We will fight for our prince, but think first of one important thing. Here in this city is the enemy of our prince. Let us slay him to finish that family in Chernigoff, and then go!” The people rushed to the monastery, and before Prince Vladimir, the metropolitan, or the commander in the city, could stop them they had seized Igor, and slain him. Izyaslav was at the edge of Chernigoff when news of Igor’s death came to him: “If I had thought of this, I should have guarded him more carefully,” said he to his warriors. “Men will say now that I wished to kill Igor, but God knows that I did not.” “Be not concerned,” answered his warriors. “God knows, and people know, also, that not thou, but his own cousins killed him; they who took an oath to thee, and then conspired traitorously to kill thee.” Izyaslav seized Kursk, where he placed his son, Mystislav, and thus barred out the Polovtsi. But Glaib, son of Yuri, came later with Sviatoslav to take the place. The people would not raise a hand against Glaib, since he was a grandson of Monomach. They would have fought against Sviatoslav had he come unassisted, as they informed Mystislav, who returned to his father. Glaib, after installing posadniks, left that region, and the Polovtsi were free to appear again. Rostislav of Smolensk led in large forces to help his brother, the Grand Prince, and after an involved and tedious war, ending rather against Izyaslav than for him, the Chernigoff princes were unable to continue the struggle; their territory was stripped of provisions, and ruined in great part; they had no food for their warriors, and could not pay Polovtsi allies. Yuri had sent a son with forces, but he would not go with his main strength in person, and without Yuri the Chernigoff princes were unable to stand against Izyaslav and his brothers. In such straits, they sent these words to Yuri: “Thou didst kiss the cross to go with us against Izyaslav; thou hast not done so. Izyaslav came, burned our towns, took our country. He came a second time; he burned and seized what he spared at the first attack, but thou hast neither come to us nor fought against Izyaslav. If thy wish is to march now against the Kief prince, we will go with thee; if not, we are freed from our oath; we have no wish to perish in war unassisted.”