The Battle of Aizkraukle or Ascheraden was fought on 5 March 1279 between the

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 Li ...

, led by

Traidenis Traidenis ( pl, Trojden, be, Трайдзень) (died 1282) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1270 (or 1269) until 1282. He is the second most prominent, after Mindaugas, Grand Duke of Lithuania in the 13th century. His reign ended a seven-y ...

, and the Livonian branch of the

Teutonic Order 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 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

near

Aizkraukle Aizkraukle (german: Ascheraden) is a town in Vidzeme region in Latvia, the administrative centre of Aizkraukle Municipality on the right bank of the Daugava River. The population in 2020 was 7,018. History In the second half of the 14th century ...

(german: Ascheraden) in present-day

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. The order suffered a great defeat: 71 knights, including the grand master, Ernst von Rassburg, and Eilart Hoberg, leader of the knights from

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, were killed. It was the second-largest defeat of the order in the 13th century. After the battle Duke

Nameisis {{Infobox monarch , name = Nameisis , title = Duke of Semigallia , image = , caption = Nameisis by Artūras Slapšys (2013) , reign = 1270s – 1281 , coronation = , predecessor = , success ...

of the

Semigallians Semigallians ( Latvian ''Zemgaļi''; lt, Žiemgaliai, also ''Zemgalians, Semigalls, Semigalians'') were the Baltic tribe that lived in the southcentral part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania. They are noted for their long resistance ...

recognized Traidenis as his

suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is calle ...

Background

In 1273 the order built

Dinaburga Castle Dinaburga Castle (German: Dünaburg), also known as ''Vecdaugavpils'' or ''Vecpils'', is a castle located in Naujene Parish, Augšdaugava Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia, east of Daugavpils. It is strategically situated on a hi ...

on lands nominally controlled by Traidenis. The castle was of great strategic importance: it was used as a base for raids into central Lithuania in hopes that a weakened Traidenis would discontinue his support of Semigalians who rebelled against the order. Traidenis besieged the castle for a month but failed to capture it. Historiography often claims that the order started the campaign into Lithuania in retaliation for the siege. However, newer research by

Edvardas Gudavičius Edvardas Gudavičius (6 September 1929 – 27 January 2020) was a Lithuanian historian. He was known as one of the best historians in Lithuania specializing in the early history of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1953, he graduated from Kaunas P ...

and Artūras Dudonis deny a direct cause and effect relationship between the siege and the campaign, as the siege is dated 1274. They claim that the campaign was a result of a broken peace treaty between Lithuania and Livonia. The peace was concluded so that Traidenis could concentrate on his war with Galicia–Volhynia. Livonia and Lithuania also competed for trade along the

Daugava River , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic S ...

and for influence in the

Principality of Polotsk The Principality of Polotsk ( be, По́лацкае кня́ства, ''Polackaje kniastva''; la, Polocensis Ducatus), also known as the Duchy of Polotsk or Polotskian Rus', was a medieval principality of the Early East Slavs. The origin and ...

Campaign and battle

The Livonian campaign, which opened in February 1279, involved a '' chevauchée'' into Lithuanian territory. The Livonian army included men from the Livonian Order,

Archbishopric of Riga The Archbishopric of Riga ( la, Archiepiscopatus Rigensis, nds, Erzbisdom Riga) was an archbishopric in Terra Mariana, Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as the bishopric of Livonia at Ikšķile, then after ...

, and local Curonian and Semigallian tribes. At the time of the campaign, Lithuania suffered a famine and Traidenis' brother Sirputis raided Polish lands around

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

. The Livonian army reached as far as

Kernavė Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site (population 272, 2011). It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania. A Lithuania ...

, the center of the Grand Duke's lands. They did not meet any open resistance and plundered many villages. On their way home the knights were followed by a small force of Traidenis' troops. When the enemies approached Aizkraukle, the Grand Master sent most of the local warriors home with their share of loot. At that point the Lithuanians attacked. The Semigallians were one of the first to retreat from the battlefield and the Lithuanians achieved a decisive victory.

Aftermath

The order lost its achievements over six preceding years: the Semigallians rebelled once again and submitted to Traidenis for protection. However, Traidenis died ca. 1282 and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was unable to reap all the benefits. The order decided to elect one grand master with 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 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

so that any future attacks would be carried out simultaneously from the west and north.

References

{{authority control Aizkraukle Aizkraukle 1279 1279 in Europe 13th century in Lithuania Aizkraukle 1279 Aizkraukle 1279 Battles in Latvia 13th century in Latvia