Treaty of Mozhaysk
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Mozhaysk was a Danish-Russian
treaty concluded on 7 August 1562, during the Livonian War
. While not an actual alliance, the treaty confirmed the amicable Dano-Russian relation and obliged the parties to not support the other parties in the war, to respect each other's claims in Old Livonia, and to grant free passage to each other's merchants.
By 1562, Frederick II of Denmark
and Ivan IV of Russia
were two of several parties claiming superiority rights in Livonia, none of whom was able to decide the conflict for themselves. Instead of engaging in open war, Frederick II and Ivan IV preferred to uphold the long tradition of amicable Dano-Russian relations
. The treaty has been noted for the circumstances that a European great power met the Russian tsardom on equal footing, and that no prior military decision forced the parties to conclude it.
In practice, the treaty was not wholly implemented. This was in part due to Frederick II's limited engagement in Livonia, where his brother Magnus pursued his own policies. In the subsequent war years, while not antagonizing Frederick II, Ivan IV would deal with Magnus directly, eventually making him king of Livonia
as his vassal.
, the territory of the present-day states Estonia
and Latvia
(then Terra Mariana or Old Livonia) was contested between Sigismund II Augustus
of Poland–Lithuania, Ivan IV "The Terrible"
, tsar of Russia
, Frederick II
of Denmark-Norway and Erik XIV of Sweden. The Livonian Confederation
had turned to Poland-Lithuania for protection in the 1557 Treaty of Pozvol
, provoking the intervention of Ivan IV who, despite significant territorial gains and the important victory at Ermes (Ergeme)
, was unable to subordinate all Livonia. The bulk of the disintegrating Livonian Confederation
was subordinated to Poland-Lithuania in the Treaty of Vilnius (1561)
, forming the duchies of Livonia
and Courland and Semigallia
. With Reval (Tallinn) accepting Swedish superiority, also in 1561, Sweden had established a dominon in Estonia
despite the protests of Frederick II, who claimed historical rights on the area
and had already purchased the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek in western Estonia.
Robert I. Frost
has summarized the 1562 state of war as an "uneasy stalemate:" while Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Poland-Lithuania had staked overlapping claims, the local parties of the broken-up Livonian Confederation had at least preliminarily chosen sides and intense fighting had occurred between some of the respective armies, a stable solution was not in sight even if military engagements had waned.
, which in 1563 culminated into the Northern Seven Years' War
. He had no ambitions to enter a conflict with Ivan IV of Russia, and despite a brief irritation in the context of Christian III
's occupation of Ösel
(Øsel, Saaremaa) in 1558, Dano-Russian relations were amicable and based on a mutual assistance pact of 1493, renewed in 1506 and 1517. Ivan IV likewise did not wish a conflict with Frederick II, as he was unable to reach an understanding with the other parties in the Livonian war, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania, and was pressed by Crimean Tartar invasions at his tsardom's southern frontier.
Frederick II had an uneasy relation to his younger brother Magnus, Duke of Holstein, whom he established in Ösel–Wiek "to be rid" of him. Yet, after Magnus arrived in April 1560, he immediately started to expand by purchasing the Courlandian Stift Pilten (Piltene)
and the Estonian bishopric of Reval
, and thus by 1561 found himself bankrupt, in conflict with the other parties claiming these territories for themselves, and without any sufficient military means. Magnus turned to his brother's court in Copenhagen
hoping that Frederick II would abandon his policy of minimal involvement and enter the Livonian conflict on his side. Yet, Frederick II instead restricted Magnus to not conclude treaties without his consent anymore, obliged him to consolidate his finances by himself and assigned a governor for Ösel–Wiek who was to closely monitor Magnus' activities in Livonia.
. The delegation was headed by Frederick II's hofmeister
Eiler (also Eller, Elias) Hardenberg, and further included Jacob Brokenhusen, Jens Truelsen Ulfstand and Zacharias Vheling. Negotiations lasted only a month, and the treaty was concluded on 7 August in Mozhaysk
(Можайск) west of Moscow.
While the treaty did not contain a new mutual aid pact,
The treaty did not contain an expiry date.
However, the parties were unable to draw practical advantages from the treaty. Neither party was able to prevent Swedish forces from intruding and occupying part of their Livonian claims, the Danish and Polish kings agreed on mutual support against Sweden in the Northern Seven Years' War
. Ivan IV delayed the implementation of the free trade agreements and concluded a seven-year truce with Sweden
in 1564. In the following years, Ivan IV focussed on Magnus of Holstein rather than Frederick II, establishing him as the king of Livonia
under his vassalage.
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
treaty concluded on 7 August 1562, during the Livonian War
Livonian War
The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...
. While not an actual alliance, the treaty confirmed the amicable Dano-Russian relation and obliged the parties to not support the other parties in the war, to respect each other's claims in Old Livonia, and to grant free passage to each other's merchants.
By 1562, Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...
and Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
were two of several parties claiming superiority rights in Livonia, none of whom was able to decide the conflict for themselves. Instead of engaging in open war, Frederick II and Ivan IV preferred to uphold the long tradition of amicable Dano-Russian relations
Denmark–Russia relations
Denmark–Russia relations is the relationship between the two countries, Denmark and Russia. Diplomatic relations between Denmark and the USSR were established on June 18, 1924. Russia has an embassy in Copenhagen and a consulate in Tórshavn, and Denmark has an embassy in Moscow, a Consulate-General...
. The treaty has been noted for the circumstances that a European great power met the Russian tsardom on equal footing, and that no prior military decision forced the parties to conclude it.
In practice, the treaty was not wholly implemented. This was in part due to Frederick II's limited engagement in Livonia, where his brother Magnus pursued his own policies. In the subsequent war years, while not antagonizing Frederick II, Ivan IV would deal with Magnus directly, eventually making him king of Livonia
Kingdom of Livonia
The Kingdom of Livonia was a nominal state in what is now the territory of the present-day Estonia and Latvia, declared as such by Ivan IV during the Livonian War but never properly established. On June 10, 1570 the Danish Duke Magnus of Holstein arrived in Moscow where he was crowned King of Livonia...
as his vassal.
Livonia in 1562
In 1562, during the early stage of the Livonian WarLivonian War
The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...
, the territory of the present-day states Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and 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...
(then Terra Mariana or Old Livonia) was contested between Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...
of Poland–Lithuania, Ivan IV "The Terrible"
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
, tsar of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...
, Frederick II
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...
of Denmark-Norway and Erik XIV of Sweden. The Livonian Confederation
Livonian Confederation
Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day Estonia and Latvia...
had turned to Poland-Lithuania for protection in the 1557 Treaty of Pozvol
Treaty of Pozvol
The Treaty or Peace of Pozvol, Pasvalys or Pozwol was a peace treaty and an alliance concluded on 5 and 14 September 1557 between the Livonian Confederation and the Polish-Lithuanian union, whereby the former put its territories under Polish-Lithuanian protection...
, provoking the intervention of Ivan IV who, despite significant territorial gains and the important victory at Ermes (Ergeme)
Battle of Ergeme
The Battle of Ērģeme was fought on 2 August 1560 in present-day Latvia as part of the Livonian War between the forces of Ivan IV of Russia and the Livonian Confederation. It was the last battle fought by the German knights in Livonia and an important Russian victory...
, was unable to subordinate all Livonia. The bulk of the disintegrating Livonian Confederation
Livonian Confederation
Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day Estonia and Latvia...
was subordinated to Poland-Lithuania in the Treaty of Vilnius (1561)
Treaty of Vilnius (1561)
The Treaty of Vilnius or Vilna was concluded on 28 November 1561, during the Livonian War, between the Livonian Confederation and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at Vilnius...
, forming the duchies of Livonia
Duchy of Livonia
The Duchy of Livonia was a territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania — and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth — that existed from 1561 to 1621...
and Courland and Semigallia
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia is the name of a duchy in the Baltic region that existed from 1562 to 1569 as a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and from 1569...
. With Reval (Tallinn) accepting Swedish superiority, also in 1561, Sweden had established a dominon in Estonia
Swedish Estonia
The Duchy of Estonia , also known as Swedish Estonia, was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1561 until 1721, when it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad, following its capitulation in the Great Northern War. The dominion arose when the northern parts of present-day Estonia were united...
despite the protests of Frederick II, who claimed historical rights on the area
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....
and had already purchased the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek in western Estonia.
Robert I. Frost
Robert I. Frost
Robert I. Frost is a British historian and academic.He attended the University of St Andrews, the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. He earned his doctorate in the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London.He taught school for three years in the mid-1980s...
has summarized the 1562 state of war as an "uneasy stalemate:" while Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Poland-Lithuania had staked overlapping claims, the local parties of the broken-up Livonian Confederation had at least preliminarily chosen sides and intense fighting had occurred between some of the respective armies, a stable solution was not in sight even if military engagements had waned.
Interests of Frederick II, Ivan IV and Magnus
Frederick II focussed on his competition with Erik XIV of Sweden for hegemony in and around the Baltic SeaBaltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, which in 1563 culminated into the Northern Seven Years' War
Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War was the war between Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and the Polish–Lithuanian union, fought between 1563 and 1570...
. He had no ambitions to enter a conflict with Ivan IV of Russia, and despite a brief irritation in the context of Christian III
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...
's occupation of Ösel
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
(Øsel, Saaremaa) in 1558, Dano-Russian relations were amicable and based on a mutual assistance pact of 1493, renewed in 1506 and 1517. Ivan IV likewise did not wish a conflict with Frederick II, as he was unable to reach an understanding with the other parties in the Livonian war, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania, and was pressed by Crimean Tartar invasions at his tsardom's southern frontier.
Frederick II had an uneasy relation to his younger brother Magnus, Duke of Holstein, whom he established in Ösel–Wiek "to be rid" of him. Yet, after Magnus arrived in April 1560, he immediately started to expand by purchasing the Courlandian Stift Pilten (Piltene)
Piltene
-Population:Population : 40,000 -History:*September 1234: Bishopric of Courland established , consisting of three separate enclaves after numerous distributions of the Couronian lands among the Bishops of Courland, and of Riga, and the Teutonic Order.*1290: The cathedral chapter is incorporated...
and the Estonian bishopric of Reval
Bishopric of Reval
The Bishopric of Reval was created in Duchy of Estonia by Valdemar II of Denmark in 1240. Contradictory to canon law Valdemar II reserved the right to appoint the bishops of Reval to himself and his successor kings of Denmark. The decision to simply nominate the holy see of Reval was unique in the...
, and thus by 1561 found himself bankrupt, in conflict with the other parties claiming these territories for themselves, and without any sufficient military means. Magnus turned to his brother's court in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
hoping that Frederick II would abandon his policy of minimal involvement and enter the Livonian conflict on his side. Yet, Frederick II instead restricted Magnus to not conclude treaties without his consent anymore, obliged him to consolidate his finances by himself and assigned a governor for Ösel–Wiek who was to closely monitor Magnus' activities in Livonia.
Treaty
On 6 July 1562, a group of Danish envoys arrived at Ivan IV's court in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The delegation was headed by Frederick II's hofmeister
Hofmeister (office)
In medieval Europe, a Hofmeister was a house tutor, also responsible for the care of his students beyond their education....
Eiler (also Eller, Elias) Hardenberg, and further included Jacob Brokenhusen, Jens Truelsen Ulfstand and Zacharias Vheling. Negotiations lasted only a month, and the treaty was concluded on 7 August in Mozhaysk
Mozhaysk
Mozhaysk is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the west from the Russian capital, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population:...
(Можайск) west of Moscow.
While the treaty did not contain a new mutual aid pact,
- Frederick II and Ivan IV agreed that neither one would support either Sweden or Poland-Lithuania,
- both sides acknowledged and confirmed each other's spheres of interest in Livonia,
- Ivan IV guaranteed Magnus of Holstein his Livonian possessions, and
- merchants from Denmark and the Russian Tsardom were allowed free passage in both realms.
The treaty did not contain an expiry date.
Significance
In historiography, the Mozhaysk agreements are regarded as a highly significant treaty. Hübner (1998) says that"the high significance of this treaty, which has been called a 'milestone in European history,' for the Muscovite state was not only due to its contents, but also because a European great power was ready to conclude it on the basis of a completely equal status, without a prior military conflict forcing the parties to do so."
However, the parties were unable to draw practical advantages from the treaty. Neither party was able to prevent Swedish forces from intruding and occupying part of their Livonian claims, the Danish and Polish kings agreed on mutual support against Sweden in the Northern Seven Years' War
Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War was the war between Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and the Polish–Lithuanian union, fought between 1563 and 1570...
. Ivan IV delayed the implementation of the free trade agreements and concluded a seven-year truce with Sweden
Treaty of Dorpat
The Treaty of Dorpat was concluded in May 1564, during the Livonian War. Ivan IV of Russia accepted the subordinance of Reval and some Livonian castles to Erik XIV of Sweden, and in turn Erik XIV accepted the subordinance of the rest of Livonia to Ivan IV. Subsequently, Russia and Sweden agreed...
in 1564. In the following years, Ivan IV focussed on Magnus of Holstein rather than Frederick II, establishing him as the king of Livonia
Kingdom of Livonia
The Kingdom of Livonia was a nominal state in what is now the territory of the present-day Estonia and Latvia, declared as such by Ivan IV during the Livonian War but never properly established. On June 10, 1570 the Danish Duke Magnus of Holstein arrived in Moscow where he was crowned King of Livonia...
under his vassalage.