Alexander or Aleksandr Peresvet (; died 8 September 1380) was a Russian Orthodox monk who fought in single combat with the Tatar champion Temir-Mirza (also spelled Temir-Murza), known in most Russian sources as Chelubey or Chelubei (Челубей), at the opening of the Battle of Kulikovo on 8 September 1380. The two men killed each other.
Life
Peresvet is believed to have hailed from the Bryansk area, and to have taken the monastic habit at the Monastery of Saints Boris and Gleb in Rostov. He moved to the monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky, in the service of Dmitry Donskoy. He later moved to the Trinity Lavra where he became a follower of Sergius of Radonezh. Alexander and his friend Rodion Oslyabya joined the Russian troops set out to fight the Tatars under the leadership of Mamai.
The battle of Kulikovo was opened by single combat between the two champions. The Russian champion was Alexander Peresvet. The champion of the Golden Horde was Temir-Mirza. The champions killed each other in the first charge. According to a Russian legend, Peresvet did not fall from the saddle, while Temir-Mirza did.
Peresvet's body, together with that of his brother-in-arms Rodion Oslyabya, was brought to Moscow. The two men were buried at the 15th-century Theotokos Church in Simonov Monastery.
Commemoration
Pereswetoff-Morath, a bayor (Russo-Swedish nobility) family, have been claimed to be descendants of Peresvet. The Russian Peresvet battleship class, ships of which saw action in the Russo-Japanese War A Volga boat is named Alexander Peresvet Armed patrol icebreaker Peresvet The town of Peresvet near Moscow A fast train running between Moscow and St. Petersburg since 2003. 33rd Special purpose unit of Internal Troops Russian military laser ‘Peresvet’ named so after a 2018 'name that weapon' vote
Notes
References
Bibliography
Титов А. А. Предание о ростовских князьях. М., 1885
Описание Свято-Димитриевского монастыря в г. Скопине. Издательство Свято-Димитриевского монастыря, 2000. Рязанские епархиальные ведомости. 1891, No. 2, 3. Лошиц Ю. М. Дмитрий Донской., М., 1996 Розанов Н. П. История церкви Рождества Пресвятые Богородицы на Старом Симонове в Москве. К её пятисотолетию (1370—1870). М., 1870 Благословение преподобного Сергия. Под редакцией В.Силовьева. Изд.совет РПЦ, 2005