Ranjith Kollannur Profile picture
Jun 29, 2021 11 tweets 5 min read Read on X
A non Christian ruler, who recreated a nation defeating Christian invaders. A nation that would be core to the largest Catholic nations in Europe.

Story in the evening...
Traidenis was born sometime in the 13th century Lithuania. It is believed that his father (or grandfather) was Živinbudas. Živinbudas was the leading ruler among 21 Lithuanian rulers, who signed a treaty with the Rus' state of Halych-Volynia in 1219. 1/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traidenis#/media/File:Lithuani
With Livonian and Teutonic Orders harassing the Lithuanians, Mindaugas, another signatory for the treaty with the Rus', was able to unite Lithuania into a single nation. In 1251, Mindaugas accepted Christianity and allied with the Orders, causing friction within Lithuania. 2/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auk%C5%A1taitija#/media/File:E
Though Mindaugas disavowed Christianity in 1261, his nephew, Treniota, and Daumantas of Nalšia plotted for his death. The assassination led to a period of chaos, which saw Trenoita and Vaišvilkas, son of Mindaugas, both murdered. 3/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treniota#/media/File:Treniota.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vai%C5%A1vilkas#/media/File:Vo
They were followed by Shvarn Daniilovich, who was married to a daughter of Mindaugas. After his death in 1269, Traidenis, who appears to have been a popular noble from Aukštaitija, became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Since Shvarn was a Rus' prince, the Rus' staked a claim. 4/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Galicia%E2%80%93Vol
Traidenis soon defeated Halych-Volynia in battle. He also had to deal with the Livonian and Teutonic Orders. Both were Christian military orders seeking to protect and expand Christianity. But unlike his predecessor, Traidenis did not accept Christianity. 5/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aizkraukle#/media/Fi
Traidenis was largely successful in his outings against the Livonian Order as well. After defeating them on the frozen Baltic Sea in 1270, he destroyed them in 1279 at Aizkraukle (Ascheraden), leading to Duke Nameisis of Semigalia switching to Lithuanian side. 6/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semigallians#/media/File:Balti
He also maintained an alliance with Polish Masovia in the south. He may have married Ludmila, daughter of Konrad of Masovia and his daughter, Gaudamante, married Bolesław, Konrad's grandson. One of Gaudamante's two sons was named Trojden, after his grandfather. 7/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_II_of_Masovia#/m
When Traidenis died in 1282 of natural causes, he left behind a stronger Lithuania. He was succeeded by Daumantas, perhaps a relative of Mindaugas. After him came the brothers, Butigeidas and Pukuveras, and Lithuania reach newer heights under Gediminas, son of Pukuveras. 8/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gediminas#/media/File:Giedymin
Lithuania continued to expand mainly at the cost of the Rus'. The former Rus' capital, Kiev, was conquered in 1363 by Algirdas, son of Gediminas. His nephew, Vytautas, brought Lithuania all the way to the Black Sea. 9/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuania#/media/File:Lithuani
But it was Jogaila, son of Algirdas, that would effectively unite Lithuania with neighbouring Poland, with his marriage to the Polish Rex, Jadviga. This paved the way for the creation of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, which reached its greatest extend in 1619. 10/10 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truce_of_Deulino#/media/File:T

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Ranjith Kollannur

Ranjith Kollannur Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Arby_K

Dec 30, 2022
An everlasting empire finally crumbles.

Alas, all things that begin will eventually end.

But with every ending, there is scope for a new beginning.

Story in the evening...
Murad was born in 1404 to Mehmed. Mehmed was the son of Bayezid, the Ottoman Sultan who was captured by Timur in 1402. This led to a period of anarchy in the Sultanate. By 1413, Mehmed had managed to defeat his brothers and take over as Sultan of the entire Sultanate. 1/10 Murad II, Ottoman Sultan, t...
The Ottoman had Sultanate emerged in late 13th century after the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm was defeated by the Mongols. Many beyliks rose up in the Anatolian peninsula, one among which was ruled by the ancestors of Bayezid, Mehmed and Murad. 2/10 Anatolia in 1200 at a time ...Anatolia in 1300 after Rûm ...
Read 11 tweets
Dec 22, 2022
When the Romance sustained the fallen empire of the Latins, there were a few who sought a different script.

Story in the evening ...
Rastislav was born in early 9th century. His father may have been Wistrach and his uncle Mojmír, the Duke of Moravia. Little is known about Rastislav's youth, until 846 when Franks invaded Moravia and installed Rastislav as the Duke of Moravia. 1/10 Rastislav, Duke of Moravia, taken from https://en.wikipedia.
Moravia emerged as a semi independent state in Central Europe not long after the Franks had defeated the Avars in late 8th century. Moravia was not the first power in the region though. The Slavic states of Samo and of Nitra had lasted briefly during various times as well. 2/10 Samo's kingdom, taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SamNitra taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_
Read 11 tweets
Dec 18, 2022
An ancient empire, formally united but informally fractured, is torn apart after a foreign invasion.

Decades later, it is revived but without a few missing pieces.

Story in the evening ...
Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck was born in 1815 to Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Bismarck and Wilhelmine Luise Mencken. Hailing from Schönhausen, the Bismarcks were a prominent noble family of the Kingdom of Prussia, with connections in Pomerania. 1/10 Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany, taken from https:/
Prussia became a kingdom in 1701, but its major part was Brandenburg in the centuries old Holy Roman Empire. Invasion by the French in early 19th century led to the dissolution of this empire, with many of its regions joining Napoleon backed Confederation of the Rhine. 2/10 Holy Roman Empire in 1789 with Prussia, Galicia and Hungary Confederation of the Rhine and the other states of the disso
Read 11 tweets
Dec 15, 2022
The republican who united a kingdom.

Story in the evening ...
Camillo Benso was born in 1810 to Michele Benso, Marquis of Cavour, and Adélaïde Suzanne de Sellon. The Bensos were prominent nobility of Savoy. Camillo also had a distinguishing French connection thanks to his mother and his godmother Pauline, sister of Emperor Napoleon. 1/10 Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour and Prime Minister of Italy,
The early 18th century saw the French under Napoleon occupy Savoy. But the Bensos managed to see through it in a favourable manner eventually. Young Camilo's career prospects improved with his appointment as page to Carlo Alberto, Prince of Carignano in 1824. 2/10 Michele Benso, Marquis of Cavour, taken from https://it.wiki
Read 11 tweets
Dec 10, 2022
A principality in the middle of a civil war becomes a haven for refugee princes.

Many new monarchs arose from among these princes, while the civil war in the principality continued intermittently for centuries.

Story in the evening ...
Iaroslav Vladimirovich was born around 980 to Vladimir Sviatoslavich, Grand Prince of Kiev, and Rogned of Polotsk. Vladimir was initially supposed to rule only in Novgorod, but he had taken Kiev and Dereva from his brothers by 980. 1/10 Iaroslav Vladimirovich, Grand Prince of Kyiv, taken from htt
Iaroslav was given an early charge of Rostov and, later, of Novgorod by 1010. But he sought Kiev and rebelled against his father, when he saw that one of his many brothers may be given Kiev. However, Vladimir died in 1015 and his domain got divided between his sons. 2/10 The Rus' state divided amongst the sons of Vladimir in 1013,
Read 11 tweets
Dec 8, 2022
A kingdom sought by two dynasties.

But both die out in quick succession in the male line.

Another emerges, with a noble ruling as king in all but title, on behalf of his son crowned as king.

Story in the evening ...
Birger Magnusson was born around 1210 to Magnus "Minnesköld" Bengtsson and Ingrid Ilva. Magnus was the grandson of the powerful Scandinavian noble, Folke, while Ingrid may have been a descendant of Sverker, King of Sweden in mid 12th century. 1/10 Birger Magnusson, Jarl of Sweden, taken from https://en.wiki
The kingdom of Sweden claimed land on the western and eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea in the 13th century. However, the crown itself was held between two dynasties since Sverker's death in 1156; by Sverker's family and that of Erik who became king after Sverker. 2/10 Sweden in early 13th century, taken from https://en.wikipedi
Read 11 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(