Nalšia or Nalšėnai was an ancient land (regional duchy, a subject of Polatsk

Polatsk

Polotsk , is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. It is the center of Polotsk district in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people...

) in the early stages of 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...

. It is mentioned in written sources from 1229 to 1298. The references to it cease as it was fully incorporated into the Grand Duchy. While it is known that it was on the north-eastern border of Lithuania proper

Lithuania proper

Lithuania proper refers to a region which existed within Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and spoke Lithuanian language. The primary meaning is identical to the Duchy of Lithuania, a land around which Grand Duchy of Lithuania evolved...

, the exact location is unknown and is debated among historians. It is believed that Nalšia was between Livonia

Livonia

Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...

 and the Duchy of Lithuania

Duchy of Lithuania

Duchy of Lithuania was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians, that existed from the 12th century until 1413. Most of the time it was a constituent part and a nucleus of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania...

 and bordered Deltuva

Deltuva

Deltuva is a small town in Ukmergė district, Vilnius County, Lithuania. It is located 6 km north-west of Ukmergė, near the road to Kėdainiai...

. Towns of Švenčionys

Švencionys

Švenčionys is a city located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. As of 2005, it had population of 5,658 of which about one-third is part of the Polish minority in Lithuania.- Name :...

 and Utena

Utena, Lithuania

Utena is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the settlement has been known since 1261.Utena is an...

 are often identified as the most prominent settlements in the land. Several dukes of Nalšia are known. The most prominent of them was Daumantas of Pskov

Daumantas of Pskov

Daumantas, later Dovmont , Christian name Timothy , ; c. 1240? – May 17, 1299), was a Lithuanian princeling best remembered as a military leader of the Pskov Republic between 1266 and 1299...

. Others were Lengvenis

Lengvenis (13th century)

Lengvenis was one of the local dukes in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the reign of King Mindaugas . First mentioned in 1242, Lengvenis was a nephew of Mindaugas ....

, nephew of Mindaugas

Mindaugas

Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians...

, Suksė (Suxe), who defected to 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...

, and Gerdenis, rival to Daumantas.