Among the statesmen of medieval Rus', Vladimir Monomakh occupies a special place as one of the most talented and educated Russian princes of the pre-Mongol era. (They began to call him Monomakh because his mother was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh.) Having become the Great Prince of Kyiv at the age of 60 (1113), Vladimir Monomakh managed to strengthen the shaky political unity of the Kyiv state. He managed to establish peace between the Russian princes and direct their efforts to fight the steppe inhabitants, therefore, during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh, the Russian lands took a break from Polovtsian attacks.