Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas: biography, interesting facts, domestic politics, death

The exact date of birth of Vitovt is unknown. By secondary descriptions in the annals historians came to the conclusion that he was born around 1350. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vitovt, was the son of Keystut and the nephew of Olgerd, and at birth he did not claim power over the whole state. His supreme position among the countrymen, he argued over the years in numerous civil and external wars.

The struggle for power

In 1377, Uncle Vytautas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Olgerd, died. The power passed to his son Jagiello. Keystut, who was a Trotsky prince, recognized the nephew as the eldest and returned to his vital affairs - the struggle against the Catholic crusaders, who created their military orders in the Baltics. Jagiello, however, was afraid of his uncle. In addition, his paranoia was strengthened by the advice of his associates.

Jagiello went to an alliance with the Crusaders in order to deprive Keystut of his fate. Soon a civil war began, in which the future Grand Duke Lithuanian Vitovt also took part. In 1381, together with his father, he defeated Jagiello. Keystut briefly became the ruler of the whole country, and Vitovt - his heir.

Civil War

Already in the following year - 1382, an uprising broke out in Lithuania against the power of Kajstut. Together with Vitovt, he was taken prisoner and was strangled in prison. The son fled to the domain of the Teutonic Order. Three years later Poland and Lithuania concluded a union, thus merging into one state. Jagiello transferred his capital to Krakow. At the same time, Vitovt obtained from his cousin the return to him of the Grand Duchy as governor.

However, soon the conflict between them broke out with renewed vigor. Vitovt again had to flee to the crusaders, from whom he lived for three years, preparing for a triumphant return to his homeland. In 1392 after a series of battles the brothers signed the Ostrovsky agreement. The Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas regained his title again. Formally, he recognized himself as a vassal of the Polish king, but historians believe it was 1392 the date of the beginning of his actual independent rule.

Hiking against the Tatars

After the end of the civil war, Vitovt could finally draw attention to the external enemies of Lithuania. On the southern borders of his state bordered on the steppe, which was under the control of the Tatars. In 1395 the Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh suffered a crushing defeat from the army of Tamerlane. He fled to Vilna, seeking refuge there.

What in this situation did Vytautas do? The Grand Duke of Lithuania, whose biography represents an example of an active military leader who fought all dangerous neighbors, could not miss such a chance. He sheltered Tokhtamysh and began to gather troops for future raids in the steppe. In 1397 the army of the prince passed the Don and, without meeting any special resistance, plundered and destroyed the parking of the Tatars. When the weakened horde finally decided to fight, the preponderance was clearly not in its favor. Lithuanians defeated the steppe people and took more than a thousand captives.

But this did not stop Vytautas - the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Interesting facts about the Crimea prompted him to go to this uncharted peninsula, where the opponents of Tokhtamysh wandered and stored their riches. Before, the Lithuanian army had never gone so far into the enemy territory. Vitovt hoped that his successes would inspire the pope to declare the all-European crusade against the Tatars. If such a campaign really started and ended with success, the prince could count on the royal title and a significant increase in the territories in the east.

Battle of Vorskla

However, the crusade under the patronage of Rome never happened. Meanwhile, the Tatars were able to settle internal conflicts and unite in order to defeat the western enemies. Stepniakov was led by Khan Timur Kutlug and his prisoner Yedigei. They collected a large army of several tens of thousands of soldiers.

What could oppose them and who could gather under their banners Vitovt - the Grand Duke of Lithuania? The ruler's domestic policy allowed him to find a compromise between different parts of Lithuanian society. First of all, he faced the dilemma of relations with the Russian Orthodox population, who lived in a larger area of the country. Vytautas took care of these people and their governors, thanks to which he was able to earn a good reputation.

His ideas about the punitive march against the Tatars were met not only by their Orthodox population, but also by some independent Russian princes. Together with Vitovt, the Smolensk governor agreed to speak. Significant help also came from Poland and even the Teutonic Order. These Catholics agreed to act as a united front against the steppe people. Finally, with Vitovt there were Tatars loyal to Tokhtamysh.

The army numbering about 40 thousand people advanced eastward in 1399. The decisive battle took place on Vorskla, a tributary of the Dnieper. The army of Vitovt was the first to launch an offensive, and she even managed to squeeze the Tatars. However, the second half of the nomads made a maneuver in advance, having bypassed the Lithuanian squad. At the decisive moment, the Tatars struck the Christians in the rear and pushed them to the river. The battle ended in a rout. Vytautas himself was wounded and barely escaped. After this failure, he had to forget about expansion into the steppe and royal title. In the battle many Russian and Lithuanian princes died: the rulers of Polotsk, Bryansk and Smolensk.

New union with Poland

After the defeat in Vorskla, Vitovt's power was under threat. He lost many supporters, while in Lithuania his new adversary intensified. They became Svidrigailo Olgerdovich - the younger brother of Jagiello and the prince of Vitebsk. In these conditions, Vitovt decided to conclude a new union with Poland. At the end of 1400 he met with Jagailo near Grodno, where the monarchs signed a document marking a new stage in the development of relations between Krakow and Vilna.

What was the essence of the treaty and why was it so important? Jagiello recognized Vitovt for a lifelong right of possession of Lithuania, which effectively deprived Svidrigailo of any rights to the throne. His struggle became meaningless and deliberately doomed to failure. For his part, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vitovt, after his death, pledged to transfer the throne of Jagiello or his heir. If there was not even him, then the throne of Lithuania was to pass to a man elected to the vote of aristocrats. At the same time, the Poles guaranteed equal rights to Russian Orthodox boyars. This treaty became known as the Vilno-Radom Union.

Conflict with the German Knights

The lost war with the Tatars was a strong, but not a fatal blow. Soon Vitovt recovered from it. In the center of his attention were relations with the Teutonic Order. Crusaders for decades selected the land from Lithuania and Poland, while they were engaged in civil wars. Now the monarchs were allies, which means that they had the opportunity of coordinated allied actions against the Teutonic Order.

Vytautas was interested in the return of the Samogitian lands, and Jagiello wanted to get back the Eastern Pomorie, as well as the Helminsky and Michalovsk lands. The war began with an uprising in Samogitia. Dissatisfied with the Teutonic domination supported by Vitovt. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, whose brief biography represents a series of incessant military campaigns, decided that this was the best chance for an offensive against the Crusaders.

Campaign against the Teutonic Order

At the first stage of the war, both sides of the conflict acted indecisively. The only serious success of the Poles and Lithuanians was the capture of the fortress of Bydgoszcz. Soon the opponents concluded a peace treaty. However, it was short-lived, being a respite, necessary for opponents in order to mobilize their reserves. The Master of the Order Ulrich von Junginen enlisted the support of the Hungarian King Sigismund of Luxembourg. Another contributing to the Germans were foreign mercenaries. By the time the fighting resumed, the Crusaders had an army of 60,000 men.

The Polish army consisted mainly of feudal lords, who came to the militia together with their small detachments. Lithuanians were supported by Czechs. Their leader was Jan Zizka - the future famous leader of the Hussites. On the side of Vytautas there were also Russian units, including the Novgorod prince Lugvania. At the military council, the Allies decided to go to Marienburg, the capital of the Teutonic Order, on different roads. The coalition possessed forces approximately equal to the forces of the Crusaders (about 60 thousand people).

Battle of Grunwald

If at the first stage of the war the German knights invaded Poland, now the Poles and Lithuanians themselves attacked the possessions of the Order. July 15, 1410 there was a general battle of the Great War (as it was called in the Lithuanian annals). The army of the allies was led by Jagiello and Vitovt. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, whose portrait photo is in every textbook on European medieval history, was already a legend among his contemporaries. All compatriots and even his opponents admired the persistence and perseverance of the ruler, through which he achieved his goals. Now he was a step away from permanently rid his country of the danger of Catholic crusaders.

The place of the decisive battle was the neighborhood of the town of Grunwald. The Germans arrived here first. They strengthened their own positions, dug the disguised pit-traps, placed guns and marksmen and waited for the enemy. Finally Poles and Lithuanians arrived and took their positions. Jagiello did not hurry to attack first. However, at the most crucial moment, Vitovt decided to attack the Germans without the order of the Polish king. He moved his troops forward, immediately after the crusaders opened fire on all opponents from all their bombs.

For about an hour the knights tried to repulse the attacks of Lithuanians and Tatars (in Vitovt, the Crimean cavalry also served in the service). Finally, Marshal Frederick von Wallenrod ordered the counteroffensive. The Lithuanians began to retreat. This was a deliberate maneuver, initiated by Vytautas - the Grand Duke of Lithuania. He saw the death of the German army surrounded by the crusaders who had lost the organized order. Everything happened exactly as the general planned. At first, the knights decided that the Lithuanians were running in panic, and they rushed after them all the way, losing their fighting order. As soon as part of the German army reached the camp of Vitovt, the prince ordered to close the ranks and surround the enemy. This mission was entrusted to the shoulders of the Novgorod prince Lugvania. He coped with his task.

Meanwhile, most of the Teutonic forces fought against the Poles. It seemed that victory was already in the hands of the Germans. The soldiers of Jagiello even lost the Cracow gonfalon, however, soon it was returned to its place. The outcome of the battle was decided by the introduction of additional reserves in the battle, which were waiting for their time in the rear. The Poles used them more efficiently than the Crusaders. In addition, the cavalry of Vitovt suddenly struck the Germans from its flank, which caused a fatal blow to the troops of the Order. Master Jungingen died on the battlefield.

The Allies won, and this success predetermined the outcome of the war. Then came the unsuccessful siege of Marienburg. Although it had to be removed, the Germans agreed to give back all the lands they had seized and pay a huge indemnity. The won Great War marked the future dominant position in the region of the union of Poland and Lithuania and the decline of Catholic orders in the Baltics. The undoubted hero returned to his homeland Vytautas. The Grand Duke of Lithuania was returned to Samogitia, as he wanted on the eve of the conflict.

Relations with Moscow

Vytautas had Sofya's only daughter. He married her to the Moscow Prince Vasily I - the son of Dmitry Donskoy. The ruler of Lithuania tried to maintain friendly relations with his son-in-law, although this was hindered by his desire to continue his expansion to the east at the expense of the Russian lands. Two states became opposing political centers, each of which could unite the East Slavic lands. Vitovt even was baptized according to the Orthodox rite, however, later he converted to Catholicism.

The stumbling block for the Moscow-Lithuanian relations was Smolensk. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, the Russian Vytautas, several times tried to attach him. He also actively interfered in the internal politics of the Pskov and Novgorod republics. They sent Vytautas to the army, as was the case with the Battle of Grunwald. Due to the Russian lands, the Grand Duke expanded the limits of his power to the shores of the Oka and the Mozhaisk region outside Moscow.

The grandson of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt was the son of Basil I Basil the Dark. He ascended the throne in infancy in 1425. His father understood that Moscow had too few forces to simultaneously fight Lithuanians and Tatars. Therefore, he did everything inferior to the father-in-law in border disputes, avoiding war. Basil I, dying, asked Vytautas to protect the new prince from encroachments on power. The grandson of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Vitovt, was Vasily II. It was this kinship that did not allow the pretenders to the throne to organize a coup d'état.

Last years

By the end of his life the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas was the oldest monarch of Europe. In 1430 he was 80 years old. On the eve of the jubilee, the governor organized a congress in Lutsk, to which he invited Jagiello, Sigismund Luxemburg (soon to become emperor of the Holy Roman Empire), papal legates and numerous Russian princes. One fact that so many powerful rulers came to this event, already says that Vitovt was one of the most significant political figures of his time.

At the Lutsk Congress, the prospects for the coronation of the old man were discussed. If he took the title, equivalent to what Jagiello had, Lithuania would finally become independent and be protected in the West. However, the Poles resisted the coronation. It never happened. Vytautas died shortly after the congress in Troki, October 27, 1430. The place of his burial is still unknown. Vytautas was the Grand Duke of Lithuania for 38 years. It was during his reign that this country flourished. The following princes fell into final dependence on Poland. The union of the two countries was called the Commonwealth.