ROMANOFF, HOUSE OF, of which the present imperial family of Russia is the chief representative, is said to have derived its origin from a Lithuanian prince of the 4th c.; but however this may be, it is certain that the family did not make its appearance in Russia till the 14th c., when Andrew Kobyla emigrated from Prussia to Moscow in 1341 and entered the service of the then grand-duke, Simeon the fierce. Andrew's descend ants became bojars early in the 15th c., their territorities lying in the government of Vladimir and district of Jurief-Polskoi. The bojar Roman Jurzeriteb, the fifth in direct descent from Andrew, died in 1543. leaving a son and daughter, the latter of whom became czarina by her marriage with Ivan the terrible; while the former, irkita Ronlano Titeh Jurief, by his nuptials with the princess of Susdal (a direct descendant from a brother of St. Alexander Nevskoi), was also allied to the royal race of Hunk. Nikita was one of the regency was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and metropolitan of Ilostof during the reign of the false Dmitri. The Romanoffs supported that party who tendered the Russian crown to the Polish prince, and Philarete had gone with that view to Poland, when a sudden outburst of national sentiment put a stop to these DCE,r0 tiations, and the unlucky envoy was in consequence thrown into prison by the enraged Poles. The national party now proceeded to the election of a native sovereign, who should be as closely allied as possible by blood to the race of Rtirik; and after much hesitation and many rejections they chose MrKAri, FEODOROVITCH ROMANOFF, the son of the imprisoned metropolitan, and the representative, through his grandmother, of the royal house of Rurik, Feb. 21, 1613. This selection, which had been made by the higher nobility and the clergy, was rapturously applauded by the people; and though the new czar was not quite seventeen years of age, the general desire of all classes to conform to his ordinances rendered the cares of government comparatively light. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Alerel Mikailoritch (1648-76), an able prince, who carried on war with varied success against the Swedes and Poles, and acquired a great reputation as a legis lator. Alexei was twice married, and left by his first wife two sons, Feodor and Ivan, and many daughters, and by his second wife one son, Peter. His eldest son Feodor (1676-82), was a prince of much talent and foresight, and labored with success to reduce the power of the aristocracy; but being of a very weak constitution he died at the age of twenty-five without posterity, leaving, the throne by his will to his half-brother, Peter, as his full brother, Ivan, was an imbecile. However, it was not till seven years after
this that Peter (see PETER THE GREAT) succeeded in obtaining possession of the throne.
It is worthy of remark that aft herto all the czars of the house of Romanoff had the throne before attaining twenty years of age. Peter (see PErkni. THE Gat:Ar) was twice married; by his first marriage he had a son, Alexis (q.v.), who died during his father's lifetime, leaving- one son, Peter, afterward Peter IL; and by his second mar riage with Catharine f (q.v.) (1725-27) lie had two daughters, Anne and Elizabeth. Catharine I. left the throne to her step-grandson, Peter 11. (1727-30), the last of the male line of Romaimffs; and on his death without heirs the succession reverted to the female line. Ivan, Peter the gremmt's half-brother, had also left daughters, and their claims to the crown being preferable, one of them, Anna leanovna (1730-10), was placed upon the throne, and was succeeded by her grand-nephew, lean IV: (1740-41); but then a revo lution drove Ivan's family from the throne, of which the cadet female line in the person of Elizabeth (1741-61), the daughter of Peter the great and Catharine, obtained possession. Failing heirs of Elizabeth, her nephew Peter, the son of her elder sister Anna Petrtivna, who had married the duke of Holstein-Gottorp (a cadet of the family of Oldenburg). and died in 1728, was the heir-presumptive; and accordingly, on her death in 1701, be mounted the throne as Peter III. (1761-62), founding a new dynasty, that of RomANOFF OLDENBURG; but his brief tenure of power was put an end to by his assassination at the instigation of his wife, the princess bophia-Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, who as Catharine II. (1762-96) wielded the scepter of this mighty empire for the long period of thirty-four years. She was succeeded by Parti/ I. (q.v.) (17964801), her only son by Peter III.; and Paul after a brief reign was also assassinated, leaving several sons, the eldest of whom was Alexander I. (1801-25); but as he left no issue, the crown at his death devolved by right upon his next brother, Constantine. Constantine bad, however, in compliance with the wish of his elder brother, previously relinquished his claims to the supreme power, and the third brother, :Nicholas I. (1825-55) in consequence ascended the throne. Nicholas left at his death four sons and several daughters, and his eldest son, Alexander II. (1855) is the present czar.