Northern Crusades

Northern Crusades
Northern Crusades
	Main Conflict: Crusades
date of	1198 - 1411
A place	Baltic states , northwest of Russia
Total	rout and violent Christianization of the Prussians and the Slav Slavs , the capture of the Baltic lands by the crusaders to the borders of Russia , Poland and Lithuania . Failure to attempt further captures.
Opponents
Teutonic Order; Livonian Order; Order of the Swordsmen; Dobrinsky Order; Kingdom of Sweden ,; Kingdom of Denmark	the peoples of the Baltic states; encouraged; Grand Duchy of Lithuania ,; Prussians; Novgorod Republic; Kingdom of Poland ,; Principality of Galicia-Volyn ,; Principality of Polotsk ,; Pskov Republic

Northern Crusades ( Baltic Crusades ) ( 1198 - 1411 ) - wars of German , Danish and Swedish knights against pagan tribes: Finnish tribes ( Finns , Karelians , Livs , Ests ), Slavs ( Bodriches , Pomeranians , Lutches ), Baltic peoples ( Prussians) , chicken , zemgals and zhmeytov ). The nominal purpose of the campaigns was the spread of Christianity in its western version . Sometimes the military campaigns of the Swedish and German knights against the Orthodox Russian principalities are referred to the Northern Crusades. The Northern Crusade officially began in 1193 , when Pope Celestine III called for the Christianization of the pagans of Northern Europe, although even before this, the Scandinavian kingdoms and the Holy Roman Empire had already conducted military operations against the northern peoples of Eastern Europe .

The seized lands in Slavic Pomerania , Prussia , South-Western Finland , and Western Karelia were actively colonized, new state structures were formed on them, such as the German duchy of Mecklenburg , Margrave of Brandenburg , and the possessions of the Teutonic and Livonian clerical orders that actively participated in the conquests. The indigenous population was subjected to violent Christianization and often direct extermination. In the territories conquered by the crusaders, sometimes on the site of former settlements, new cities and fortifications appeared: Riga , Berlin , founded by the Germans, Revel - by the Danes, Vyborg - by the Swedes, etc. Some of them, such as Riga, were important outposts of the Catholic Church , residences of archbishops .

The crusaders did not achieve all their goals: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Zemaitija were able to defend their independence.

Not all military events of the Northern Crusades were considered crusades in the Middle Ages , some of them were called crusades only in the 19th century by national historians in the wake of national romanticism .

Content

1 Background
2 Livonian Crusade
3 Prussian Crusade
4 Crusade against Lithuania
5 Swedish Crusades and the Livonian Campaign in Russia
6 Battle of Vorskla
7 Great war
8 See also
9 References

Background

After the capture by Frankish King Charles the Great of Saxony, a northeastern border was established along the Saxon Wall . In the XII century , the colonization of the southern Baltic states by the Germans began.

A military campaign against the Slavic Slavs (whom the Germans called the Wends ), who inhabited the northern and eastern parts of modern Germany, took place in 1147 .

The capture and colonization of the eastern Baltic began at the very end of the 13th century and continued until the 16th century .

Livonian Crusade

In the XII century, the lands of modern Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania were a pagan wedge between the territories in which Christianity was established. In 1192, Pope Celestine III declared a crusade against the Baltic pagans. As a result, states of chivalry appeared on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea .

The Livs and Latgals who inhabited the Baltic States paid tribute to the Principality of Polotsk , the Ests paid to the Novgorodians , and the approval of the crusaders on these lands threatened the influence of the Russian princes. In 1203, military clashes broke out between the swordsmen and Polotsk , in 1217 - between the Order and Novgorod . The Russian troops could not take German fortresses, and the crusaders gradually took control of the defended Russians Kukenojsom , Gersike , Fellin and Yuryev . In 1232 , Pope Gregory IX called on the crusaders to attack the Novgorod lands in order to prevent the Novgorodians from colonizing Finland . In response to the German raids, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich Novgorodsky invaded the possession of the order and defeated him in the battle of Omovzhe ( 1234 ).

Prussian Crusade

Acquisition of the Teutonic Order in Prussia, in 1237 when it merged with the Livonian Order in Courland and Livonia , and in 1260 (the areas of the fighting territories in Prussia and Samogitia are shaded)

In 1217, Pope Honorius III declared a crusade against the Prussian pagans, the lands of which were claimed by the ruler of Poland, Konrad I of Mazowiecki . In 1225, the prince asked the Teutonic knights for help, promising them the possession of the cities of Kulm and Dobryn, as well as the preservation of the occupied territories. As a result, the Teutonic Order was established on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.

Crusade against Lithuania

On February 19, 1236, the Pope declared the second crusade against Lithuania . Powerful reinforcements arrived in Livonia - 2,000 Saxon knights and 200 combatants from Pskov. The campaign ended with the defeat at Saul , the incorporation of the remains of the Order of the Swordsmen into the Teutonic Order and the concession of northern Estonia to the Danes.

Swedish Crusades and Livonian Campaign in Russia

Map 1239-1245

After the unification of the Swordsmen with the Teutonic Order ( 1237 ) and the weakening of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality during the Mongol invasion ( 1237 - 1239 ), joint actions were planned to ensure the Christianization of Finland, including the attack on Novgorod. In 1240, the Swedes on the Neva ( defeated July 15, 1240) and Livonians supported by Denmark (capture of Pskov in August 1240, defeat on Lake Peipsi on April 5, 1242) were defeated by Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky .

Subsequently, Finland was finally annexed by Sweden (1250), border conflicts with the Novgorodians continued.

Battle of Vorskla

Vytautas decided to take advantage of the defeat of the Khan of the Golden Horde of Tokhtamysh by Tamerlan ( 1396 ) in order to extend his influence to the Golden Horde (supporting Tokhtamysh) and North-Eastern Russia . Vytautas also planned the division of the North Russian lands with the Teutonic Order : Vytautas - Novgorod , the Order - Pskov . As a result, Vitovt fell into a very difficult situation, losing allies in the Russian principalities, and then suffering a crushing defeat from Edigey and Temir-Kutlug in Vorskla.

The Great War

State of the Teutonic Order and its border with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1260 - 1455

On August 6, 1409, the Grand Master of the Order Ulrich von Jungingen declared war on the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By the beginning of 1410, order troops numbered 51 banners, the Polish army numbered 42 Polish banners, 7 Russians and 2 mercenary banners, Lithuanian - 40 banners, including 36 Russians, 7 of which bore the names of Belarusian cities (Lida, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Pinsk , Novogrudok, Brest, Volkovysk). On July 15, 1410, the decisive battle of the Great War took place - the Battle of Grunwald , which decided the outcome of the war in favor of the Allies. In February 1411, in the city of Torun, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania concluded a peace treaty with the Teutonic Order, according to which the order returned all territories previously occupied from Poland and Lithuania and paid indemnity.

Links

Urban V. Historical Review of the Crusade to Livonia (Neopr.) (Unavailable link) . Website DEUSVULT.RU. Date of treatment July 14, 2012. Archived on August 6, 2012.