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The Battle of Lipnic (or Lipnica, or Lipniţi) was a battle between the
Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
n forces under Stephen the Great, and the
Volga Tatars The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after ...
of the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
led by Ahmed Khan, and which took place on the August 20, 1470.


The battle

In the summer of 1470 (other sources give 1469), Mamak ( Ahmed Khan), the Great Khan of the
Great Horde The Great Horde (''Uluğ Orda'') was a rump state of the Golden Horde that existed from the mid-15th century to 1502. It was centered at the core of the Golden Horde at Sarai. Both the Khanate of Astrakhan and the Khanate of Crimea broke away ...
, the central principality of the Mongol-Tatar
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
, organized an attack against Moldavia, the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
, and Lithuania. Stephen and the Polish king
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 ...
were previously informed of the future attack by the Khan of the
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 Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...
,
Meñli I Giray Meñli I Giray ( crh3, I Meñli Geray, ۱منكلى كراى) (1445–1515), also spelled as Mengli I Giray, was a ''khan'' of the Crimean Khanate (1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515) and the sixth son of Hacı I Giray. Biography Struggle f ...
(1466-1515, with intermittence), who was an occasional ally of Stephen the Great, and had a clear stance against the Golden Horde. The hordes unleashed a three-directional attack via
Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
, being conducted by the brother and son of the Khan. They first raided and pillaged the eastern territories of Poland, and as Casimir failed to gather enough forces to attack them, the Tatars then headed southwards against Moldavia. Chronicles speak of several clashes and two other battles both of which being won by the Moldavians. Nevertheless, the final and most violent was to take place at Lipinţi, a village near the
Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...
, in the Soroca County, modern
Republic of Moldova A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
. By this time, the Tatars had started to retreat carrying into slavery several thousand women and children, hundreds of herds of cattle, horses, and flocks of sheep. By August 20, Stephen managed to swerve this Tatar convoy, and to divert them to a trap set at the edge of the lime tree forest near Lipnic, and to force the Tatars to face the Moldavians in an open battle. There are no actual descriptions of the battle, but it is accounted as to have been a bloody and violent one. Large numbers from the ranks of both the Moldavians and of the Tatars perished. While most of the Tatars died in the battle itself, a large number of them actually drowned in the
Dniester The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...
while attempting escape by fleeing. Numerous Tatars were captured, including the Khan’s son. The Khan’s brother died in the battle.


Aftermath

Stephen conditioned the life of the Khan's son on his father's making peace with Moldavia, stating that his son would live until the exact day that a Tatar would touch the land of Moldavia. However, the Khan's son was eventually killed, after an episode at Stephens's court. This episode is mentioned by Stanislaus Sarnicius (Sarnicki),Stanislaus Sarnicius: ''Annales Seu De Origine Et Rebus Gestis Polonorum Et Lithuanorum'' as well as by
Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
in his ''Historia Polonica'': Mamak Khan failed to organize a new attack against Stephen. By 1502, the Great Horde was completely destroyed by Meñli I Giray of the Crimean Khanate. Stephen took measures to protect his eastern frontier, strengthened the
Orhei Orhei (; Yiddish ''Uriv'' – אוריװ), also formerly known as Orgeev (russian: Орге́ев), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei is appro ...
and
Tighina Bender (, Moldovan Cyrillic: Бендер) or Bendery (russian: Бендеры, , uk, Бендери), also known as Tighina ( ro, Tighina), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the u ...
fortresses, and built the
Soroca Soroca (russian: link=no, Сороки, Soroki, uk, Сороки, Soroky, pl, Soroki, yi, סאָראָקע ''Soroke'') is a city and municipality in Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about north of Chișinău. It is the administrative ...
fortress, thus completing the Eastern line of defence along the river Nistru. Tatar attacks continued against Moldavia, this time from the other Tataric states from north of the Black Sea.


Footnotes and References

inline general *Şerban Papacostea: ''Relaţiile internaţionale ale Moldovei in vremea lui Ştefan cel Mare''. *Collection of historic sources o
stefancelmare.ro
(Romanian)


See also

*
Tatar invasions This article lists conflicts in Europe during the invasions of and subsequent occupations by the Mongol Empire and its successor states. The Mongol invasion of Europe took place in the 13th century. This resulted in the occupation of much of Easter ...
* Moldavian military forces *
Battle of the Vorskla River The Battle of the Vorskla River was a great battle in the medieval history of Eastern Europe. It was fought on August 12, 1399, between the Tatars, under Edigu and Temür Qutlugh, and the armies of Tokhtamysh and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. ...
* Borzeşti Church {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Lipnic 1470 in Europe Lipnic 1470 Conflicts in 1470 Lipnic Lipnic Military history of Moldova