The Lithuanian Civil War (783 to 787 AH)
The Lithuanian civil war between cousins Jogalia and Vytautas started when Vytautas, prince of Novgorod wanted to reclaim his father's realm from Jogalia and his brother Skirgaila. The Teutonic order, a third party was a benefactor of this conflict. Vytautas supporting a Ruthenian alphabet bible to spread his Orthodox faith amongst the Lithuanian nobles rang alarm bells and the Knights of Teutonic order and Livonian order began crusading against Lithuania. But since Vytautas's father Kestutis was a thorn in the way of uniting Lithuania under Jogalia, the latter sought an alliance with the knights in fighting against Vytautas and Kestutis. This culminated in the 'Dovidiskes treaty' in which Jogalia promised Samagotia to the Knights and promised to convert to Catholicism. The knights were spooked by a resurgent Orthodox Novgorod and with the defeat in the battle of lake Peipus still fresh, they gladly accepted the offer.
Image: Vytautas, prince of Novgorod
In 783 (1381 AD), the knights raided Duchy of Trakai. Kestutis repelled the assault and chased the knights upto the border in Riga. At first Kestutis didn't know that Jogalia was behind this. But after a prisoner knight from the Livonian order told him about it, he was furious. He quickly sent messengers to his son Vytautas inquiring him about it. The prince of Novgorod denied any knowledge about Jogalia's involvement and warned his father about a trap by the Knights. But once Jogalia returned from crushing the Polatsk rebellion, Kestutis was captured and kept in Vilinus. The news quickly reached Vytautas who marched from Novgorod and faced a Livonian force near Daugava river. Muharram 784( April 1382), in the battle of Daugave river Vytautas and his Novgorod forces were victorious against the knights. Vytautas captured a lot of territory and even besieged VIlinus. A coalition of Teutonics and Jogalia loyalists drove him off in Dhul Hajj 784 (February 1383). The death of Kestutis in prison further deteriorated the situation when Vytautas promised vengence for his 'murdered' father.
In Rajab 785(September 1383), the eastern conqueror Timur the lame devastated Lithuanian territory in the Dnieper basin. As the civil war in Golden horde raged on, Toktaymish sought refuge in Vytautas's realm after angering the warlord by assassinating his son Miran Shah in siege of Sarai . Jogalia knew and tried to use this to his advantage. But Timur was furious against any Lithuanian for harboring the 'dishonorable' Toktaymish and didn't care whether he destroyed Jogalia or Vytautas's realm. The sacking of Kiev in Ramadan 785( November 1383) was a phenomenal event which shook Lithuanians to the core. After burning the citadel, Timur ordered every soldier to bring at least 2 heads or be punished. The erection of two towers made of skulls struck fear into the hearts of the noble and peasantry alike. Vytautas was forced to do away with Toktaymish later that year. The cunning Tatar lord in exile was called to Vytautas's throne room and strangled from behind. after that his head was chopped off and Vytautas sent it for Timur. Whether or not the cruel warlord was satisfied seeing the head of Miran Shah's murderer was not known but Timur never launched another attack on Lithuania and went to Persia in early 786.
Image: Timurid soldiers look at a skull tower after sack of Moscow in 785. Such structures were an epitome of Timur's ruthlessness being repeated throughout his campaign
As Jogalia failed to capitalize on the brief Tatar incursion in Lithuania, he became frustrated. He also began distrusting his allies, the knights. He also believed they were playing him and Vytautas against each other, for a while. But he knew all would have to come to his aid if he baptized as a Nazarene. So on 20 Shaban 786(7 October, 1384), Jogalia was baptized as
Wladislaw the second. He subsequently married Jadwiga of Poland and crowned as king of Poland in 2 Ramadan 786( 18 October 1384). This caused most nobles in Jogalia's court to convert to Catholicism en masse. But Orthodox and polytheism would remain in Lithuania.
After securing his positions as a christian monarch in the eyes of Europe, Jogalia called for aids from Holy Roman Empire against the 'heretic orthodoxy'. Though there was little he would receive in the form of aid, the pope and the Holy Roman emperor's paying heed nevertheless created pressure upon the Baltic crusaders to keep him under their influence. So the Knightly orders were forced to cease their actions in Jogalia's territory whilst they continued their campaign against Vytautas and allies. Jogalia saw Vytautas as more of a threat to his rule in Lithuania than the orders. But he deemed them as a secondary ally and not a force on equal footing, at least in the political sense. So when he sponsored the diocese of Vilinus under archbishop Andrzej Wasilko and subordinated the region of Samagotia to the newly constituted diocese in early 787, Teutonic order was furious. They demanded Samagotia which was geographically between Prussian and the Livonian order. Some experts said that Jogalia feared that these two would combine and create trouble for Lithuania in the future. But at least the Livonian order was still more friendly to the Polish King whom they saw as a potential ally in their future quests in nearby Novgorod.
image : Knights of the Livonian order, the more trusted ally of Wladislaw II amongst the Baltic crusading states
The ascension of Robin Von Eltz as the grand master of Livonian order in Muharram 787(March 1385) further warmed up relation between Poland and the Knights. The Prussian branch reluctantly followed its Livonian branch and warmed up to Wladislaw II who promised the knights land and monetary concessions. The renewed alliance was solidified in Rabiul Awal 787 ( May 1385) under the treaty of Krakow which saw Wladislaw giving Paloga to Livonian order thus connecting the two crusader states by a narrow margin of land. The order territories were now connected by land but it was so narrow that Lithuania could easily overran and separate them if they felt necessary.
In 8 Jumada Sani 787 (3 August 1385), Wladislaw II along with his Teutonic and Livonian allies marched against his cousin Vytautas who was camping in Dryssa. The two armies met in a drizzling afternoon, Vytautas slightly outnumbering Wladislaw II in number of troops. Both sides began charging in sporadic fashion but the Knights were more disciplined and repelled several Rus charges. The battle began and numerically superior cavalry of Vytautas charged but were brought to halt by bombards. At the height of the battle Vytautas was knocked off his horse by a stray arrow which hit him in the thigh. But many of his troops thought that their leader was shot in the chest which caused panic. Forces from Novgorod were routed and started fleeing indiscriminately. The Lithuanian faction still held out but were annhilated by the knights. The vast amount of Rus artillery stayed silent throughout the battle as Vytautas's men forgot to cover their gunpowder which were rendered damp by drizzling rain. A final cavalry charge by the Polish troops finished the battle which became a clean victory for Wladislaw II and his knight allies. Vytautas was able to escape but many Lithuanian nobles were not so lucky. It seemed that Vytautas would lose all of his Lithuanian realm as the knights were seething in revenge of defeating an army of Novgorod. Vytautas lost all of his Lithuanian territory upto Rohaczew in the north and Krzemienczew in the East. But Wladislaw knew he can't afford more incursions into Lithuania proper by Knights. He allowed knights to build outposts in Wilikiye Luki , near the Novgorod republic. It seemed that Wladislaw wanted to create a buffer state between Lithuania and Vytautas's realm in Novgorod. But the Prussian order was more inclined to 'crusade' in the newly acquired Lithuanian lands. Wladislaw's determination to keep the Knights from messing things in his new territories finally culminated in treaty of Dyneburg in Shaban 787(October 1385). In this treaty the orders were free to do their activities only in their territories and leave the Christening of Lithuania in the hands of its Monarch. Wladislaw also granted whatever territory the knights can grab from Novgorod but all Lithuanian alnds once 'liberated' must be returned to him. The war was over, Vytautas retreating to Novgorod to recover his wounds. The knights, particularly the Prussian ones were not happy over the 'meddling' of Wladislaw II and limiting their territorial ambitions on Lithuania. But for now they would lay low, for defeating the heretics to the east was more important.
( piece of
"From Vikings to Tsars: early Russian history" by Vasiley Simkus)
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He who has one enemy shall meet him everywhere- Umar Khayyam
A journey long way down
In the month of Dhul Qad, the air was light in the autumn weather. The harsh rays of the sun beat down meadows across Mawarennahr, though temperature was milder now. Inside the great City of Samarqand, a young man hurriedly climbed stairs to a hall.
Not just any hall, it was the darbar of the great Warlord Timur Gurigan. The Emir of Turks, the dread of the heretic Batiniyah Ismailis, The Shah of Persia, the Gazi of Moscow, the gurdians of the Mongol Jalayarids, Chagtaids, Jochids and recently, of Juans.
"
Our Emir is definitely not inferior to the great Sultan Almahmud who attacked Hind 17 times. By Allah's grace, a hundred thousand horsemen wait upon the orders of him and if Allah wills, he shall be victorious in this campaign and our treasuries will be filled with the vast riches of pagan polytheists and those who support them." a courtier was speaking as Atrak entered the hall.
"Assalamualaikum great scholarly mongol, I am very disappointed that you skipped my invitation to sarai (tavern) last night. Oh well, you don't like forcing the women in pleasuring you. But watching a little dance wouldn't hurt." Muhammad Sultan Mirza, a close friend of the young scholar whispered as the latter found his place within the courtiers.
"Oliekum Salam, prince Muhammad. You very well know if I see or indulge myself in pleasure of gazing upon the curvaceous bodies of the new girls brought from Georgia only once, I won't be able to concentrate on my studies for at least 3 day straight." Atrak replied and the prince smiled.
"One of these days, Mr. scholar you may find yourself in delicate position with a girl who will not heed to your words but go down straight into action. May Allah give me hayat(longetivity) to see that day." Muhammad whispered to him. Atrak just sighed and focused on the ongoing topic in darbar.
"Allah willing, we will crush those idolaters and fill our coffers with gold, silver and precious jewels. Since the days of the Persian sultans, the title of king of Iran and Turan had been Shahan shah which was more glorified than Darai, title of the king of Hind. Now you my Emir are the Shahan shah of this land by grace of Allah." Shahrukh spoke eloquently.
"Not only riches, land of Hind is also filled with trees right for making wear apparel, aromatic shrubs and sugercane. The land is always verdant and green and the overall aspect of the land is magnificent to the eyes and delightful to feel." prince Muhammad now spoke.
"Now since the inhabitants are polytheists our campaign is justified by the sunnah of Rasool (pbuh) and we shall tread the path of the sahabas and all other mujahedeen who have struggled throughout their lives to bring the words of Islam to the furthest corner of the earth." he continued
"Though Hind sounds tempting and a nice place to live, we must not fall into that honey trap. For if our kind were to live there we would become like those degenerate natives. My lord doesn't need to look far, the Tughlaqs are right there. Why do you think they have plunged into their current condition?" a general cautioned.
"By Allah, prince Muhammad speaks the truth! We must strive for the suppression of all polytheist faiths under the sun for in the books of fiqh there is no breathing room for them. We must also make wars against those deviants who retract from taking jizya from the other faiths. The Tughlaqs fit into this catagory. I have looked up fiqah from all other sects icluding those of Ibn Hambal. He tells that only Zorostrians are allowed to continue their polytheist rituals in exchange of jizya. All other polytheist groups must be eliminated from dar Al Islam." spoke Abu Jabbar Khwarezmi, a religious scholar who held a prominent presence in Timur's court.
"No one is like the leader of Imams Abu Hanifa. But we must not forget whilst he was a learnt men it is unlikely he was able to provide answer for all if not most of the questions of islamic ruling. We will always follow his jurisdiction in most of our lives. But my heart tells me to follow Imam Hambal's reasoning in this matter. After all, there is no question of sin if I do, all are Imams right? Some less in prestige than the others but that doesn't mean we have to neglect all of it."
"Allah be pleased! Our Emir has spoken in such a language that is befitting of scholars who respect all valid sects within the Ahlus Sunnah, not of a conqueror like him. May Allah increase his knowledge and give barakah(promotion) to his reasoning abilities." prince Muhammad said with a wide grin.
"Ameen!" the courtroom spoke in unison.
"So it is settled, we're gonna unleash our swords against the land of mushriqs(idolaters) that is Hind. Meanwhile, let's welcome a new guest." Timur spoke and gestured.
a young Mongolian in Persian attire entered the courtroom and looked at the floor.
"Rise oh son of Borijin, you don't have to bow to us anymore, now that you're one of us." Timur spoke.
"Selam Alykum brothers in faith. I am Bunyashiri of Borijin tribe. I have come to this land seeking refuge from my brother Orug Guilichi who is acting subordinate to the polytheist Chinese." the young man spoke.
"You may attend the classes of Sheikh Jabbar Khwarezmi. If you need any catering further than that ask this lad named Atrak. He's a mongol like you, of Jochid origin."
"I am honoured my Emir." Atrak replied and for the first time, he thought he could see a small glint of smile in the warlord's face. But vision can be wrong if the heart is not in the right path.
'So it begins, the forces of the Emir travels to Hind on 10 Rajab year Hijra 799......'
( piece from 'Smarqand Diaries' by Edward Hoffman, English adoption from Sijillat Atrak)
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So here it is. Sorry for the 24 hours delay.
Important differences are Earlier conversion of Jogalia and more rabid attitude of knights towards Vytautas because of his Novgorod connection. So now we have a catholic 'Poland-Lithuania' and an orthodox 'Novgorod-Lithuania'. But fear not! For Lithuania will unite, we'll see under who.
And Timur goes on Indian campaign a year early. His Persian campaign before has been more or less OTL and the next campaign will be too. Also Olej Temur Khan aka Bunyashiri is in Samarqand! Up next we'll go out of Asia and see what the Ottomans and other Europeans are up to.