Selonia (; ), also known as Augšzeme (the "Highland"), is one of the

Historical Latvian Lands Historical Latvian Lands () or formerly Cultural regions of Latvia () are several areas within Latvia formally recognised as distinct from the rest of the country. These are: Kurzeme (Courland), Zemgale (Semigallia), Latgale (Latgalia), Vidzeme, ...

encompassing the eastern part of the historical region of

Semigallia Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tri ...

() as well as a portion of northeastern

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Its main city and cultural center is

Jēkabpils Jēkabpils () is a state city in Jēkabpils Municipality in southeastern Latvia, located roughly halfway between the capital Riga and Daugavpils, and spanning the Daugava River. The name of the city literally translates into "Castle of Jacob". H ...

. The

Selonian language Selonian was an East Baltic language, which was spoken by the East Baltic tribe of the Selonians, who until the 15th century lived in Selonia, a territory in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. The language persisted until the 16t ...

has become extinct, though some of the inhabitants still speak a Selonian subdialect.

History

The territory of Selonia is defined by Latvian law as follows: the part of

Aizkraukle Aizkraukle () is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality, of which it is the administrative centre. Most of Aizkraukle is situated on the right bank of the Daugava River. As defined by Latvian law, Aizkraukle belongs partially to Vidzeme and partially ...

city on the left bank of the

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

, Daudzese Parish,

Jaunjelgava Parish Jaunjelgava Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality, Latvia. Until 2021, it was part of the former Jaunjelgava Municipality. Jaunjelgava Parish was created in 2010 from the countryside territory of Jaunjelgava town. At the ...

Jaunjelgava Jaunjelgava (, literally "New Jelgava"; ) is a town on the left bank of the Daugava River in Aizkraukle Municipality, in the Selonia region of Latvia, about 80 km southeast of Riga. The population in 2020 was 1,762. History There is no ...

city,

Nereta Parish Nereta Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, a ...

Mazzalve Parish Mazzalve Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, ...

, Pilskalne Parish,

Sece Parish Sece Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality, Latvia. From 2009 until 2021 it was part of the former Jaunjelgava Municipality. Prior to the 2009 administrative reforms it was part of the Aizkraukle district. Latvian law ...

Sērene Parish Sērene Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, a ...

Staburags Parish Staburags Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. Covering 58.5 km2 on the forested left bank of the Daugava River where it widens into the Pļaviņas Reservoir, the parish is one of ...

Sunākste Parish Sunākste Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. It covers 109 km2 of gently rolling farmland and mixed woodland in the northern foothills of the Augšzeme Highlands, part of the his ...

Zalve Parish Zalve Parish () is an administrative unit of Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, alo ...

Bebrene Parish Bebrene Parish is an administrative unit of Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, ...

Demene Parish Demene Parish () is an administrative unit of Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, ...

Dviete Parish Dviete Parish () is an administrative unit of Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, ...

Eglaine Parish Eglaine Parish () is an administrative unit of Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. Villages * Annasmuiža * Baltmuiža * Eglaine * Laši * Vitkuški See also * Gotthard Friedrich Stender Gotthard Friedrich Stender ( ...

Ilūkste Ilūkste (; ; ) is a town in Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. The population in 2020 was 2,216. History The territory of modern Ilūkste was inhabited by the Selonians, an ancient Baltic peoples, Baltic tribe. As a set ...

city,

Kalkūne Parish Kalkūne Parish () is an administrative unit of Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic state ...

, Laucesa Parish, Medumi Parish, Pilskalne Parish, Prode Parish, Saliena Parish, Skrudaliena Parish,

Subate Subate (; , ) is a town in Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia, near the border with Lithuania. Subate is located 40 km west of Daugavpils. The population in 2020 was 596. In 1570 Gotthard Kettler, the first Duke of C ...

city, Svente Parish, Šēdere Parish, Tabore Parish, Vecsaliena Parish, the part of

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

city on the left bank of the

, Aknīste Parish, Aknīste city, Asare Parish,

Ābeļi Parish Ābeļi Parish () is an administrative unit of Jēkabpils Municipality, Latvia. The administrative center of the parish is the village of . History In the territory of present-day Ābeļi Parish, there was historically an Abelhof Manor (''Gut A ...

, Dignāja Parish, Dunava Parish, Elkšņi Parish, Gārsene Parish, the part of

city on the left bank of the

, Kalna Parish,

Leimaņi Parish Leimaņi parish () is an administrative territorial entity of Jēkabpils Municipality, in the Selonia region of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three ...

, Rite Parish, Rubene Parish,

Sēlpils Parish Sēlpils Parish () is a large rural administrative unit within Jēkabpils Municipality in the Selonia region of south-eastern Latvia. Before the 2009 territorial reform, it belonged to the now-defunct Jēkabpils District. The parish seat is lo ...

, Sala Parish, Sauka Parish, Viesīte city, Viesīte Parish, Zasa Parish, Kaplava Parish and the part of the city of

Krāslava Krāslava (; , , , , ) is a town and the administrative centre of Krāslava Municipality. The town lies on the Daugava, upstream and to the east of the city of Daugavpils. Most of the town is situated on the right coast of the Daugava. As defined ...

on the left bank of the

. The subjugation and baptism of the

Selonians The Selonians (; , from – "highlanders") were a tribe of Baltic peoples. They lived until the 15th century in Selonia, located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania. They eventually merged with neighbouring tribes, contributing ...

started in 1208, when Albert of Buxhoeveden captured

Sēlpils hillfort Sēlpils is a village in Sēlpils Parish, Jēkabpils Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia, about 9 km from the historical Sēlpils hillfort, where the village of Vecsēlpils ("old Sēlpils") is located now. References

Vil ...

(). The term "Selonians" is most probably the German adaptation of the Livonian name "Highlanders", which leads to the hypothesis that the Selonians and Aukštaitians belonged to the same ethnos. The

Livonian Chronicle of Henry The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' () is a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's Estonia and Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was written by a priest named Henry. Apart from some references ...

describes the Selonians as allies of the

Lithuanians Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...

. In 1218 the region formed a Selonian

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

, but in 1226 part of that diocese was joined to the

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

archbishopric and the Bishopric of Semigalia was formed. During the Lithuanian wars with the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (; ) was a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (monastic society), military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert of Riga, Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theode ...

and from 1237 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 thei ...

, Selonia became partially deserted. From the 14th to the mid-16th centuries, the southern part of the former Selonia belonged to the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, while the northern part was ruled by the Livonian Order; after the latter collapsed in 1561, it fell to the

Duchy of Courland The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a duchy in the Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of the Polish Kingd ...

, a vassal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Nowadays the region is mainly inhabited by Latvians with large ethnic minorities of

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

and

in the southeastern municipalities (

Ilūkste Municipality Ilūkste Municipality () was a municipality in Selonia, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2003 by merging Pilskalne Parish, Šēdere Parish, Bebrene Parish and Ilūkste town. In 2009 it absorbed Dviete parish, Eglaine parish and Subate town ...

and Daugavpils Municipality).

Historic boundaries

Among historical documents, the

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

's Donation Act of 1261 is the one that best describes the transfer of the Selonian lands to the Knights of the Sword. Their boundary went from the

at Naujene, near

castle, running along Kopkelis to Luodis lake and northwards along the Duseta river to lake Sartai and towards the source of the Šventoji. It stretched further to the Latuva, Vašuoka and Viešinta rivers, along the

Lėvuo The Lėvuo is a river in Northern Lithuania, a right tributary of the river Mūša.Mūša The Mūša (; German: Muhsse) is a river in Northern Lithuania and Southern Latvia (Zemgale region). At its Confluence (geography), confluence with the river Nemunėlis () in Latvia, near the city of Bauska, the river Lielupe, Lielupė is formed. ...

(Mūsa) and downstream, to the mouth of the Babīte (Būga, 1961, p. 273–274). Thus, the historical sources describing the Selonian boundaries in the second half of the 13th century are rather precise. The linguist

Kazimieras Būga Kazimieras Būga (; November 6, 1879 – December 2, 1924) was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language. He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russ ...

, basing himself on linguistic data alone, specifies the southern boundary of the Selonian territory as running approximately by the towns of Salakas, Tauragnai,

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...

, Svėdasai,

Subačius Subačius (; ) is a small town in Panevėžys County, northwestern Lithuania. It is located on the banks of the Viešinta River about west of Kupiškis. History During World War II, the Jewish community was murdered in a mass execution perpetr ...

, Palėvenė,

Pasvalys Pasvalys () is a city in Panevėžys County, Lithuania, located near the bank of the Svalia River. History In 1557, the Treaty of Pasvalys was signed in the town, which provoked Ivan IV of Russia to start the Livonian War. Pasvalys has mineral ...

, and Saločiai. Regional history museum of the Selonia region of Lithuania, founded in 1928 in

Biržai Castle Biržai Castle (, ) is a 16th century castle in Biržai, northern Lithuania. It is located in Aukštaitija region, Panevėžys County. The castle was the first Italian-style bastion fort in Lithuania and one of the first in North-Eastern Europe. ...

References

Sources

* Arveds Švābe, ed.: ''Latvju enciklopēdija''. Stockholm: Trīs Zvaigznes, 1952-1953. * Edgars Andersons, ed.: ''Latvju enciklopēdija 1962-1982''. Lincoln: American Latvian Associatio

1983-1990. Entry "Sēlija" available a
historia.lv
Retrieved 25. II. 2006. * Vytautas Kazakevičius

Retrieved 25. II. 2006. {{authority control Historical regions in Latvia Historical regions in Lithuania Medieval history of Latvia Selonia