The golden promises of Simeon completely won the heart of Usbeck, and the young prince returned to Moscow flushed with success.
He assumed such airs of superiority and of power as secured for him the title of _The Superb_.

He caused himself to be crowned king, with much religious pomp, in the cathedral of Vladimir.

Novgorod manifested some resistance to his assumptions.

He instantly invaded the principality, hewed down all opposition, and punished his opponents with such severity that there was a simultaneous cry for mercy.
Rapidly he extended his power, and the fragmentary principalities of Russia began again to assume the aspect of concentration and adhesion.
Ere two years had elapsed, Usbeck, the khan, died.

This remarkable man had been, for some time, the friend and the ally of Pope Benoit XII., who had hoped to convert him to the Christian religion.