The Battle of Olshanitsa was fought on January 27, 1527 between the armies of 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 ...

and

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...

. It was the last large raid into the Grand Duchy. It was also the last large victory of the

Great Hetman Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

Konstanty Ostrogski Konstanty Iwanowicz Ostrogski (c. 1460 – 10 August 1530; lt, Konstantinas Ostrogiškis; uk, Костянтин Іванович Острозький, translit=Kostiantyn Ivanovych Ostrozkyi; be, Канстантын Іванавіч Ас� ...

before his death in 1530. In 1524,

İslâm I Giray İslâm I Giray (?–1537) was for five months 1532 Khan of the Crimean Khanate. He was preceded and followed his uncles Saadet I Girai (1524–1532) and Sahib I Giray (1532–1551). His father was Mehmed I Giray (1515–1523). Islam spent most ...

, son of

Mehmed I Giray Mehmed I Giray (1465–1523, reigned 1515–1523) was khan of the Crimean Khanate. He was preceded by his father Meñli I Giray (r. 1478–1515) and followed by his son Ğazı I Giray (1523–1524). He gained control of the steppe nomads, put his ...

, raided Poland–Lithuania and upon return started an open war for the throne with his uncle and new Khan

Saadet I Giray Saadet I Giray (1492–1538) was Khan of the Crimean Khanate (reigned 1524–1532). He was pro- Ottoman and a competent ruler. He followed Ğazı I Giray (1523–24) and was followed by İslâm I Giray (1532). Service in Turkey (1512–1524) He ...

. The parties reconciled in 1526 and the Khanate launched a large raid into

Polesia Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (present-day northern Ukraine and southern Belarus) in December 1526. The Lithuanian-Ruthenian army, commanded by Konstanty Ostrogski, pursued the invaders and soundly defeated them at Olshanitsa (Ольшаниця), a village south of

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. Remaining Tatars were defeated by

Ostap Dashkevych Ostap Dashkevych (Ukrainian: Остап Дашкевич; born in Ovruch – died after 1535) is considered to be the first recorded leader of a Cossack defense force (according to Dmitri Bantysh-Kamensky, Dmytro Doroshenko, and others). However ...

and Yuri Olelkovich near

Kaniv Kaniv ( uk, Канів, ) city located in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. The city rests on the Dnieper River, and is also one of the main inland river ports on the Dnieper. It hosts the administration of Kaniv urb ...

and

Cherkasy Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the Capital city, capital of Cherkasy Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (Raion, district) within the oblast. The c ...

. After the battle, the GDL released Khan

Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Ahmed (died 1529) was the last Khan of the Great Horde, a remnant of the Golden Horde. Life He was one of the three sons of Ahmed Khan bin Küchük, the man who lost Russia in 1480. After the assassination of Ahmed Khan in 1481, his s ...

, the deposed Khan of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

, who was imprisoned for more than twenty years. Sheikh Ahmed, an enemy of the Crimean Khanate, was used by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a bargaining chip in negotiations against the

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

. After these events both Saadet I Giray and İslâm I Giray sent letters to

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...

of Poland–Lithuania offering peace and an alliance against the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

. The plans, however, were interrupted by renewed internal disagreements within the Crimean Khanate. The battle was described by Justus Ludwik Decjusz in ''Sendbrief von der grossen Schlacht''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olshanitsa Conflicts in 1527 Battles involving the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Battles involving the Crimean Khanate Military history of Ukraine