Battle of Blue Waters

Battle of Blue Waters
Date Autumn 1362 Location near Siniukha, Ukraine Result Decisive Lithuanian victory
Belligerents
Grand Duchy of Lithuania	Golden Horde
Commanders and leaders
Algirdas Fyodor Koriatovych	Murad's 3 Tatar noyans
Casualties and losses
unknown	heavy

The Battle of Blue Waters (Belarusian: Бітва на Сініх Водах, Lithuanian: Mūšis prie Mėlynųjų Vandenų, Ukrainian: Битва на Синіх Водах) was a medieval battle fought at some time between 24 September and 25 December 1362 near the Syni Vody of the Southern Bug between the armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Golden Horde.

Taking advantage of internal disorders within the Golden Horde caused by deaths of Khans Jani Beg and Berdi Beg, Grand Duke Algirdas organized a campaign into Tatar lands.^[1] In 1363 Algirdas marched between lower Dnieper and Southern Bug.^[2]

Lithuanians and Ruthenians won a decisive victory over 3 local noyans of the Jochid Khan Murad. The victory brought the city of Kiev and a large part of present-day Ukraine, including scarcely populated Podolia and Dykra, under the control of the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The duchy also gained access to the Black Sea. Algirdas left his son Vladymir in Kiev.^[2] Kiev was already under semi-Lithuanian control since the Battle on the Irpen' River in early 1320s.^[3] After taking Kiev, Lithuania became a direct neighbor and rival of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.^[4] Podolia was trusted to Algirdas' nephews and commanders during the battle Aleksander, Yuri, Konstantin, and Fedir, sons of Karijotas.^[2]

References

1. ^ (Lithuanian) Ivinskis, Zenonas (1978). Lietuvos istorija iki Vytauto Didžiojo mirties. Rome: Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademija. pp. 261–262. LCC 79346776. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Kiaupa, Zigmantas; Jūratė Kiaupienė, Albinas Kunevičius (2000) [1995]. The History of Lithuania Before 1795 (English ed.). Vilnius: Lithuanian Institute of History. p. 121. ISBN 9986-810-13-2. 
3. ^ Rowell, C. S. (1994). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series. Cambridge University Press. pp. 97, 100. ISBN 9780521450119. 
4. ^ Auty, Robert; Dimitri Obolensky (1981). A Companion to Russian Studies: An Introduction to Russian History. Cambridge University Press. pp. 86. ISBN 0521280389. http://books.google.com/books?id=xxREnBcMFcEC&pg=PA88&sig=TcQb-bgU5mnTcUYhrvzC7eWBgjg#PPA86,M1.