Treaty of Mozhaysk

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The Treaty of Mozhaysk (also Moshaisk or other transliterations of Можайск) was a Danish-Russian treaty concluded on 7 August 1562, during the Livonian War. While not an actual alliance, the treaty confirmed the amicable Dano-Russian relation and obliged the parties to not support the other parties in the war, to respect each other's claims in Old Livonia, and to grant free passage to each other's merchants.

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Mozhaysk Town in Moscow Oblast, Russia

Mozhaysk is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located 110 kilometers (68 mi) to the west of Moscow, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population: 31,363 (2010 Census); 31,459 (2002 Census); 30,735 (1989 Census).

Tsardom of Russia former country (1547-1721)

The Tsardom of Russia, or the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721.

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By 1562, Frederick II of Denmark and Ivan IV of Russia were two of several parties claiming superiority rights in Livonia, none of whom was able to decide the conflict for themselves. Instead of engaging in open war, Frederick II and Ivan IV preferred to uphold the long tradition of amicable Dano-Russian relations. The treaty has been noted for the circumstances that a European great power met the Russian tsardom on equal footing, and that no prior military decision forced the parties to conclude it.

Frederick II of Denmark King of Denmark and Norway

Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.

Denmark–Russia relations Diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Denmark and Russia

Denmark–Russia relations is the relationship between the two countries, Denmark and Russia. Diplomatic relations between Denmark and the USSR were established on June 18, 1924. Russia has an embassy in Copenhagen and a consulate in Tórshavn, and Denmark has an embassy in Moscow, a Consulate-General in Saint Petersburg, and an honorary consulate in Kaliningrad. Both countries border the Baltic Sea and are members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

In practice, the treaty was not wholly implemented. This was in part due to Frederick II's limited engagement in Livonia, where his brother Magnus pursued his own policies. In the subsequent war years, while not antagonizing Frederick II, Ivan IV would deal with Magnus directly, eventually making him king of Livonia as his vassal.

Kingdom of Livonia

The Kingdom of Livonia was a nominal state in what is now the territory of Estonia and Latvia. The Russian Tsar Ivan IV declared the establishment of the kingdom during the Livonian War of 1558-1583, but it never functioned properly as a polity. On June 10, 1570 the Danish Duke Magnus of Holstein arrived in Moscow, where he was crowned King of Livonia. Magnus took the oath of allegiance to Ivan as his overlord and received from him the corresponding charter for the vassal kingdom of Livonia in what Ivan termed his patrimony. The treaty between Magnus and Ivan IV was signed by an oprichnik and by a member of the zemskii administration, the d'iak Vasiliy Shchelkalov. The territories of the prospective new kingdom still had to be conquered, but nevertheless Põltsamaa Castle was proclaimed the future official residence of the king. The new king Magnus of Livonia departed from Moscow with 20,000 Russian soldiers for the conquest of Swedish-controlled Reval. Ivan's hope for the support of King Frederick II of Denmark, the older brother of Magnus, failed. By the end of March 1571 Magnus gave up the struggle for Reval and abandoned the siege.

Livonia in 1562

In 1562, during the early stage of the Livonian War, the territory of the present-day states Estonia and Latvia (then Terra Mariana or Old Livonia) was contested between Sigismund II Augustus of Poland–Lithuania, Ivan IV "The Terrible", tsar of Russia, Frederick II of Denmark-Norway and Erik XIV of Sweden. [1] The Livonian Confederation had turned to Poland-Lithuania for protection in the 1557 Treaty of Pozvol, provoking the intervention of Ivan IV [2] who, despite significant territorial gains and the important victory at Ermes (Ergeme), was unable to subordinate all Livonia. [1] The bulk of the disintegrating Livonian Confederation was subordinated to Poland-Lithuania in the Treaty of Vilnius (1561), [3] forming the duchies of Livonia and Courland and Semigallia. With Reval (Tallinn) accepting Swedish superiority, also in 1561, Sweden had established a dominion in Estonia despite the protests of Frederick II, who claimed historical rights on the area and had already purchased the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek in western Estonia. [1]

Livonian War 16th century war in Eastern Europe

The Livonian War (1558–1583) was fought for control of Old Livonia, when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.

Estonia Republic in Northern Europe

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland with Finland on the other side, to the west by the Baltic Sea with Sweden on the other side, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km). The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,227 km2 (17,462 sq mi), water 2,839 km2 (1,096 sq mi), land area 42,388 km2 (16,366 sq mi), and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The official language of the country, Estonian, is the second most spoken Finnic language.

Latvia republic in Northeastern Europe

Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Since its independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, and Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.

Robert I. Frost has summarized the 1562 state of war as an "uneasy stalemate:" while Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Poland-Lithuania had staked overlapping claims, the local parties of the broken-up Livonian Confederation had at least preliminarily chosen sides and intense fighting had occurred between some of the respective armies, a stable solution was not in sight even if military engagements had waned. [4]

Robert I. Frost is a British historian and academic. His interests are in the history of Eastern and Northern Europe of 14th-19th centuries, with primary focus on Poland-Lithuania and the history of warfare of the period.

Interests of Frederick II, Ivan IV and Magnus

Frederick II focussed on his competition with Erik XIV of Sweden for hegemony in and around the Baltic Sea, which in 1563 culminated into the Northern Seven Years' War. [1] He had no ambitions to enter a conflict with Ivan IV of Russia, and despite a brief irritation in the context of Christian III's occupation of Ösel (Øsel, Saaremaa) in 1558, Dano-Russian relations were amicable and based on a mutual assistance pact of 1493, renewed in 1506 and 1517. [5] Ivan IV likewise did not wish a conflict with Frederick II, as he was unable to reach an understanding with the other parties in the Livonian war, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania, and was pressed by Crimean Tartar invasions at his tsardom's southern frontier. [5]

Baltic Sea A sea in Northern Europe bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands

The Baltic Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, northeast Germany, Poland, Russia and the North and Central European Plain.

Northern Seven Years War war (1563–1570) between Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and Poland, causd by Denmarks dissatisfaction with the dissolution of the Kalmar Union and Swedens wanting to break Denmarks dominance; ended in stalemate

The Northern Seven Years' War was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and Poland between 1563 and 1570. The war was motivated by the dissatisfaction of King Frederick II of Denmark with the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, and the will of King Eric XIV of Sweden to break Denmark's dominating position. The fighting continued until both armies had been exhausted, and many men died. The resulting Treaty of Stettin was a stalemate, with neither party gaining any new territory.

Christian III of Denmark King of Denmark and Norway

Christian III reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 until his death, and King of Norway from 1537 until his death. During his reign, Christian established Lutheranism as the state religion within his realms as part of the Protestant Reformation.

Frederick II had an uneasy relation to his younger brother Magnus, Duke of Holstein, whom he established in Ösel–Wiek "to be rid" of him. [1] Yet, after Magnus arrived in April 1560, he immediately started to expand by purchasing the Courlandian Stift Pilten (Piltene) and the Estonian bishopric of Reval, and thus by 1561 found himself bankrupt, in conflict with the other parties claiming these territories for themselves, and without any sufficient military means. [6] Magnus turned to his brother's court in Copenhagen hoping that Frederick II would abandon his policy of minimal involvement and enter the Livonian conflict on his side. [6] Yet, Frederick II instead restricted Magnus to not conclude treaties without his consent anymore, obliged him to consolidate his finances by himself and assigned a governor for Ösel–Wiek who was to closely monitor Magnus' activities in Livonia. [6]

Treaty

On 6 July 1562, a group of Danish envoys arrived at Ivan IV's court in Moscow. [7] The delegation was headed by Frederick II's hofmeister Eiler (also Eller, Elias) Hardenberg, and further included Jacob Brokenhusen, Jens Truelsen Ulfstand and Zacharias Vheling. [8] Negotiations lasted only a month, and the treaty was concluded on 7 August in Mozhaysk (Можайск) west of Moscow. [7]

While the treaty did not contain a new mutual aid pact,

The treaty did not contain an expiry date. [9]

Significance

In historiography, the Mozhaysk agreements are regarded as a highly significant treaty. Hübner (1998) says that

"the high significance of this treaty, which has been called a 'milestone in European history,' for the Muscovite state was not only due to its contents, but also because a European great power was ready to conclude it on the basis of a completely equal status, without a prior military conflict forcing the parties to do so." [10]

However, the parties were unable to draw practical advantages from the treaty. [9] Neither party was able to prevent Swedish forces from intruding and occupying part of their Livonian claims, the Danish and Polish kings agreed on mutual support against Sweden in the Northern Seven Years' War. [9] Ivan IV delayed the implementation of the free trade agreements and concluded a seven-year truce with Sweden in 1564. [9] In the following years, Ivan IV focussed on Magnus of Holstein rather than Frederick II, establishing him as the king of Livonia under his vassalage. [11]

Sources

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Frost (2000), p. 25.
  2. ↑ De Madariaga (2006), p. 127
  3. ↑ De Madariaga (2006), pp. 129–30.
  4. ↑ Frost (2000), pp. 25, 77.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Hübner (1998), p. 317.
  6. 1 2 3 Hübner (1998), p. 315.
  7. 1 2 von Adelung (1846), p. 231.
  8. ↑ von Adelung (1846), p. 230.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Hübner (1998), p. 318.
  10. ↑ Hübner (1998), p. 318: "Die herausragende Bedeutung dieses Vertrages, der als ein 'Meilenstein in der europäischen Geschichte' bezeichnet worden ist, lag für den Moskauer Staat aber nicht allein in den Absprachen, sondern ebenso in der Tatsache, daß sich eine europäische Großmacht, ohne daß einer der Vertragspartner durch eine vorherige militärische Auseinandersetzung dazu gezwungen gewesen wäre, zu einem Vertragsabschluß auf der Basis vollständiger Gleichberechtigung bereitfand."
  11. ↑ Hübner (1998), pp. 319 ff.

Bibliography

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