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Vykintas
200 px, Monument to Duke Vykintas in Tverai Vykintas (died ) was Duke of Samogitia and a rival to the future King of Lithuania, Mindaugas. In 1236 he probably led the Samogitian forces in the Battle of Saule against the Livonian Order. The Order suffered a great defeat and was near the brink of collapse, forcing it to become a branch of the Teutonic Knights. In 1248 Mindaugas sent Vykintas, Tautvilas, and Edivydas on a military campaign against Smolensk. They were unsuccessful and Mindaugas tried to deprive them of their estates. The three men then organized a vast coalition against Mindaugas which included Tautvilas' brother-in-law Daniel of Halych, the Livonian Order, and the Samogitians. The dukes of Halych-Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia, an area ruled by Vaišvilkas. In 1250, the Livonian Order organized two major raids, one against the Nalšia lands and the other against the domains of Mindaugas and those parts of Samogitia that still supported hi ...
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Vykintas
200 px, Monument to Duke Vykintas in Tverai Vykintas (died ) was Duke of Samogitia and a rival to the future King of Lithuania, Mindaugas. In 1236 he probably led the Samogitian forces in the Battle of Saule against the Livonian Order. The Order suffered a great defeat and was near the brink of collapse, forcing it to become a branch of the Teutonic Knights. In 1248 Mindaugas sent Vykintas, Tautvilas, and Edivydas on a military campaign against Smolensk. They were unsuccessful and Mindaugas tried to deprive them of their estates. The three men then organized a vast coalition against Mindaugas which included Tautvilas' brother-in-law Daniel of Halych, the Livonian Order, and the Samogitians. The dukes of Halych-Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia, an area ruled by Vaišvilkas. In 1250, the Livonian Order organized two major raids, one against the Nalšia lands and the other against the domains of Mindaugas and those parts of Samogitia that still supported hi ...
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Mindaugas
Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians. The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast of Lithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251, during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptised as a Roman Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian Order, a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians. During the summer of 1253 he was crowned King of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects. While Mindaugas's ten-year reign as king was marked by many state-building acco ...
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House Of Mindaugas
The House of Mindaugas was the first royal family of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, centered on Mindaugas, the first known and undoubted sovereign of Lithuania. He was crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253 and assassinated ten years later. His known family relations end with children; there is no data on his great-grandchildren or any relations with the Gediminids, a dynasty of sovereigns of Lithuania and Poland that started with Butigeidis ca. 1285 and ended with Sigismund II Augustus in 1572. Historians have to make considerable assumptions trying to reconstruct the full family tree because of extremely scarce written sources about the early history of Lithuania. The matter is further complicated by the 16–17th century genealogies, most famously the Bychowiec Chronicle, that mixed legends and facts into one. The legends about Palemonids, a noble family from the Roman Empire who settled in Lithuania and gave rise to the Duchy, are quite popular and widespread in these genealogies. ...
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List Of Early Lithuanian Dukes
Early dukes of Lithuania (including Samogitia) reigned before Lithuanians were unified by Mindaugas into a state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While the Palemonids legend provides genealogy from the 10th century, only few dukes were mentioned by contemporary historical sources. All of them were mentioned in written sources the 13th century. Data about them is extremely scarce and is usually limited to few brief sentences. The primary sources are the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia and Hypatian Codex. Rulers recorded in historical sources * Žvelgaitis (Svelgates) – earliest known duke. In 1205, he attacked Riga and was killed in the battle, led by ruler of Semigallia, Vester. * Daugirutis (Dangerutis, Dangeruthe) – Livonians imprisoned this Lithuanian duke in 1213, where he killed himself. * Stekšys (Stakys, Steksė) – another powerful duke, killed in 1214 near Lielvārde. *Father of Mindaugas – several sources mention that he was a powerful duke, but do not give his nam ...
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Tautvilas
Tautvilas (or Tautvila; died 1263) was Duke of Polotsk and one of Dausprungas' sons and nephews of King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Tautvilas together with his brother Gedvydas and uncle Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. The war resulted in Mindaugas' coronation. In 1248, Mindaugas sent Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas to conquer Smolensk promising that they could keep what they would conquer. On the Protva River they defeated the Duke of Moscow but lost to the Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal. After discovering about the failure, Mindaugas took their land and property for himself. At the beginning of 1249, Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas fled to Daniel of Galicia, who was married to Tautvilas' sister. They formed a powerful coalition with the Samogitians, the Livonian Order, and Vasilko of Volhynia in opposition to Mindaugas. An internal war erupted. While Daniel and the Livonian Order were organizing military campaigns into Mindaugas lands, Tautvilas travelled to Riga, whe ...
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Edivydas
Gedvydas (or Edivid) (believed to have died ca. 1253) was one of the sons of Dausprungas and nephews of King of Lithuania Mindaugas. Gedvydas together with his brother Tautvilas and uncle Vykintas waged a civil war against Mindaugas. Gedvydas' brother and uncle were more active and Gedvydas played just a secondary role in the conflict. The war resulted in coronation of Mindaugas. In 1248, Mindaugas sent Tautvilas, Gedvydas, and Vykintas to conquer Smolensk promising that they could keep what they would conquer. On the Protva River they defeated Duke of Moscow but near Zubtsov lost to the Duke of Vladimir-Suzdal. After discovering about the failure, Mindaugas took their land and property for himself. At the beginning of 1249, Tautvilas, Gedvydas, and Vykintas fled to Daniel of Halych, who was married to Gedvydas' sister. They formed a powerful coalition with the Samogitians, the Livonian Order, and Vasilko of Volhynia in opposition to Mindaugas. An internal war erupted. Daniel and th ...
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Tverai
Tverai ( sgs, Tverā) is a small town in Rietavas municipality, Lithuania. It is situated on Aitra River, tributary to Jūra, about 17 km east from Rietavas and 14 km from Varniai. Tverai, with population of about 560, is a capital of an elderate. History Tverai is identified with Tviriment Castle, mentioned in 1251 by the Hypatian Codex. The castle was the fortress where Vykintas, Duke of Samogitia and victorious leader of the Battle of Saule, defended himself against Mindaugas, crowned as King of Lithuania in 1253, during a civil war for power in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit .... Vykintas was defeated and Mindaugas became the undisputeded monarch. During World War II, a group of Jews were murdered in summer and fall ...
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Battle Of Saule
The Battle of Saule ( lt, Saulės mūšis / Šiaulių mūšis; german: Schlacht von Schaulen; lv, Saules kauja) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands. The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic Military order (society), military order established in the Balts, Baltic lands, was soundly defeated and its remnants accepted incorporation into the Teutonic Order in 1237. The battle inspired rebellions among the Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, Oeselians, tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers. Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of Daugava River, Daugava were lost. To commemorate the battle, in 2000 the Seimas, Lithuanian and Saeima, Latvian parliaments declared 22 September to be the Baltic Unity Day. Background ...
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King Of Lithuania
The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House of Mindaugas, House of Gediminas, and House of Jagiellon. Despite this, the one and only King of Lithuania who has ever been crowned was King Mindaugas I, although there were two more instances of royal nobles who were not officially crowned due to unfortunate political circumstances, but ''de jure'' received recognition abroad as kings of Lithuania from the pope or the Holy Roman emperor—Vytautas the Great by Sigismund of LuxembourgNadveckė, Ineta (6 July 2019Trys Lietuvos karaliai: vienas tikras, vienas nelabai ir vienas beveik'' LRT''. and Mindaugas II by Pope Benedict XV, respectively. Others were seen as kings of Lithuania even though they had only considered it and never took further action to claim the throne, as in the case o ...
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Dausprungas
Dausprungas (also ''Dovsprunk'' in Russian sources, died before 1238) was the older brother of Mindaugas, the first King of Lithuania. Dausprungas is mentioned in the peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia in 1219 among the 21 early dukes of Lithuania as one of the five elder dukes, the other four being Živinbudas, Daujotas, Mindaugas and Viligaila (Daujotas' brother). Since Dausprungas is the only known brother of Mindaugas, Mindaugas' nephews Edivydas and Tautvilas are presumed to be his sons. If that is true, then Dausprungas is father-in-law of Daniel of Halych and he was also married to Vykintas' sister. Because it is known that Mindaugas used to kill his relatives to gain power and because Dausprungas is not mentioned in any other sources, some imply that he was killed by Mindaugas, but others rebut since his sons still ruled their lands in 1248. See also * House of Mindaugas – family tree of Dausprungas *Palemonids The Palemonids were a legendary dynasty of Grand ...
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Voruta
Voruta may have been the capital city of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Lithuania during the reign of king Mindaugas in the 13th century. Voruta is mentioned briefly in a written source only once and its exact location is unknown. Despite all the uncertainties, the concept of Voruta is well-known and popular in Lithuania. Historiography Mindaugas, the first and the only crowned Lithuanian king, defended himself in Voruta during an internal war against his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas and Duke of Samogitia Vykintas in 1251. This information, taken from the Hypatian Chronicle, is the only recorded message about Voruta. A castle of Mindaugas was mentioned on two more occasions, but neither its name nor location was specified. It is unclear whether these brief mentions referred to the same location. Nevertheless, some historians in 19th and 20th centuries called it "the first capital of Lithuania" and attempted to identify its location. In total there were about fif ...
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Nalšia
Nalšia or Nalšėnai (sometimes Nalsen, Nalse) was an ancient land (regional duchy, a subject of Polatsk) in the early stages of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. The references to it cease as it was fully incorporated into the Grand Duchy. While it is known that it was on the north-eastern border of Lithuania proper, the exact location is unknown and is debated among historians. It is believed that Nalšia was between Livonia and the Duchy of Lithuania and bordered Deltuva. Towns of Švenčionys and Utena are often identified as the most prominent settlements in the land. Several dukes of Nalšia are known. The most prominent of them was Daumantas of Pskov. Others were Lengvenis, nephew of Mindaugas, Suksė (Suxe), who defected to the Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society ...
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