The Battle of Aizkraukle or Ascheraden was a battle fought on March 5, 1279 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

, led by Traidenis

Traidenis

Traidenis was the Grand Duke Lithuania from 1270 till 1282. He is the second most prominent, after Mindaugas, Grand Duke of Lithuania in the 13th century. His reign ended a seven-year unrest period after Mindaugas was assassinated in 1263 and firmly established the Grand Duchy as a pagan state...

, and the Livonian Order

Livonian Order

The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...

 near Aizkraukle

Aizkraukle

Aizkraukle is a town in Vidzeme region in Latvia, the administrative centre of Aizkraukle municipality on the right bank of the Daugava River.-History:Aizkraukle before the World War I was formerly known by its German name of Ascheraden...

  in present-day Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. The Order suffered a great defeat: 71 knights, the Grand Master Ernst von Rassburg, and the leader of the knights from Danish Estonia

Danish Estonia

Danish Estonia refers to the territories of present-day Estonia that were ruled by Denmark firstly during the 13th–14th centuries and again in the 16th–17th centuries....

 Eilart Hoberg were killed. It was the second-largest defeat of the Order in the 13th century. After this battle Duke Nameisis of the Semigallians

Semigallians

Semigallians were the Baltic tribe that lived in the southcentral part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania...

 recognized Traidenis as his suzerain

Suzerainty

Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...

.

In 1273 the Order built a castle in Dünaburg (Daugavpils

Daugavpils

Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...

) on lands nominally controlled by Traidenis. The castle was of great strategic importance: it was used as a base for raids into central Lithuania in hopes that weakened Traidenis would discontinue his support of Semigalians who rebelled against the Order. When Traidenis besieged the castle for a month, but failed to capture it, the Order started organizing a grand campaign into Lithuania hoping to strike a final blow and force Traidenis out of war.

The army of Livonian Order reached as far as Kernavė

Kernave

Kernavė was a medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and today is a tourist attraction and an archeological site . It is located in the Širvintos district municipality located in southeast Lithuania...

. They did not meet any open resistance and plundered many villages. On their way home the knights were followed by a small force of Traidenis troops. When the enemies approached Aizkraukle, the Grand Master sent most of the local warriors home with their share of loot. At that point Lithuanians attacked and achieved a decisive victory.

The Order lost its achievements over six preceding years: Semigallians, who were one of the first to retreat from the battlefield, rebelled once again and submitted to Traidenis for protection. However, Traidenis died ca. 1282 and Grand Duchy of Lithuania was unable to reap all the benefits. The Order decided to elect one Grand Master with the Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

so that any future attacks would be carried out simultaneously from the west and north.