Kingdom of Lithuania

The Kingdom of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Karalystė) was formally established with the conversion of Lithuanian ruler Mindaugas I from paganism to Orthodox Christianity, come to the fore due to his alliance with Alexander Nevsky against the Livonian Order in the Northern Crusade, although it is recorded he claimed kingship before his baptism. Mindaugas went on to successfully establish a long lasting Christian and Lithuanian monarchy, which is one of the premier powers in the Baltic.
== In the Arthurverse ==
The Kingdom of Lithuania has played a very peripheral role throughout much of the Arthurverse. Its involvement begins in the year 1242 when then Grand Duke Mindaugas split Eastern Prussia between Lithuania in order to bring peace to the region. He then proceeded to break this peace in 1249 by mounting a full invasion of Livonia (modern day Latvia). This started the Northern Crusade which featured Lithuania's long conflict with the Livonian Order. This conflict would be a prolonged stalemate for its first six years as the Lithuanians and Livonians fought together and various opportunistic tribes that rose us against both of them. Then Alexander Nevsky led a invasion of Livonia in 1255 and the balance of power was changed forever. In 1256 Mindaugas was baptized as an Orthodox Christian and the two powers fought together against the Livonians until a peace treaty was signed later that year, ceding Dorpat and the surrounding lands to Novgorod. The only lasting impact of the Crusade on Lithuania would be its commitment to Russian Orthodoxy.
Lithuania would continue to be mostly irrelevant until the start of the 14th century with the reign of King Vaidevutis and the Second Polish Civil War. In the year 1302 they struck bargains with two of the main parties in Poland's Civil War: King Boleslaw VII (later to be known as The Heretic for his conversion to Orthodoxy and his alliance with Volyn) and King Casimir III (later to be known as the Tyrant for his brutal acts towards his foes and his supporters). While Casimir tried to betray the Lithuanian at the Battle at the Battle of the Three Armies, King Vaidevutis was able to withdraw his men in good order and later repel Casimir's men to take Prussia. Later, he would attempt to invade Masovia to further his war with Casimir but he was forced to withdraw by the supporters of Boleslaw VII. He would then attempt to gain land to north by "joining" Prince Mstislav VII in his effort to subdue Pskov but he was forced to back down. Future campaigns into Poland would prove futile and so the King has reluctantly decided to focus on internal affairs in the wake of a famine and a pagan resurgence.  
== See also ==
List of Lithuanian monarchs  
Category:States