Battle of the Worskla
The Battle of the Worskla was one of the largest and bloodiest clashes in the medieval history of Eastern Europe. It was held on August 12, 1399 between the Golden Horde under Emir Edigü and Timur Kutlugh and the troops of Grand Duke Vytautas from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the eponymous Worskla , a tributary of the Dnepr in today's Ukraine .
Political situation
In the second half of the 14th century , Grand Duke Vytautas and Dmitri Donskoy of Moscow rivaled for the fertile southern lands that were formerly under the control of the Golden Horde . When the power of the Tatars was waning, Dmitri Donskoy defeated the Horde on the Snipe Field ( 1380 ), only to be besieged by Khan Toktamish in Moscow a few years later .
Beginning of the battle
Toktamisch was dethroned after conflicts within the horde of Khan Timur Kutlugh and Emir Edigu, who were supported by Tamerlane . When Toktamisch asked Vytautas for help, the latter willingly put together an army of Lithuanians, Belarusians , Russians , Mongols, Poles and German knights . This army met the Tatars on the Worskla, a tributary of the Dnieper.
course
Although the Lithuanian army was very well equipped (including cannons), it could not withstand an attack in its rear by Edigu's reserve units. Vytautas was just able to escape, many of the nobles of his relatives were killed and the victorious Tatars besieged Kiev . "And the Christian blood flowed like water to the walls of Kiev," wrote a chronicler. Meanwhile, however, Timur Kutlugh died of the wounds he suffered in the battle, and Toktamish was murdered by one of his own people.
meaning
Vytauta's defeat on the Worskla ended the Lithuanian expansion efforts into southern Ruthenia . His state also lost access to the Black Sea . The Lithuanians now focused on the struggle for more northern principalities like Smolensk .
The Tatars fighting on Vytauta's side settled in Poland-Lithuania and became the core of Islam in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus .
Web links
proof
- Entry on the Battle of the Vorskla in the Encyclopedia of the History of Ukraine (Ukrainian)