Livonian War

Livonian War
Siege of Narva by the Russians in 1558, by Boris Chorikov, 1836
Date 22 January 1558 – 10 August 1583 (25 years, 6 months, 2 weeks and 5 days) Location Northern Europe: Estonia, Livonia, Ingria, Russia Result Dano–Norwegian, Polish–Lithuanian and Swedish victory Territorial changes Cession of: Estonia to Sweden Livonia, Courland and Semigallia to Poland–Lithuania Ösel to Denmark–Norway
Belligerents
Livonian Confederation  Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (before 1569 the Polish–Lithuanian union) Denmark–Norway Kingdom of Sweden Zaporozhian Cossacks Principality of Transylvania (after 1577)[1]	Tsardom of Russia Qasim Khanate Kingdom of Livonia
Commanders and leaders
Sigismund II Augustus Stephen Báthory Gotthard Kettler Frederick II Eric XIV John III	Ivan IV Shahghali Sain-Bulat Magnus of Livonia

The Livonian War (1558–1583) was fought for control of Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Union (later Commonwealth) of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.

From 1558 to 1578, Russia dominated the region with early military successes at Dorpat (Tartu) and Narva. The Russian dissolution of the Livonian Confederation brought Poland–Lithuania into the conflict, and Sweden and Denmark-Norway intervened between 1559 and 1561. Swedish Estonia was established despite constant invasion from Russia, and Frederick II of Denmark-Norway bought the old Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, which he placed under the control of his brother Magnus of Holstein. Magnus attempted to expand his Livonian holdings to establish the Russian vassal state, the Kingdom of Livonia, which nominally existed until his defection in 1576.

In 1576, Stephen Báthory became King of Poland as well as Grand Duke of Lithuania and turned the tide of the war with his successes between 1578 and 1581, including the joint Swedish–Polish–Lithuanian offensive at the Battle of Wenden. That was followed by an extended campaign through Russia, culminating in the long and difficult Siege of Pskov. Under the 1582 Truce of Jam Zapolski, which ended the war between Russia and Poland–Lithuania, Russia lost all of its former holdings in Livonia and Polotsk to Poland–Lithuania. The following year, Sweden and Russia signed the Truce of Plussa, with Sweden gaining most of Ingria and northern Livonia while retaining the Duchy of Estonia.