Daniel of Kholm was the son of the knyaz Dmitry Yurievich Kholmsky and was a descendant of Princes of Tver. In 1460s, he entered the Muscovite service. He became famous after his brilliant victory over Kazan tatars near Murom in 1468, where he was successful with an unexpected strike from the besieged city. However, since the Tatar assaults on Russian borders continued, the Muscovite army started a campaign against Kazan. Daniel was the commander of the avantgarde troops and defeated khan Ibrahim, forcing him to sign a peace treaty with Ivan III. The treaty obliged the khanate to return all the Russian captives and to establish a friendly relationship with Moscow.