Battle of Saule 1236
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1236 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Lithuania | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Livonian Crusade | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 56.1144, 23.5144 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Saule (Lithuanian: Saulės mūšis / Šiaulių mūšis; German: Schlacht von Schaulen; Latvian: Saules kauja) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands. The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic military order established in the Baltic lands, was soundly defeated, and its remnants accepted incorporation into the Teutonic Order in 1237. The battle inspired rebellions among the Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, and Oeselians, tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers. Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of Daugava were reversed. To commemorate the battle, in 2000, the Lithuanian and Latvian parliaments declared 22 September to be the Baltic Unity Day.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Saule (revision 1376210378), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Šiauliai offensive 1944 · 33 km
- Battle of Gemauerthof 1705 · 36 km
- Battle of Saločiai (1703) 1703 · 55 km
- Battle of Tryškiai 1701 · 58 km
- Battle of Jelgava (1919) 1919 · 66 km
- Battle of Medininkai 1320 · 83 km
Other battles of the Livonian Crusade
- Battle of Riga (1215) 1215
- Battle of Otepää 1217
- Siege of Tallinn 1221
- Battle of Viljandi (1223) 1223
- Siege of Tartu (1224) 1224
- Battle of Memel (1257) 1257
- Battle of Karuse 1270
- Battle of Aizkraukle 1279
All 13 battles of the Livonian Crusade →
Browse more: battles in Lithuania · Europe · Medieval battles