Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13–15th centuries

Position of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Northern and Eastern Europe until 1434.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th^[1]–13th century until 1569. Then it became a constituent part of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when the Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of a unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija.^[2][3][4] The duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other Slavic lands, covering the territory of present-day Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and parts of Estonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. At its greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe.^[5] It was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage.

Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century. Mindaugas, the first ruler of Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the religious crusade by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the late reign of Gediminas^[6] and continued to expand under his son Algirdas.^[7] Algirdas's successor Jogaila signed the Union of Kreva in 1386, bringing two major changes in the history of Grand Duchy of Lithuania: conversion into Catholicism and establishment of a dynastic union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.^[8]

The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. It also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. After Vytautas's death, Lithuania's relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated.^[9] Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radziwiłłs, attempted to break the personal union with Poland.^[10] However, the unsuccessful Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact. Eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had a separate government, laws, army, and treasury ^[11] But this federation was terminated by the passing of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, and since then there was supposed to be but a single country - Respublica Poloniae- under one monarch and one parliament. The newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792, and partitioned between the neighbours, with a truncated state (principal cities being Kraków, Warsaw and Vilnius) remaining only nominally independent; and after the Kościuszko Uprising, partitioned among the Russian Empire, Prussia and Austria in 1795.

Names[link]

According to the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania the complete name of the state is Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Rus and Samogitia (Ruthenian: Великого князства Литовского, Руского, Жомойтского и иных).^[12] The title of "Grand Duchy" was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward.^[13]

In other languages, the Grand Duchy is referred to as:

• Belarusian: Вялікае Княства Літоўскае, Рускае, Жамойцкае
• German: Großfürstentum Litauen
• Estonian: Leedu Suurvürstiriik
• Latin: Magnus Ducatus Lituaniae
• Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė
• Old literary Lithuanian: Didi Kunigiste Letuvos^{[citation needed]}
• Latvian: Lietuvas Lielkunigaitija or Lietuvas Lielkņaziste
• Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie
• Ruthenian: Великое князство Литовское, Руское, Жомойтское и иных
• Russian: Великое княжество Литовское, Русcкое, Жомойтское и иных
• Ukrainian: Велике Князівство Литовське, Руське і Жемайтійське

History[link]

Establishment of the state[link]

Balts in the 12th century

The first written reference to Lithuania is found in the Quedlinburg Chronicle, which dates from 1009.^[14] In the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by the Rus'. At first pagan Lithuanians paid tribute to Polotsk, but soon grew in strength and organized their own small-scale raids. At some point between 1180 and 1183 the situation began to change, and the Lithuanians started to organize sustainable military raids on the Slavic provinces, raiding the Principality of Polotsk as well as Pskov, and even threatening Novgorod.^[15] The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija.^[1]

The Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights, crusading military orders, were established in Riga in 1202 and in Prussia in 1226. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes and further galvanized the formation of the state. The peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of cooperation between Lithuanians and Samogitians. This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes, including five senior Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija (Živinbudas, Daujotas, Vilikaila, Dausprungas and Mindaugas) and several dukes from Samogitia. Although they had battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Samogitians now faced a common enemy.^[16] Likely Živinbudas had most authority^[15] and at least several dukes were from the same families.^[17] The formal acknowledgment of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state.

Kingdom of Lithuania[link]

History of Lithuania
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Prehistory
Baltic tribes
Lithuania proper
Middle ages
Grand Duchy of Lithuania (ca. 1200-1569)
History of Lithuania (1219–1295)
Kingdom of Lithuania (1251-1263)
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795)
Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Modern
Part of Russian Empire (1795–1917)
Lithuanian Wars of Independence (1918, 1919, 1920)
Lithuanian–Soviet War (1918-1919)
Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940)
Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1940)
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1940–1990)
Republic of Lithuania (1990–present)
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Name of Lithuania Coat of arms of Lithuania
List of early Lithuanian dukes List of rulers of Lithuania
Lithuania Portal v t e

Lithuanian ancient hill fort mounds in Kernavė, now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ruins of Navahrudak Castle. Current state.

Mindaugas, duke^[18] of southern Lithuania,^[19] was among the five senior dukes, mentioned in the treaty with Galicia–Volhynia. According to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, by mid-1230s Mindaugas acquired supreme power in the whole of Lithuania.^[20] In 1236, the Samogitians, led by Vykintas, defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Saule. The Order was forced to become a branch of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. That meant that Samogitia, a strip of land that separated Livonia from Prussia, became the main target of both orders. The battle provided a break in the wars with the Knights and Lithuania exploited this situation, arranging attacks towards the Ruthenian provinces and annexing Navahrudak and Hrodna.^[20]

In 1248 a civil war broke out between Mindaugas and his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas. The powerful coalition against Mindaugas included Vykintas, the Livonian Order, Daniel of Galicia, and Vasilko of Volhynia. Mindaugas, taking advantage of internal conflicts, allied with the Livonian Order. He promised to convert to Christianity and gift some lands in western Lithuania in exchange for military assistance against his nephews and the royal crown. In 1251 Mindaugas was baptized and Pope Innocent IV issued a papal bull, proclaiming the creation of the Kingdom of Lithuania. After the civil war ended, Mindaugas was crowned as King of Lithuania on July 6, 1253, starting a decade of relative peace. Mindaugas tried to expand his influence in Polatsk, a major center of commerce in the Daugava River basin, and Pinsk.^[20] The Teutonic Knights used this period to strengthen its position in parts of Samogitia and Livonia, but lost the Battle of Skuodas in 1259 and the Battle of Durbe in 1260. These losses encouraged conquered Semigallians and Prussians to rebel against the Knights.

Encouraged by Treniota, Mindaugas broke the peace with the Order, possibly relapsed into his old beliefs, and allied with Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. He hoped to unite all Baltic tribes under the Lithuanian leadership. As military campaigns were not successful, the relationships between Mindaugas and Treniota deteriorated. Treniota together with Daumantas assassinated Mindaugas and his two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, in 1263.^[21] The state lapsed into years of internal fights.

Rise of the Gediminids[link]

The ruins of the Kaunas Castle

Trakai Island Castle

From 1263 to 1269, Lithuania had three Grand Dukes – Treniota, Vaišvilkas, and Svarn. However, the state did not disintegrate and Traidenis came to power in 1269. He strengthened Lithuanian control in Black Ruthenia and fought with the Livonian Order, winning the Battle of Karuse in 1270 and the Battle of Aizkraukle in 1279. There is considerable uncertainty about the identities of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania between Traidenis' death in 1282 and Vytenis' assumption of power in 1295. During this time the Orders finalized their conquests. In 1274 the Great Prussian Rebellion ended, and the Teutonic Knights proceeded to conquer other Baltic tribes: the Nadruvians and Skalvians in 1274–1277, and the Yotvingians in 1283; the Livonian Order completed its conquest of Semigalia, the last Baltic ally of Lithuania, in 1291.^[22] The Orders could now turn their full attention to Lithuania. The "buffer zone" composed of other Baltic tribes had disappeared, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania was left to battle the Orders on its own.

Gediminids dynasty has ruled Grand Duchy of Lithuania for several centuries, and Vytenis was the first ruler from the dynasty.^[23] His reign saw constant warfare with the Order, the Kingdom of Poland, and Ruthenia. Vytenis was involved in succession disputes in Poland, supporting Boleslaus II of Masovia, who was married to a Lithuanian duchess Gaudemunda. In Ruthenia, Vytenis managed to recapture lands lost after the assassination of Mindaugas and capture the principalities of Pinsk and Turaŭ. In the struggle against the Order, Vytenis allied with citizens of Riga. Securing positions in Riga strengthened trade routes and provided a base for further military campaigns towards. Around 1307, Polotsk, an important trading center, was annexed by military force.^[24] Vytenis also began the construction of defensive castle network along the Neman River. Gradually this network developed into the main defensive line against the Teutonic Order.

Territorial expansion[link]

History of Belarus
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Early East Slavs
Principality of Polotsk
Kievan Rus'
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Russian Empire
Belarusian People’s Republic
Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia
West Belarus
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
Modern Belarus
Belarus Portal v t e

Gediminas Tower in Vilnius

Mir Castle

The expansion reached its heights under Gediminas, who created a strong central government and established an empire, which later spread from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea. In 1320, most of the principalities of Western Rus' were either vassaled or annexed by Lithuania. In 1321 Gediminas captured Kiev sending Stanislav, the last Rurikid to ever rule Kiev, into exile. Gediminas also re-established the permanent capital of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Vilnius^{[citation needed]}, which was presumably moved from Trakai in 1323. Some researches, including 16th century Maciej Stryjkowski^[25] claim that Navahrudak was the capital of the 13th century state.

Lithuania was in an ideal position to inherit the western and the southern parts of Kievan Rus'. While almost every other state around it had been plundered or defeated by the Mongols, their hordes stopped at the modern borders of Belarus and most of the territory of Grand Duchy of Lithuania was left untouched. The expansion of Lithuania was also accelerated because of the weak control the Mongols had over the areas they had conquered. Rus' principalities were never incorporated directly into the Golden Horde. Instead, they were always vassal states with a fair degree of independence. The rise of Lithuania occurred at the ideal time when they could expand while meeting very little resistance in the territories populated by East Slavs and only limited opposition from the Mongols. At the Battle at Blue Waters (1362) regiments of the United army of Grand Duchy defeated the army of the Golden Horde.^[26] The battle took place almost 20 years before the infamous Battle at Kulikovo Field.

But Grand Duchy of Lithuania was not built only on military aggression, as its existence always^[when?] depended on diplomacy just as much as on arms.^{[citation needed]} Most, while not all, cities it annexed were never defeated in battle but agreed to be vassals of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since most of them were already vassals of the Golden Horde or of the Grand Prince of Moscow, such a decision was not one of giving up independence but rather of exchanging one master for another. This can be seen in the case of Novgorod, which was often brought into the Lithuanian sphere of influence and became an occasional dependency of Grand Duchy of Lithuania.^[27] Rather, Lithuanian control was the result of internal frictions within the city, which attempted to escape submission to Muscovy. This method of building the state was, however, unstable. The change of internal politics within a city could pull it out of Lithuania's control, as happened on a number of occasions with Novgorod and other East-Slavic cities.

Union with Poland[link]