Livonian War

Pre-war Livonia , before the Livonian War: By the mid-16th century, economically prosperous Old Livonia had become a region organised into the decentralised and religiously divided Livonian Confederation. Its territories consisted of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order, the prince-bishoprics of Dorpat (Tartu), Ösel–Wiek, as well as Courland, the Archbishopric of Riga and the city of Riga. The only common institutions of the Livonian estates were the regularly held common assemblies known as Landtags. As war approached, Livonia had a weak administration subject to internal rivalries, lacked any powerful defences or outside support, and was surrounded by monarchies pursuing expansionist policies. Robert I. Frost notes of the volatile region: "Racked with internal bickering and threatened by the political machinations of its neighbours, Livonia was in no state to resist an attack." The Order's Landmeister and the Gebietigers, as well as the owners of Livonian estates, were all lesser nobles who guarded their privileges and influence by preventing the creation of a higher, more powerful noble class. Only the archbishopric of Riga successfully overcame resistance of the lesser nobles. Wilhelm von Brandenburg was appointed as Archbishop of Riga and Christoph von Mecklenburg as his Coadjutor, with the help of his brother Albert (Albrecht) of Brandenburg–Ansbach, the former Prussian Hochmeister who had secularised the southern Teutonic Order state and in 1525 established himself as duke in Prussia. Wilhelm and Christoph were to pursue Albert's interests in Livonia, among which was the establishment of a hereditary Livonian duchy styled after the Prussian model. opposed secularization, and creation of a hereditary duchy. While still involved and with increasing sales, it now shared the market with European mercenary fleets, most notably from the Dutch Seventeen Provinces and France. and since the league was unable to maintain a large navy because of a declining share of trade, its Livonian members Riga, Reval (Tallinn), and trading partner Narva were left without suitable protection. The Danish navy, the most powerful in the Baltic Sea, controlled the entrance to the Baltic Sea, Nevertheless, the country prospered due to exports of timber, iron, and most notably copper, coupled with the advantages of a growing navy Before the Livonian War, Sweden had sought expansion into Livonia, but the intervention of the Russian tsar temporarily stalled these efforts through the Russo-Swedish War of 1554–1557, which culminated in the 1557 Treaty of Novgorod. the Tsardom of Russia had become Livonia's eastern neighbour and grown stronger after annexing the khanates of Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1556). The conflict between Russia and the Western powers was exacerbated by Russia's isolation from sea trade. The new Ivangorod port – built in 1550 during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV on the eastern shore of the Narva River – was considered unsatisfactory on account of its shallow waters. Thereafter the tsar demanded that the Livonian Confederation pay about 6,000 marks to keep the Bishopric of Dorpat, based on the claim that every adult male had paid Pskov one mark when it had been an independent state. Therefore, Sigismund supported his cousin Wilhelm von Brandenburg, archbishop of Riga, in his conflicts with Wilhelm von Fürstenberg, the Livonian Order's landmeister. Sigismund hoped that Livonia, just like the Duchy of Prussia under Duke Albert, would become a vassal state of Poland–Lithuania. With weak support in Livonia, However, Sigismund hesitated over participation in the action, fearing that it would leave the Kiev Voivodeship exposed to a pending Russian attack. A cross-party meeting in Lübeck to resolve the conflict was scheduled for 1 April 1557, but was cancelled due to quarrels between Sigismund and the Danish envoys. Sigismund used the killing of his envoy Lancki by the ''landmeister's'' son as an excuse to invade the southern portion of Livonia with an army of around 80,000. He forced the competing parties in Livonia to reconcile at his camp in Pozvol in September 1557. There they signed the Treaty of Pozvol, which created a mutual defensive and offensive alliance, with its primary target Russia, and provoked the Livonian War. ==1558–1562: Dissolution of the Livonian Order==

Russian invasion of Livonia Ivan IV regarded the Livonian Confederation's approach to the Polish–Lithuanian union for protection under the Treaty of Pozvol as casus belli. In 1554 Livonia and Russia had signed a fifteen-year truce in which Livonia agreed not to enter into an alliance with Poland–Lithuania. On 22 January 1558, Ivan reacted with the invasion of Livonia. The Russians were seen by local peasants as liberators from the German control of Livonia. Many Livonian fortresses surrendered without resistance while Russian troops took Dorpat (Tartu) in May, Narva in July and laid siege to Reval (Tallinn). Reinforced by 1,200 Landsknechts, 100 gunners, and ammunition from Germany, Livonian forces successfully retook Wesenberg (Rakvere) along with a number of other fortresses. Although the Germans raided Russian territory, Dorpat (Tartu), Narva, and many lesser fortresses remained in Russian hands. who at that time were mostly armed foot soldiers. Ivan gained further ground in campaigns during the years 1559 and 1560. A six-month truce covering May to November was signed between Russia and Livonia while Russia fought in the Russo-Crimean Wars. Prompted by the Russian invasion, Livonia first unsuccessfully sought help from Emperor Ferdinand I, then turned to Poland–Lithuania. Landmeister von Fürstenburg fled to Poland–Lithuania to be replaced by Gotthard Kettler. In June 1559, the estates of Livonia came under Polish–Lithuanian protection through the first Treaty of Vilnius. The Polish sejm refused to agree to the treaty, believing it to be a matter affecting only the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. in 1561. Russian successes followed similar patterns featuring a multitude of small campaigns, with sieges where musketmen played a key role in destroying wooden defences with effective artillery support. The weakened Livonian Order was dissolved by the second Treaty of Vilnius in 1561. Its lands were secularised as the Duchy of Livonia and Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and assigned to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Kettler became the first Duke of Courland, in doing so converting to Lutheranism. Some members of the Lithuanian nobility opposed the growing Polish–Lithuanian union and offered the Lithuanian crown to Ivan IV. The Tsar publicly advertised this option, either because he took the offer seriously, or because he needed time to strengthen his Livonian troops. Frederick II nominated his brother, Duke Magnus of Holstein as bishop, who then took possession in April 1560. Lest Danish efforts create more insecurity for Sweden, Denmark-Norway made another attempt to mediate a peace in the region. Magnus at once pursued his own interests, purchasing the Bishopric of Courland without Frederick's consent and trying to expand into Harrien–Wierland (Harju and Virumaa). This brought him into direct conflict with Eric. Reval (Tallinn), similarly, accepted Swedish rule. Denmark-Norway dominated the Baltic, and Sweden wished to challenge this by gaining territory on the Eastern side of the Baltic. Doing so would help Sweden control the West's trade with Russia. This helped to precipitate the Northern Seven Years' War When Eric XIV's forces seized Pernau (Pärnu) in June 1562, his diplomats tried to arrange Swedish protection for Riga, which brought him into conflict with Sigismund. While Eric XIV had approved the marriage, he was upset when John lent Sigismund 120,000 dalers and received seven Livonian castles as security. This incident led to John's capture and imprisonment in August 1563 on Eric XIV's behalf, whereupon Sigismund allied with Denmark and Lübeck against Eric XIV in October the same year. ==1562–1570==

The intervention of Denmark-Norway, Sweden, and Poland-Lithuania into Livonia began a period of struggle for control of the Baltic, known contemporaneously as the dominium maris baltici. While the initial war years were characterised by intensive fighting, a period of low-intensity warfare began in 1562 and lasted until 1570 when fighting once more intensified. Denmark, Sweden, and to some extent Poland–Lithuania were occupied with the Nordic Seven Years' War (1563–1570) taking place in the Western Baltic, but Livonia remained strategically important. In 1564, Sweden and Russia concluded a seven-years truce. Both Ivan IV and Eric XIV showed signs of mental disorder, with Ivan IV turning against part of the Tsardom's nobility and people with the oprichina that began in 1565, leaving Russia in a state of political chaos and civil war. The defeats of Ula and Czasniki, along with the defection of Andrey Kurbsky, led Ivan IV to move his capital to the Alexandrov Kremlin while the perceived opposition against him was repressed by his oprichniki. Lithuania was prepared to split Livonia with Russia, with a view to a joint offensive to drive Sweden from the area. However, this was seen as a sign of weakness by Russian diplomats, who instead suggested that Russia take the whole of Livonia, including Riga, through the ceding of Courland in southern Livonia and Polotsk on the Lithuanian–Russian border. The transfer of Riga, and the surrounding entrance to the River Dvina, troubled the Lithuanians, since much of their trade depended on safe passage through it and they had already built fortifications to protect it. while the Boyars were less keen on an overall peace with Lithuania, noting the danger posed by a joint Polish-Lithuanian state. Talks were then halted and hostilities resumed upon the return of the ambassadors to Lithuania. In June 1570 a three-year truce was signed with Russia. Sigismund II, the Commonwealth's first King, died in 1572 leaving the Polish throne with no clear successor for the first time since 1382 and thus began the first free election in Polish history. Some Lithuanian nobles, in an effort to retain Lithuanian autonomy, proposed a Russian candidate. Ivan, however, demanded the return of Kiev, an Orthodox coronation, and a hereditary monarchy in parallel to Russia's, with his son, Feodor, as King. The electorate rejected these demands and instead chose Henry of Valois (Henryk Walezy), brother of King Charles IX of France. Russian war with Sweden In 1564, Sweden and Russia agreed the Treaty of Dorpat, whereby Russia recognised Sweden's right to Reval (Tallinn) and other castles, and Sweden accepted Russia's patrimony over the rest of Livonia. A seven-year truce was signed between Russia and Sweden in 1565. Both Russia and Sweden had other problems and were keen to avoid an expensive escalation of the war in Livonia. Ivan IV had requested the delivery of John's wife, the Polish-Lithuanian princess Catherine Jagellonica, to Russia, since he had competed with John to marry into the Lithuanian-Polish royal family. In July 1569 John sent a party to Russia, led by Paul Juusten, Bishop of Åbo, which arrived in Novgorod in September, following the arrival in Moscow of the ambassadors sent to Sweden in 1567 by Ivan to retrieve Catherine. Ivan refused to meet with the party himself, forcing them to negotiate instead with the Governor of Novgorod. On his return to Moscow in May 1570, Ivan refused to meet the Swedish party, and with the signing of a three-year truce in June 1570 with the Commonwealth he no longer feared war with Poland–Lithuania. Juusten was left behind while John rejected Ivan's demands, and war broke out anew. Impact of the Northern Seven Years' War Quarrels between Denmark-Norway and Sweden led to the Northern Seven Years' War in 1563, which ended in 1570 with the Treaty of Stettin. Primarily fought in western and southern Scandinavia, the war involved important naval battles fought in the Baltic. Among them was Pontus de la Gardie, Livonia was also affected by the naval campaign of Danish admiral Peder Munk, who bombarded Swedish Reval (Tallinn) from sea in July 1569. The Treaty of Stettin made Denmark the supreme and dominating power in Northern Europe, yet failed to restore the Kalmar Union. Unfavourable conditions for Sweden led to a series of conflicts that only ended with the Great Northern War in 1720. Sweden agreed to turn over her possessions in Livonia in return for a payment by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Maximilian failed to pay the promised compensation, however, and thereby lost his influence on Baltic affairs. From Ivan's point of view, the treaty enabled the powers involved to form an alliance against him, now that they were no longer fighting each other. ==1570–1577: Russian dominance and the Kingdom of Livonia==

During the early 1570s, King John III of Sweden faced a Russian offensive on his positions in Estonia. Reval (Tallinn) withstood a Russian siege in 1570 and 1571, but several smaller towns were taken by Russian forces. On 23 January a Swedish army of 700 infantry and 600 cavalry under command of Clas Åkesson Tott (the Elder) clashed with a Russian and Tartar army of 16,000 men under the command of Khan Sain-Bulat at the Battle of Lode by the village of Koluvere. The Russian advance concluded with the sacking of Weissenstein (Paide) in 1573, where, after its capture, the occupying forces roasted some of the leaders of the Swedish garrison alive, including the commander. This triggered a retaliatory campaign by John centred on Wesenberg, with Klas Åkesson Tott in overall command and Pontus de la Gardie as field commander. John's counter-offensive stalled at the siege of Wesenberg in 1574, when German and Scottish units of the Swedish army turned against each other. This failure has also been blamed on the difficulties of fighting in the bitter winter conditions, particularly for the infantry. The war in Livonia was a great financial burden for Sweden, and by the end of 1573, Sweden's German mercenaries were owed 200,000 daler. Ivan IV had introduced a new strategy whereby he relied on tens of thousands of native troops, Cossacks and Tatars instead of a few thousand skilled troops and mercenaries, as was the practice of his adversaries. Ivan's campaign reached its height in 1576 when another 30,000 Russian soldiers crossed into Livonia in 1577 Swedish forces were besieged in Reval (Tallinn) and central Livonia raided as far as Dünaburg (Daugavpils), formally under Polish–Lithuanian control since the 1561 Treaty of Vilnius. having started to appropriate castles without consulting the Tsar. When Kokenhusen (Koknese) submitted to Magnus to avoid fighting Ivan IV's army, the Tsar sacked the town and executed its German commanders. The campaign then focussed on Wenden (Cēsis, Võnnu), "the heart of Livonia", which as the former capital of the Livonian Order was not only of strategic importance, but also symbolic of Livonia itself. ==1577–1583: Defeat of Russia==

Swedish and Polish–Lithuanian alliance and counter-offensives In 1576, the Transylvanian prince Stephen Báthory became King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania after a contested election to the joint Polish–Lithuanian throne with the Habsburg Emperor Maximilian II. Both Báthory's fiancée Anna Jagiellon and Maximilian II had been proclaimed elected to the same throne in December 1575, three days apart; Báthory, ambitious to expel Ivan IV from Livonia, was constrained by the opposition of Danzig (Gdansk), which resisted Báthory's accession with Danish support. The ensuing Danzig War of 1577 ended when Báthory conceded further autonomous rights to the city in return for a payment of 200,000 zlotys. Poland also claimed the whole of Livonia, without accepting Swedish rule of any part of it. while a Polish–Swedish force took the town and castle of Wenden in early 1578. Russian forces failed to retake the town in February, Similarly, he improved an already effective artillery system and recruited cossacks. In 1581, the force besieged Pskov, a well-fortified and heavily defended fortress. However, financial support from the Polish parliament was dropping, and Báthory failed to lure Russian forces in Livonia out into open field before the onset of winter. The towns of Kexholm and Padise were taken by Swedish forces in 1580, but later arguments over formal control in the long term hampered any alliance with Poland. 7,000 Russians were killed according to Russow's contemporary chronicle. The fall of Narva was followed by those of Ivangorod, Jama, and Koporye, This was a humiliation for the Tsar, in part because he requested the truce. Báthory failed in his attempts to pressure Sweden into relinquishing its gains in Livonia, particularly Narva. Russia relinquished most of Ingria, leaving Narva and Ivangorod as well under Swedish control. Originally scheduled to last three years, the Russo-Swedish truce was later extended until 1590. During the negotiations, Sweden made vast demands for Russian territory, including Novgorod. Whilst these conditions were probably only for the purposes of negotiation, they may have reflected Swedish aspirations of territory in the region. ==Aftermath==

The post-war Duchy of Courland and Semigallia south of the Düna (Daugava) river experienced a period of political stability based on the 1561 Treaty of Vilnius, later modified by the 1617 Formula regiminis and Statuta Curlandiæ, which granted indigenous nobles additional rights at the duke's expense. North of the Düna, Báthory reduced the privileges Sigismund had granted the Duchy of Livonia, regarding the regained territories as the spoils of war. Polish gradually replaced German as the administrative language and the establishment of voivodeships reduced the Baltic German administration. The local clergy and the Jesuits in Livonia embraced the Counter-Reformation Despite these measures, the Livonian population did not convert en masse, while the Livonian estates in Poland–Lithuania were alienated. The Swedish–Polish alliance began to crumble when the Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania Sigismund III, who as son of John III of Sweden (died 1592) and Catherine Jagellonica, was the successor to the Swedish throne, met with resistance from a faction led by his uncle, Charles of Södermanland (later Charles IX), who claimed regency in Sweden for himself. Charles then expelled the Polish forces from Estonia At the same time, Russia was embroiled in civil war over the vacant Russian throne ("Time of Troubles") when none of the many claimants had prevailed. This conflict became intertwined with the Livonian campaigns when Swedish and Polish–Lithuanian forces intervened on opposite sides, the latter starting the Polish–Muscovite War. after major setbacks at the battles of Kokenhausen(1601) and Kircholm (1605). A second campaign then started with the capture of Riga in 1621 and expelled Polish–Lithuanian forces from most of Livonia, where the dominion of Swedish Livonia was created. The Danish province of Øsel was ceded to Sweden under the 1645 Treaty of Brömsebro, which ended the Torstenson War, one theatre of the Thirty Years' War. It was retained after the Peace of Oliva and the Treaty of Copenhagen, both in 1660. The situation remained unchanged until 1710 when Estonia and Livonia capitulated to Russia during the Great Northern War, an action formalised in the Treaty of Nystad (1721). == See also ==