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Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384)
The Lithuanian Civil War of 1381–1384 was the first struggle for power between the cousins Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania and later King of Poland, and Vytautas the Great. It began after Jogaila signed the Treaty of Dovydiškės with the Teutonic Knights which was aimed against his uncle Kęstutis, father of Vytautas. Kęstutis briefly seized power in the Grand Duchy, but was betrayed by adherents of Jogaila primarily from Vilnius. During negotiations for a truce Kęstutis and Vytautas were arrested and transported to the Kreva Castle. Kęstutis died there a week later but Vytautas managed to escape and then sought an alliance with the Teutonic Knights. Subsequently their joint forces raided Lithuanian lands. Eventually the cousins were reconciled as Jogaila needed internal stability in anticipation of negotiations with the Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385), Kingdom of Poland regarding the possible Christianization of Lithuania. The war did not settl ...
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Treaty Of Dovydiškės
The Treaty of Dovydiškės (; ), Daudiske, or Daudisken was a secret treaty signed on 31 May 1380 between Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Winrich von Kniprode, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. The treaty was directed against Jogaila's uncle Kęstutis and its effect was to precipitate the Lithuanian Civil War (1381–1384). Background The treaty was signed soon after Grand Duke Algirdas' death in 1377. Algirdas named his son Jogaila as his successor and not Kęstutis, his brother and co-ruler. Kęstutis and his son Vytautas acknowledged Jogaila's title and maintained friendly relations with him even when his right of inheritance was challenged by Andrei of Polotsk, Algirdas' eldest son. The Teutonic Knights continued their crusade against pagan Lithuania. A large campaign was organized in winter of 1378. Teutons reached Brest and as far as the Pripyat River. The Livonian Order raided Upytė. Another campaign threatened the capital in Vilnius. Kęstutis offer ...
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Grand Duchy Of Moscow
The Grand Principality of Moscow, or Muscovy, known as the Principality of Moscow until 1389, was a late medieval Russian monarchy. Its capital was the city of Moscow. Originally established as a minor principality in the 13th century, the grand principality was transformed into a centralized Russian state in the late 15th century. Moscow became a separate principality when Daniel of Moscow, Daniel (), the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky, received the city and surrounding area as an appanage. By the end of the 13th century, Moscow had become one of the leading principalities within the Vladimir-Suzdal, Vladimir grand principality, alongside Principality of Tver, Tver. A struggle between the princes of Moscow and Tver began after Mikhail of Tver became Grand Prince of Vladimir, grand prince in 1304. Yury of Moscow, Yury () contested the title and was later made grand prince in 1318 by the Khan (title), khan of the Golden Horde, who held suzerainty over the princes. However, Yu ...
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Upytė
Upytė is a small village in Panevėžys district municipality in northern Lithuania. It is situated some 12 km southwest of Panevėžys on the banks of Vešeta Creek. It is now the capital of an elderate. In 1987 it had 580 residents. In the Lithuanian language, Upytė is a diminutive form of the word ''upė'', which means river. In 2004 Upytė celebrated its 750th anniversary by holding a conference ''Upytė Land: History and Culture''. Upytė linen museum is located in Stultiškiai. History The name Upytė was first mentioned in 1254 in a Livonian chronicle dealing with the divisions of the Upmala region. Upytė had a wooden castle built on an island which later became a hillfort when Lake Vešeta was drained. The castle was an important northern defence post against numerous incursions of the Livonian Order. Between 1353 and 1379 alone, it repelled ten such attacks. The castle was further expanded and fortified in the 15th century, when it served as the seat of the St ...
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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 their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Saule, Battle of Schaulen (Saule). They were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237. In the summer of that year, the Master of Prussia Hermann Balk rode into Riga to install his men as castle commanders and administrators of Livonia. In 1238, the Teutonic Knights of Livonia signed the Treaty of Stensby with the Denmark, Kingdom of Denmark. Under this agreement, Denmark would support the expansion ambitions of the order in exchange for northern maritime Estonia. In 1242, the Livonian Order tried to take the city of Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod. However, they were defeated by Alexander Nevsky in the Battle on the Ice. Fortresses as Paide in land c ...
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Pripyat River
The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in his etymological dictionary that the historical name of the river mentioned in the earliest East Slavic document, the '' Primary Chronicle'', is ''Pripet (), and cites the opinion of other linguists that the name meant "tributary", comparing with Greek and Latin roots. He also rejects some opinions which were improperly based on the stem ''-pjat'', rather than original . The name may also derive from the local word ''pripech'' used for a river with sandy banks. Geography The Pripyat begins in the Volhynian Upland, between the villages of and in Volyn Oblast, Ukraine. 204 km downstream, it crosses the border of Belarus, where it travels 500 km through Polesia, Europe's largest wilderness, within which lie the vast sandy wetl ...
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Brest, Belarus
Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug (river), Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the administrative center of Brest Region and Brest District, though it is administratively separated from the district. it has a population of 346,061. Brest is one of the oldest cities in Belarus and a historical site for many cultures, as it hosted important historical events, such as the Union of Brest and Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Furthermore, the Brest Fortress was recognized by the Soviet Union as a Hero Fortress in honour of the defense of Brest Fortress in June 1941. In the High Middle Ages, the city often passed between Poland, the principalities of Kievan Rus', and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. From the Late Middle Ages, the city was part of Lithuania, which later became a part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569. ...
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Maria Of Vitebsk
Maria of Vitebsk (died before 1349) was the first wife of Algirdas, future Grand Duke of Lithuania (marriage took place around 1318). Life Very little is known about her life. The only child of a Russian prince Yaroslav, Maria was the only heir to the Principality of Vitebsk. After her father's death , Vitebsk fell permanently under control of Algirdas and other Gediminids. Maria gave birth to five sons, all of whom grew up while Algirdas was still only a regional duke in Christianized lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All five sons were baptized in Orthodox rite and ruled Russian lands giving rise to prominent clans of Russian dukes (Trubetskoy family from Demetrius I Starshy, Czartoryski family from Constantine, Sanguszko family from Fiodor, Belsky and Olelkovich families from Vladimir). After Maria's death, Algirdas married another Russian princess, Uliana of Tver Uliana Aleksandrovna ( – 17 March 1391) was a grand duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of ...
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Andrei Of Polotsk
Andrei of Polotsk (; ; ; – 12 August 1399) was the eldest son of Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his first wife Maria of Vitebsk. He was the Prince of Pskov (through his deputy Yuri, 1342–1348) and Polotsk (1342–1387). As the eldest son of the Grand Duke, Andrei claimed his right to the throne after his father's death in 1377. Algirdas left Jogaila, his eldest son with his second wife Uliana of Tver, as the rightful heir. Andrei's rivalry with Jogaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania and later King of Poland, eventually led to his demise. Prince of Pskov and Polotsk In 1342, Andrei joined his father Algirdas and uncle Kęstutis in a war against the Livonian Order to help the Pskov Republic. The Republic asked him to stay as a prince of Pskov so that his presence would guarantee continuous support from Algirdas. Andrei accepted and was baptized in Orthodox rite (his pagan name is unknown).The Bychowiec Chronicle records his pagan name as ''Vingolt'', which Maciej S ...
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Uliana Of Tver
Uliana Aleksandrovna ( – 17 March 1391) was a grand duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Algirdas. She was the daughter of Alexander of Tver and Anastasia of Galicia, daughter of Yuri I of Galicia. Life After her father and eldest brother were murdered by Öz Beg Khan in 1339, Uliana was placed in care of Simeon of Moscow, who married Uliana's elder sister Maria in 1347. In 1349, Algirdas, the grand duke of Lithuania, sent an embassy to the Golden Horde, proposing to the khan, Jani Beg, to form an alliance against Simeon of Moscow; this proposal was not accepted and the envoys, including Algirdas' brother Karijotas, were imprisoned and held for ransom. In 1350, Algirdas then concluded peace with Simeon and married Simeon's sister-in-law Uliana. She was the second Russian princess to marry Algirdas. Simeon first asked for the opinion of Metropolitan Theognostus whether a Christian lady could be married off to a pagan ruler. The same year, Algirdas' brother L ...
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Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and jurisdictional groups of Christianity, with approximately 230 million baptised members. It operates as a Communion (Christian), communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its Bishop (Orthodox Church), bishops via local Holy Synod, synods. The church has no central doctrinal or governmental authority analogous to the pope of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognised by them as ''primus inter pares'' (), a title held by the patriarch of Rome prior to 1054. As one of the oldest surviving religious institutions in the world, the Eastern Orthodox Church has played an especially prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Since 2018, the ...
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Algirdas
Algirdas (; , ;  – May 1377) was List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. With the help of his brother Kęstutis (who defended the western border of the Duchy) he created an empire stretching from the present Baltic states to the Black Sea and to within of Moscow. Early life and rise to power Algirdas was one of the seven sons of Grand Duke Gediminas. Before his death in 1341, Gediminas divided his domain, leaving his youngest son Jaunutis in possession of the capital, Vilnius. With the aid of his brother, Kęstutis, Algirdas drove out the incompetent Jaunutis and declared himself Grand Duke in 1345. He devoted the next thirty-two years to the development and expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After becoming the ruler of Lithuania, Algirdas was titled the King of Lithuania () in the Livonian Chronicles instead of the terms ''knyaz'' () or ''Grand prince, velikiy knyaz'' (grand prince). Two factors are thought to have contributed ...
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Ostrów Agreement
The Ostrów or Astrava Agreement (, , ) was a treaty between Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his cousin Vytautas the Great, signed on 4 August 1392. The treaty ended the destructive Lithuanian Civil War (1389–92), Lithuanian Civil War, launched in 1389 by Vytautas who hoped to gain political power, and concluded the power struggle between the two cousins that erupted in 1380 after Jogaila secretly signed the Treaty of Dovydiškės with the Teutonic Knights. The Ostrów Agreement did not stop attacks from the Teutonic Knights and the territorial dispute over Samogitia continued up to 1422. According to the treaty, Vytautas became the ruler of Lithuania (styled Grand Duke), but he also acknowledged Jogaila's (styled Supreme Duke) rights to Lithuania. The details of the Polish–Lithuanian union, Polish–Lithuanian relationship were clarified in several later treaties, including the Union of Vilnius and Radom in 1401 and Union of ...
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