Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state the neighbours, with a truncated state (principal cities be- from the 13th century[1] until 1795.[2] The state was ing Kraków, Warsaw and Vilnius) remaining only nom- founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic inally independent. After the Kościuszko Uprising, the tribes from Aukštaitija.[3][4][5] territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and Austria in 1795. The duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus’ and other Slavic lands, covering the territory of present-day Belarus, Latvia, and Lithuania, and parts of Estonia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. At its 1 Etymology greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe.[6] It was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania name state with great diversity in languages, religion, and cul- the complete name of the state as Grand Duchy tural heritage. of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia (Ruthenian: Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late Великое князство Литовское, Руское, Жомойтское [13][14] 12th century. Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand и иных). The title of “Grand Duchy” was con- Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in sistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century [15] 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the religious cru- onward. sade by the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order. In other languages, the Grand Duchy is referred to as: The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged [7] only at the late reign of Gediminas and continued to • Belarusian: Вялікае Княства Літоўскае expand under his son Algirdas.[8] Algirdas’s successor Jogaila signed the Union of Krewo in 1386, bringing • German: Großfürstentum Litauen two major changes in the history of the Grand Duchy of • Lithuania: conversion to Catholicism and establishment Estonian: Leedu Suurvürstiriik of a dynastic union between the Grand Duchy of Lithua- • Latin: Magnus Ducatus Lituaniae nia and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland.[9] • The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the great- Lithuanian: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė est territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy and the de- • Old literary Lithuanian: Didi Kunigystė Lietuvos feat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. It also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. • Latvian: Lieitija or Lietuvas Lielkņaziste After Vytautas’s death, Lithuania’s relationship with the • Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated.[10] Lithuanian Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie noblemen, including the Radvila family (Radziwiłłs), at- • Ruthenian: Великое князство Литовское tempted to break the personal union with Poland.[11] However, the unsuccessful Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars • Russian: Великое княжество Литовское with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to • [14] remain intact. Ukrainian: Велике князiвство Литовське Eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this 2 History federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate government, laws, army, and treasury.[12] This federation was termi- 2.1 Establishment of the state nated by the passing of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, and since then there was supposed to be but a single coun- Main article: History of Lithuania (1219–1295) try — Respublica Poloniae — under one monarch and The first written reference to Lithuania is found in the one parliament. Shortly after, the unitary character of the Quedlinburg Chronicle, which dates from 1009.[16] In state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guaran- the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as tee of Two Nations. The newly reformed Commonwealth one of the areas attacked by the Rus’. Pagan Lithuani- was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between ans initially paid tribute to Polotsk, but they soon grew in strength and organized their own small-scale raids. At 1 2 2 HISTORY Navahrudak Castle the Samogitians, led by Vykintas, defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Saule. The Order was forced to be- come a branch of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia, mak- ing Samogitia, a strip of land that separated Livonia from Balts in the 12th century Prussia, the main target of both orders. The battle provided a break in the wars with the Knights, and Lithua- nia exploited this situation, arranging attacks towards the Ruthenian provinces and annexing Navahrudak and some point between 1180 and 1183 the situation began Hrodna.[22] Belarusian historians consider that Mindаu- to change, and the Lithuanians started to organize sus- gas was invited to rule Navahrudak and that the union tainable military raids on the Slavic provinces, raiding was peaceful.[23][24] the Principality of Polotsk as well as Pskov, and even threatening Novgorod.[17] The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija.[1] The Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights, crusading military orders, were established in Riga in 1202 and in Prussia in 1226. The Christian orders posed a sig- nificant threat to pagan Baltic tribes and further gal- vanized the formation of the state. The peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of co- operation between Lithuanians and Samogitians. This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes, including five senior Trakai Island Castle Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija (Živinbudas, Daujotas, Vilikaila, Dausprungas and Mindaugas) and several dukes from Žemaitija. Although they had battled in the past, In 1248 a civil war broke out between Mindaugas and the Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas. The powerful coali- [18] [17] enemy. Likely Živinbudas had the most authority tion against Mindaugas included Vykintas, the Livonian [19] and at least several dukes were from the same families. Order, Daniel of Galicia, and Vasilko of Volhynia. Min- The formal acknowledgment of common interests and the daugas, taking advantage of internal conflicts, allied with establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the the Livonian Order. He promised to convert to Chris- treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state. tianity and gift some lands in western Lithuania in ex- change for military assistance against his nephews and the royal crown. In 1251 Mindaugas was baptized and 2.2 Kingdom of Lithuania Pope Innocent IV issued a papal bull proclaiming the cre- ation of the Kingdom of Lithuania. After the civil war Main article: Kingdom of Lithuania ended, Mindaugas was crowned as King of Lithuania on Mindaugas, duke[20] of southern Lithuania,[21] was July 6, 1253, starting a decade of relative peace. Min- among the five senior dukes mentioned in the treaty with daugas later renounced Christianity and converted back Galicia–Volhynia. The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle, re- to paganism. Mindaugas tried to expand his influence ports that by the mid-1230s Mindaugas had acquired in Polatsk, a major center of commerce in the Daugava supreme power in the whole of Lithuania.[22] In 1236, River basin, and Pinsk.[22] The Teutonic Knights used this 2.4 Territorial expansion 3 period to strengthen their position in parts of Samogi- the Yotvingians in 1283; the Livonian Order completed tia and Livonia, but they lost the Battle of Skuodas in its conquest of Semigalia, the last Baltic ally of Lithuania, 1259 and the Battle of Durbe in 1260, encouraging the in 1291.[26] The Orders could now turn their full attention conquered Semigallians and Prussians to rebel against the to Lithuania. The “buffer zone” composed of other Baltic Knights. tribes had disappeared, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania Encouraged by Treniota, Mindaugas broke the peace with was left to battle the Orders on its own. the Order, possibly reverted to pagan beliefs, and allied The Gediminids dynasty ruled the Grand Duchy for with Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. He hoped to unite over a century, and Vytenis was the first ruler from the all Baltic tribes under the Lithuanian leadership. As mili- dynasty.[27] During his reign Lithuania engaged in con- tary campaigns were not successful, the relationships be- stant warfare with the Order, the Kingdom of Poland, tween Mindaugas and Treniota deteriorated. Treniota to- and Ruthenia. Vytenis was involved in succession dis- gether with Daumantas assassinated Mindaugas and his putes in Poland, supporting Boleslaus II of Masovia, who two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, in 1263,[25] and the state was married to a Lithuanian duchess, Gaudemunda. In lapsed into years of internal fights. Ruthenia, Vytenis managed to recapture lands lost after the assassination of Mindaugas and to capture the prin- cipalities of Pinsk and Turaŭ. In the struggle against the 2.3 Rise of the Gediminids Order, Vytenis allied with citizens of Riga; securing po- sitions in Riga strengthened trade routes and provided a base for further military campaigns. Around 1307, Polotsk, an important trading center, was annexed by military force.[28] Vytenis also began the construction of a defensive castle network along the Neman River. Grad- ually this network developed into the main defensive line against the Teutonic Order. 2.4 Territorial expansion The expansion of the state reached its height under Grand Duke Gediminas, who created a strong central government and established an empire that later spread from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea. In 1320, most of the prin- cipalities of western Rus’ were either vassalized or annexed by Lithuania. In 1321 Gediminas captured Kiev, sending Stanislav, the last Rurikid to rule Kiev, into ex- ile. Gediminas also re-established the permanent capital of the Grand Duchy in Vilnius, presumably moving it from Trakai in 1323; some researchers, such as Maciej Stryjkowski,[29] claim that Navahrudak was the capital of the 13th century state. Gediminas Tower in Vilnius From 1263 to 1269, Lithuania had three Grand Dukes – Treniota, Vaišvilkas, and Svarn.

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