Duchy of Lithuania

Duchy of Lithuania
Lietuvos kunigaikštystė (Lithuanian)
Division of Grand Duchy of Lithuania
13th century–1413

Domain of King Mindaugas (dark yellow) during the times of the Kingdom of Lithuania, making up the initial Duchy of Lithuania.
Government
 • TypeFeudal monarchy
Grand Duke of Lithuania 
• ca. 1236–1263
Mindaugas
• 1295–1316
Vytenis
• 1316–1341
Gediminas
• 1345–1377
Algirdas
• 1377–1392
Jogaila
• 1392–1413
Vytautas
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
13th century
1413
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Lithuania
Today part of
Kernavė, the heartland of Lithuania in the 11th–13th century

The Duchy of Lithuania (Latin: Ducatus Lithuaniae; Lithuanian: Lietuvos kunigaikštystė) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century[1] to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Other alternative names of the territorial formation, used in different periods, were Aukštaitija or Land of Lithuania (13th century), Duchy of Vilnius (14th – early 15th centuries),[2] Lithuania proper, or simply Lithuania (in a narrow sense).

  1. ^ C. Rowell, Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-central Europe, 1295–1345
  2. ^ "Viduramžių Lietuvos visuomenė" (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2007-05-02.