The principality of Jersika ( la, Gerzika, terra Lettia, german: Gerzika, Zargrad, russian: Ерсика, Герцике; also known as ''Лотыголa'') was an early medieval Latgalian principality in eastern modern-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 ...

and one of the largest early states in Latvia before the

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianity and colonialism, Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily ...

. The capital of Jersika was located on a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

southeast of

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

History

Jersika was established in the 10th century as an outpost of the principality of Polotsk on the old " trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks". It was ruled by

Eastern Orthodox Christian Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

princes from the Latgalian- Polotsk branch of the

Rurik Dynasty The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

. In 1209,

Visvaldis Visvaldis (Latin: Vissewalde rex de Gerzika, Russian: Всеволод, Belarusian: Усевалад) was a Latgalian nobleman, Duke of the Principality of Jersika in the 12th-13th centuries. In the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia, he is called ki ...

, the prince of Jersika, was defeated by bishop Albert of Riga and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, and his Lithuanian wife was taken prisoner. He was forced to submit his kingdom to Albert as a grant to the

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

, and received back only a portion of it as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

. He lost lands of Autīne and Cesvaine, but retained Jersika, Mākoņkalns and Naujiene. Visvaldis' feudal charter is the oldest such document surviving in Latvia, and in this charter, Visvaldis is called "the king of Jersika" (''"Vissewalde, rex de Gercike"'', in another document also ''"Wiscewolodus rex de Berzika"''). In 1211, the part of Jersika controlled by Albert which was known as "Lettia" (''"terra, quae Lettia dicitur"'') was divided between the bishopric of Riga and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword.Švābe, A. (1936)
Jersikas karaļvalsts
". ''Senatne un Māksla'', 1936:1, pp. 5–31. (In Latvian, original documents in Latin included) In 1212, Polotsk gave up its tributary rights over Jersika in favor of Bishop Albert. In 1214, Germans attacked the Castle of Jersika and sacked it. Baltic German

Uexküll Uexküll (also Üxküll or Yxkull) is the historic German name of Ikšķile, a town in Latvia. It is also the name of a Baltic-German noble family. Uexküll was originally a Bremen noble family whose lineage can be traced to several places, the ...

family claimed that Conrad Uexküll had married the daughter of

. After the death of Visvaldis in 1239, his fief passed to the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...

, but this was repeatedly contested by the rulers of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...

, who periodically sought to conquer the territory.

References

1239 disestablishments in Europe 13th century in Latvia Former principalities Archaeological sites in Latvia States and territories established in the 10th century Historical regions in Latvia Russians in Latvia Medieval Latvia Subdivisions of Kievan Rus' {{latvia-hist-stub