Battle of Lipitsa

Battle of Lipitsa
Part of the Vladimir-Suzdal war
of succession (1212–1216)
Date22 April 1216
Location
Result Victory for Konstantin Vsevolodovich and Mstislav Mstislavich[2]
Territorial
changes
Division of Vsevolod's possessions
Belligerents
Rostov (Konstantin)
Novgorod (Mstislav)
Supported by:
Rostislavichi of Smolensk[1]
Vladimir (Yuri)
Zalessky (Yaroslav)
Supported by:
Olgovichi of Chernigov[1]
Commanders and leaders
Konstantin Vsevolodovich
Mstislav Mstislavich
Yuri Vsevolodovich
Yaroslav Vsevolodovich


The Battle of Lipitsa (Russian: Ли́пицкая би́тва) was the decisive battle in the Vladimir-Suzdal war of succession (1212–1216), the struggle over the grand princely throne following the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest.[1][a] In the battle, fought on 22 April 1216, the forces of Mstislav the Bold and Konstantin Vsevolodovich defeated those of Konstantin's younger brothers Yuri Vsevolodovich and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. Konstantin took the throne of Vladimir and reigned as grand prince until his death two years later.

The large-scale battle typifies the fratricidal strife that sapped the strength of the successor states to Kievan Rus' before the Mongol invasion. A detailed account of the battle first appeared in the older redaction of the Novgorodian First Chronicle, and later in the Novgorodian Fourth Chronicle, the Sofia First Chronicle, and elsewhere.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Martin 2007, p. 112.
  2. ^ Martin 2007, p. 135.
  3. ^ Alef 1956, p. 11.
  4. ^ See "Povest o Bitve na Lipitse" in Biblioteka literatury drevnei Rusi, available online at http://lib.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=4951. The Old East Slavic version of the Novgorodian First Chronicle is also available online at http://litopys.org.ua/.


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