Roman
Roman (Роман), known as Roman the Great, was king of Ruthenia.
History
Roman was the eldest son of Mstislav II (Мстислав), prince of Volhynia.
His father sent him to rule over the principality of Novgorod in 1168.
Reign
Volhynia
Mstislav died in 1170, leaving Roman to inherit the principality of Volhynia.
There was a succession crisis in the principality of Halych following the death of Yaroslav (Ярослав) in 1187. One son, Oleg, was appointed the principality by Casimir II, but he was shortly assassinated. the local nobility favored Roman as prince. Another son, Vladimir II (Володимир), fled to Hungary seeking military support for his claims. Bela III instead invaded and established his son Andrew as prince. Vladimir would escape in 1190, flee to Poland, and finally return with military support for his claims.
Halych
Vladimir II died in 1198 without an heir, so the principality of Halych finally passed to Roman.
Legacy
Roman established the principality that would soon develop into the kingdom of Ruthenia, the most direct predecessor state to the modern state of Ukraine.