The Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible (Russian: Лицевой летописный свод, romanized: Litsevoy letopisny svod) is the largest compilation of historical information ever assembled in medieval Russia. It covers the period from the creation of the world to the year 1567.[1] It is also informally known as the Tsar Book (Царь-книга), in an analogy with Tsar Bell and Tsar Cannon.[2]
The set of manuscripts was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible specifically for his royal library.[1] The literal meaning of the Russian title is "face chronicle," alluding to the numerous hand-painted miniatures. The compilation consists of 10 volumes, containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper. It is illustrated with more than 16 thousand miniatures.
The volumes are grouped in a relatively chronological order and include four major areas: Biblical History, History of Rome, History of Byzantium and Russian history. The titles and contents of the 10 volumes are:
The manuscript is thought to have been created between 1568 and 1576. The work seems to have been started as early as the 1540s.[3] It was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible for the royal library for the purposes of educating his children.[citation needed] The tsar's confidant Aleksey Adashev was involved in the creation of the work.[3]