to ride wherever he chose and to hunt with hawks. We are told that a Cuman offered to help him to escape; one day at dusk, he raised the tent flap and crawled out while the guards were entertaining themselves with games. After crossing over to the other side of the river Tor, Igor rode away. He traveled eleven days to the town Donets; from there he went to Novgorod Severskiy. We are not told when Igor escaped, but he could not have been in captivity for more than a few months; he probably fled in the late summer at the latest. After arriving in Novgorod Severskiy, Igor visited Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich (his cousin) in Chernigov and asked for military aid. Next, he went to Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich in Kiev, and he undoubtedly asked him to assist in collecting the ransoms for the three captive princes. After leaving Svyatoslav, he visited Ryurik Rostislavich. Archaeological evidence suggests that after returning to Novgorod Severskiy, Igor reinforced the fortifications and founded new ones in the vicinity of Vyr. Marriage alliances In 1187, Igor reconciled his brother-in-law (Vladimir Yaroslavich) and father-in-law (prince Yaroslav Volodymyrkovych of Halych), and dispatched his son Svyatoslav Igorevich to escort Vladimir Yaroslavich home. In the autumn of 1188, his son Vladimir Igorevich returned home from captivity with Khan Konchak's daughter. On September 26, 1188, Igor and his family attended the festivities organized by Rurik Rostislavich to celebrate his son's wedding. During the same week, Rurik Rostislavich gave away his daughter to Igor's son Svyatoslav. In 1190, grand prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich married his grandson David Olgovich to Igor's daughter. Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich died during the last week of July 1194, and his death changed the order of seniority among the Olgovichi: his only brother, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich became the new senior prince of the dynasty, and Igor became the second in seniority in the family. Prince of Chernigov On an unspecified date in 1198, prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich died, and Igor succeeded him on the throne of Chernigov. One of his first tasks was to renew the alliances that Yaroslav Vsevolodovich had concluded with Roman Mstislavich of Vladimir-in-Volhynia; he also endorsed the alliances Yaroslav Vsevolodovich had made with Vsevolod III Yuryevich of Vladimir and the Rostislavichi. The same year, his brother-in-law, prince Vladimir Yaroslavich of Halych died, and his death created a political vacuum. Although, the Olgovichi could argue that their marriage ties with his