Mongol invasions of Lithuania

Last updated

The Mongol invasions of Lithuania was an event where the Mongol armies invaded the territories of the Kingdom of Lithuania and later, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, on several occasions in late 13th and early 14th century. The event is not very well documented. In due course, however, the Lithuanians were able to take control of a number of former Mongol territories, expand their influence in Eastern Europe, and contribute to the liberation of neighbouring peoples. [1]

Contents

Lithuanian–Mongol conflict

The Lithuanians first made contact with the Mongols around 1237–1240, though for the next decade or two the Mongols did not consider Lithuanian-held territories a priority. [2]

In 1258–59, a joint Tatar-Rus'ian army led by Burundai launched a campaign against the Kingdom of Lithuania ruled by Mindaugas, devastating the country. [3] [4] It was in response to Lithuanian incursions on Mongol-held territories in 1255 and 1258. [5] Although the young Christian state has managed to withstand this incursion, it likely played a crucial role in determining its further religious orientation as Mindaugas was starting to lose his allies and pro-pagan sentiments reemerged. The threat posed by the Mongols and lack of any meaningful support from the Roman Curia, led to Treniota and his accomplices forcing Mindaugas to renounce his union with the Livonian Order for an alliance with Alexandr Nevsky, who was a docile subject of the Tatars. The temporary shifting of the allegiance of its successor, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, toward the Mongols, or at least, away from the Christian Europe, was also a short-term victory for the Mongols. [2]

After raiding Lithuania and the Yotvingians, [4] the next year, two tumens (20,000 men), under the leadership of Berke, attacked Poland (in what is known as the Second Mongol invasion of Poland). [6]

In the immediate aftermath of this invasion, Lithuania might have become a tributary and ally to the Horde for several years or decades. [2] [7] [8] A similar fate was likely met by the Lithuanian neighbours, the Yotvingians. Some Lithuanian or Yotvingian warriors likely participated in the Mongol invasion of Poland in 1259, though there are no historical documents to clarify whether they did so with their leaders' permission, or as free mercenaries, or as forced troops. According to Krakowski, the term 'Prussian' mentioned in the historical accounts could also cover some Yotvingian and Lithuanian units. Gregorz Błaszczyk believes that such a position belongs to the sphere of hypotheses. [2]

Nonetheless, the invasion did not have major or lasting consequences for Lithuania, [3] particularly as it was not directly incorporated into the Mongol Empire, nor subject to Mongol darughachi administration. [2]

Legacy

Mongols raided Lithuania again in 1275, [9] 1279, [10] and 1325. [11]

Overall, the Mongols did not make any major effort to conquer Lithuania. [3] In time, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became a rival to the Golden Horde, temporarily taking over some of the former Kievan Rus' territories controlled by the Mongols as the Horde became weakened in the 13th and 14th centuries, though it lacked manpower to threaten Mongol territories outside of northeastern Europe. [11] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'</span> 13th-century Mongol military campaign in Europe

The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimir, including the largest: Kiev and Chernigov. The siege of Kiev in 1240 by the Mongols is generally held to mark the end of the state of Kievan Rus', which had already been undergoing fragmentation. Many other principalities and urban centres in the northwest and southwest escaped complete destruction or suffered little to no damage from the Mongol invasion, including Galicia–Volhynia, Pskov, Smolensk, Polotsk, Vitebsk, and probably Rostov and Uglich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</span> European state from c. 1236 to 1795

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 partitions of Poland–Lithuania. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. By 1440 the grand duchy had become the largest European state, controlling an area from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia</span> Kingdom in Eastern Europe

The Principality or, from 1253, Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, also known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia or Kingdom of Rus,also Kingdom of Halych–Volhynian was a medieval state in Eastern Europe which existed from 1199 to 1349. Its territory was predominantly located in modern-day Ukraine, with parts in Belarus, Poland, Moldova, and Lithuania. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'.

These are lists of battles of the Mongol invasion of Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolghar</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Russia

Bolghar was intermittently the capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 10th to the 13th centuries, along with Bilyar and Nur-Suvar. It was situated on the bank of the Volga River, about 30 km downstream from its confluence with the Kama River and some 130 km from modern Kazan in what is now Spassky District. West of it lies a small modern town, since 1991 known as Bolgar. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex to the World Heritage List in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel of Galicia</span> King of Ruthenia from 1253 to 1264

Daniel Romanovich (1201–1264) was Prince of Galicia, Volhynia, Grand Prince of Kiev (1240), and King of Ruthenia (1253–1264).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Severia</span> Historical region at the boundary of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine

Severia or Siveria is a historical region in present-day southwest Russia, northern Ukraine, and eastern Belarus. The largest part lies in modern Russia, while the central part of the region is the city of Chernihiv in Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Lithuania</span> Lithuanian kingdom in 1250s–1260s

The Kingdom of Lithuania was a sovereign state that existed from the 17 July 1251 until the death of the first crowned king of Lithuania, Mindaugas, on 12 September 1263. Mindaugas was the only Lithuanian monarch crowned king with the assent of the Pope and the head of the first catholic Lithuanian state. The formation of the kingdom is widely regarded as a partially successful attempt at unifying all surrounding Baltic tribes, including the Old Prussians, into a single unified state under a common king.

The Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars were a series of wars between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, allied with the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which was later unified with other Russian principalities to eventually become the Tsardom of Russia. After several defeats at the hands of Ivan III and Vasily III, the Lithuanians were increasingly reliant on Polish aid, which eventually became an important factor in the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Before the first series of wars in the 15th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania controlled vast stretches of Eastern European land, from Kiev to Mozhaysk, following the collapse of Kievan Rus' after the Mongol invasions. Over the course of the wars, particularly in the 16th century, the Muscovites expanded their domain westwards, taking control of many principalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talabuga</span> Khan of the Golden Horde

Talabuga Khan, also known as Tolibuqa(Mongol language: Тольбухᠲᠤᠯᠠᠪᠤᠭᠠᠬᠠᠨ; died 1291), was from 1287 to 1291 the Khan of the Golden Horde, a large, independent empire and one of the four successor states of the continent-sized Mongol Empire. He was the son of Tartu, great-grandson of Batu Khan, and great-great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Fields</span> Historical term for the Pontic Steppe

The Wild Fields is a historical term used in the Polish–Lithuanian documents of the 16th to 18th centuries to refer to the Pontic steppe in the territory of present-day Eastern and Southern Ukraine and Western Russia, north of the Black Sea and Azov Sea. It was the traditional name for the Black Sea steppes in the 16th and 17th centuries. In a narrow sense, it is the historical name for the demarcated and sparsely populated Black Sea steppes between the middle and lower reaches of the Dniester in the west, the lower reaches of the Don and the Siverskyi Donets in the east, from the left tributary of the Dnipro—Samara, and the upper reaches of the Southern Bug—Syniukha and Ingul in the north, to the Black and Azov Seas and Crimea in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principality of Smolensk</span> State in Eastern Europe from 1054 to 1508

The Principality of Smolensk was a Kievan Rus' lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The principality gradually came under Lithuanian influence and was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1404. The principality was reorganized into the Smolensk Voivodeship in 1508. The Principality of Moscow controlled the city from 1514 to 1611, then it was recaptured by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Tsardom of Russia recaptured the city in 1654.

The Battle of Blue Waters was fought at some time in the autumn of 1362 or 1363 on the banks of the Syniukha River, a left tributary of the Southern Bug, between the armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Golden Horde. The Lithuanians won a decisive victory and finalized their conquest of the Principality of Kiev.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Mongol invasion of Poland</span> Military campaign, 1240 to 1241

The Mongol Invasion of Poland from late 1240 to 1241 culminated in the Battle of Legnica, where the Mongols defeated an alliance which included forces from fragmented Poland and their allies, led by Henry II the Pious, the Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland. The first invasion's intention was to secure the flank of the main Mongolian army attacking the Kingdom of Hungary. The Mongols neutralized any potential help to King Béla IV being provided by the Poles or any military orders.

The Principality of Minsk was an appanage principality of the Principality of Polotsk and centered on the city of Minsk. It existed from its founding in 1101 until it was nominally annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1242, and then fell under de facto annexation in 1326.

The history of Lithuania between 1219 and 1295 concerns the establishment and early history of the first Lithuanian state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The beginning of the 13th century marks the end of the prehistory of Lithuania. From this point on the history of Lithuania is recorded in chronicles, treaties, and other written documents. In 1219, 21 Lithuanian dukes signed a peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia. This event is widely accepted as the first proof that the Baltic tribes were uniting and consolidating. Despite continuous warfare with two Christian orders, the Livonian Order and the Teutonic Knights, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was established and gained some control over the lands of Black Ruthenia, Polatsk, Minsk, and other territories east of modern-day Lithuania that had become weak and vulnerable after the collapse of Kievan Rus'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Mongol invasion of Poland</span> 1259–60 military campaign

The second Mongol invasion of Poland was carried out by General Boroldai (Burundai) of the Golden Horde in 1259–1260. During this invasion the cities of Sandomierz, Kraków, Lublin, Zawichost, and Bytom were sacked by the Mongols for the second time.

The gathering of the Russian lands or Rus' lands was the process in which new states – usually the Principality of Moscow and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania – acquired former territories of Kievan Rus' from the 14th century onwards, claiming to be its legitimate successor. In Russian historiography, this phenomenon represented the consolidation of a national state centered on Moscow. The sobriquet gatherer of the Russian lands or Rus' Land is also given to the grand princes of Moscow by Russian historians, especially to Ivan III. The term is also used to describe the expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into Rus' principalities; the Lithuanian grand dukes claimed authority over all territories inhabited by Rus' people. Some historians argue that Lithuania began "gathering Rus' lands" before Muscovy did. The rules of Moscow adopted the title Sovereign of all Russia while the Lithuanian Grand Dukes adopted the title King of the Lithuanians and [many] Ruthenians and later under the Polish–Lithuanian union as King of Poland, Grand Prince of Lithuania, Rus', Prussia, Samogitia, Mazovia and other.

The Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' was a metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected on the territory of Kievan Rus'. It existed between 988 AD and 1440s AD. The long lasting "tug of war" between bishops from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Ruthenia and bishops of the Principality of Moscow resulted in reorganization of the metropolis as the bishops from Moscow refused to recognize decisions of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Canonically, it was under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The metropolitan seat (cathedra) was located in the city of Kiev until it was moved to Vladimir-na-Klyazme in 1299 and then Moscow in 1325.

References

  1. ↑ Matulevičius, A., Spečiūnas V. "Mongolų-totorių antpuoliai į LDK žemes" [Mongol-Tatar Invasions into the Lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania] (in Lithuanian). Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Darius, Baronas (2006). "The Encounter Between Forest Lithuanians and Steppe Tatars in The Time of Mindaugas." (PDF). Lithuanian Historical Studies (11): 1–16.
  3. 1 2 3 Jaroslaw Pelenski (1998). The Contest for the Legacy of Kievan Rus'. East European Monographs. p. 133. ISBN   978-0-88033-274-3.
  4. 1 2 Mikolaj Gladysz (2012). The Forgotten Crusaders: Poland and the Crusader Movement in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. BRILL. pp. 325–. ISBN   978-90-04-18551-7.
  5. ↑ Gudavičius, Edvardas. "Burundajaus žygis" [The March of Burundai] (in Lithuanian). Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia.
  6. ↑ Stanisław Krakowski, Polska w walce z najazdami tatarskimi w XIII wieku, MON, 1956, pp. 181-201
  7. ↑ Peter Jackson (2018). The Mongols and the West: 1221-1410. Taylor & Francis. p. 188. ISBN   978-1-351-18282-9.
  8. ↑ Peter Jackson (2012). "Mongols". In Xiaobing Li (ed.). China at War: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 284–. ISBN   978-1-59884-416-0.
  9. ↑ John L. Fennell (2014). A History of the Russian Church to 1488. Routledge. pp. 125–. ISBN   978-1-317-89720-0.
  10. ↑ Tadas Adomonis (1986). Lithuania: An Encyclopedic Survey. Encyclopedia Publishers. p. 92.
  11. 1 2 Timothy May (2016). The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 190. ISBN   978-1-61069-340-0.
  12. ↑ Timothy May (2016). The Mongol Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 164. ISBN   978-1-61069-340-0.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.