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Ivan IV Vasilyevich was born on august 25, 1530
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At three years old when his father died, he was immediately declared grand prince of Moscow, his mom ruling in Ivan’s name until her death (allegedly by poison in 1538)
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When he is 8 years old and his mother passes away, he becomes an orphan. The Shuisky princes, who were his new guardians, neglected him and were said to have not given him enough food.
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On January 16, 1547, he was crowned “tsar and grand prince of all Russia.”
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for a brief few years, he won great victories, added land to Russia, developed a code of laws, and ruled justly.
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the event that is said to trigger the downfall of his rule, he accused the boyars (landowning nobles) of poisoning his wife, he organized his own police force to hunt down and murder people Ivan considered traitors.
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From the end of his "good period" to the end of his life, his rule began to take turns for the worse.
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in a fit of personally and nationally influenced rage, he killed his eldest son, Ivan Ivanovich, who he named after himself and was the only viable heir left to his throne.
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Ivan IV Vasilyevich dies leaving his empire abandoned on march 18, 1584
