Battle of Shelon
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The Battle of Shelon (russian: Шелонская битва) was a decisive battle between the forces of 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 ...
under Ivan III (r. 1462–1505) and the army of the
Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...
, which took place on the
Shelon River The Shelon (russian: Шелонь) is a river in the northwest part of European Russia, in Dedovichsky, Porkhovsky, and Dnovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast and Soletsky and Shimsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast. The Shelon is one of the principa ...
on 14 July 1471. Novgorod suffered a major defeat and ended with the ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' unconditional surrender of the city. Novgorod was absorbed by Muscovy in 1478.


Background

The clash between the Muscovy and the Novgorod Republic was a continuation of the conflict between them going back into the late 14th century. This particular episode was caused by Novgorod's violation of the
Treaty of Yazhelbitsy The Treaty of Yazhelbitsy (russian: Яжелбицкий мирный договор) was a peace treaty signed by Vasili II, Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir, and the government of Novgorod the Great in the village of Yazhelbitsy in February ...
(1456) signed between Grand Prince Vasily II and the Novgorodian delegation headed by Archbishop Evfimy II. In particular, the treaty limited Novgorod's ability to conduct its own foreign affairs and gave the Grand Prince of Moscow more control over the city (he controlled the city's seals and became the court of higher instance for the Novgorodian courts). When the Novgorodians turned to Poland–Lithuania for help in limiting Moscow's growing power, Ivan III and the metropolitan accused them not only of political treachery, but of attempting to abandon
Eastern Orthodoxy 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 " canonic ...
and go over to the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
. A draft treaty between Novgorod and the
Grand Duke 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— Ho ...
and
King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...
,
Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...
(r. 1440–1492), said to have been found in a cache of documents after the battle of Shelon, made it clear that the Lithuanian Grand Prince was not to interfere with the election of the
archbishop of Novgorod The Diocese of Novgorod (russian: Новгородская епархия) is one of the oldest offices in the Russian Orthodox Church. The medieval archbishops of Novgorod were among the most important figures in medieval Russian history and cul ...
or the Orthodox faith in the city (by building Catholic churches in the city for example.)


The Battle

The battle took place in the morning of 14 July on the left bank of the Shelon River, which flows into Lake Ilmen southwest of
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 ...
. It is believed to have taken place about 30 km from the mouth of the river and just to the east of the town of
Soltsy Soltsy (russian: Сольцы́) is a town and the administrative center of Soletsky District in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Shelon River, southwest of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Populat ...
, possibly, near the village of Skirino. The location indicates that the Muscovite army was advancing on Novgorod along the western shore of the lake to come up on the city from the southwest. After an accidental encounter of the Muscovite forces (around 5,000 men) under the command of Prince Daniel Kholmsky ( Daniel of Kholm) with the army of Novgorod (20,000 to 40,000 men), the badly organized army of Novgorod was not able to withstand the pressure of the princely forces. Indeed, the '' Novgorodian Fourth Chronicle'' reports that Feofil, Archbishop-Elect of Novgorod, ordered his cavalry to not attack the Muscovites, but only the Pskovian forces, thus limiting their room to maneuver. The Battle of Shelon lasted for two hours and ended with Novgorod's defeat. According to Muscovite sources, more than 12,000 Novgorodians were killed during the battle and the subsequent pursuit. Some 2,000 men were taken
prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
. It is, however, difficult to say how accurate these figures are as the size of the Novgorodian army at this time are almost impossible to determine, and the number seems quite high given that the city of Novgorod itself probably had a population of only about 40,000 people, although the army could have been drawn from the rural population as well. That being said, the numbers may have been inflated to add to the Grand Prince's prestige and cast Novgorod in an even worse light.


Aftermath

On 24 July Ivan III executed the Novgorodian commander, Dmitry Isaakovich Boretsky, one of the Boretsky clan which, led by
Marfa Boretskaya Marfa Boretskaya, also known as Martha the Mayoress (russian: Марфа Посадница - Marfa Posadnitsa), was the wife of Isaac Boretsky, Novgorod's posadnik in 1438–1439 and again in 1453. According to legend and historical traditi ...
, had championed the city's
opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...
to Moscow. In the longer term, the defeat at Shelon severely weakened the Novgorodian Republic. According to some sources, Ivan III confiscated significant amounts of land from the archiepiscopal administration and several of the largest monasteries immediately after the battle (although most sources date these confiscations to 1478), thus weakening the independence of the Novgorodian church. He also returned to the city several times in the 1470s and arrested important boyars or entire boyar clans. However, he only took direct control of the city-state in January 1478 after further strained relations with Archbishop Feofil and Novgorodian boyars led him to send his armies against the city in the winter of 1477–1478.Paul, "Secular Power," 257-269.


References


External links


A Russian description of the battle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Shelon 1471 in Europe
Shelon The Shelon (russian: Шелонь) is a river in the northwest part of European Russia, in Dedovichsky, Porkhovsky, and Dnovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast and Soletsky and Shimsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast. The Shelon is one of the princip ...
15th century in the Grand Duchy of Moscow
Shelon The Shelon (russian: Шелонь) is a river in the northwest part of European Russia, in Dedovichsky, Porkhovsky, and Dnovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast and Soletsky and Shimsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast. The Shelon is one of the princip ...
Shelon The Shelon (russian: Шелонь) is a river in the northwest part of European Russia, in Dedovichsky, Porkhovsky, and Dnovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast and Soletsky and Shimsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast. The Shelon is one of the princip ...
15th-century military history of Russia