The Livonian War of 1558–1582 was a lengthy military conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and variable coalition of Denmark, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Kingdom of Poland (later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), and Sweden for control of Greater Livonia (the territory of the present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Rus' (Царство Русское was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV 's assumption of the title of Tsar (Emperor in 1547 The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Wladislaus II Jagiełło, Grand Duke of Lithuania, to The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Livonia (Līvõmō Latvian and Livonija Estonian: Liivimaa; Finnish: Liivinmaa; German and Swedish: Livland Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region.

By the late 1550s, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation had caused internal conflicts in Livonian Confederation, while its Eastern neighbour Russia had grown stronger after defeating the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time The Counter-Reformation (also Catholic Reformation denotes the period of Catholic revival from the pontificate of Pope Pius IV in 1560 to the close of the The Livonian Confederation was established in 1418 covering the territories of present day Estonia and Latvia. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Khanate or Chanat is a Turkic origined word used to describe a political entity ruled by a Khan. The Kazan Khanate (Казан ханлыгы|Qazan xanlığı|قازان خانليغى Russian: Казанское ханство tr: Kazanskoe khanstvo The Khanate of Astrakhan ( Xacitarxan Khanate) was a Tatar Feudal state that appeared after the collapse of the The conflict between Russia and the Western powers was exacerbated by Russia's isolation from sea trade. Neither could the tsar hire qualified labour in Europe.

In 1547 Hans Schlitte, the agent of Tsar Ivan IV, employed handicraftsmen in Germany for work in Russia. Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. However all these handicraftsmen were arrested in Lübeck at the request of Livonia. Lübeck ( is the second largest City in Schleswig-Holstein, in Northern Germany, and one of the major ^[1] The German Hanseatic League ignored the new port built by tsar Ivan on the eastern shore of the Narva River in 1550 and still delivered the goods still into ports owned by Livonia. The Hanseatic League (also known as the Hansa) was an alliance of trading cities and their Guilds that established and maintained trade The Narva or Narova is a River which drains the Lake Peipus, flowing on the Border of Estonia and Russia. ^[2]

Tsar Ivan IV demanded that the Livonian Confederation pay 40,000 talers for the Bishopric of Dorpat, based on a claim that the territory had once been owned by Russian Novgorod Republic. The Thaler (or Taler or Tolar) was a Silver Coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred Years Its name lives on The Bishopric of Dorpat (Tartu piiskopkond Bisdom Dorpat Ecclesia Tarbatensis was a medieval principality and a Catholic Diocese which existed from 1224 The Novgorod Republic (Новгородская республика / Novgorodskaya respublika Новгородская земьля / Novgorodskaya zemlja) was a The dispute ended with a Russian invasion in 1558. Russian troops occupied Dorpat (Tartu) and Narwa (Narva), laying siege to Reval (Tallinn). Tartu is the second largest City of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual Narva is the third largest City in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border on the Narva The goal of Tsar Ivan was to gain vital access to the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude.

Siege of Narva by the Russians in 1558, Boris Chorikov,1836. Boris Artemyevich Chorikov (Борис Артемьевич Чориков (1802 - 1866 was a Russian Graphic artist. Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap

Tsar Ivan's actions conflicted with the interests of other countries. In the wake of the disastrous Battle of Ergeme, the weakened Order of Livonia was dissolved (Wilno Pact, 1560), while its lands were assigned to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania united with Poland (Ducatus Ultradunensis), and the rest to Sweden (Northern Estonia), and to Denmark (Ösel). The Battle of Ergeme (Härgmäe lahing Schlacht bei Ermes сражение при Эрмесе; Ērģemes kauja was fought on 2 August, 1560 in The Livonian Order was autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1418&ndash1561 Union of Vilnius/Wilno redirects here For the 1499 treaty see Union of Kraków and Vilna. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Saaremaa is the largest Island belonging to Estonia, measuring 2673 km². The last Master of the Order of Livonia, Gotthard Kettler, became the first ruler of the Polish and Lithuanian (later Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) vassal state Duchy of Courland. Gotthard von Kettler (also Ketteler; 1517 &ndash 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic A vassal (also called feodary or fedary) in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of Medieval Europe, The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii,Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste is the name of

Erik XIV of Sweden and Frederick II of Denmark sent troops to protect their newly-acquired territories. Eric XIV (Erik XIV (13 December 1533 &ndash 26 February 1577 was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1568 Frederick II ( 1 July 1534 &ndash 4 April 1588) King of Denmark and Norway from 1559 until his death In 1561, the city council of Reval surrendered to Sweden, and became the outpost for further Swedish conquests in the area. By 1562, Russia found itself in wars with Lithuania and Sweden. In the beginning, the Tsar's armies scored several successes, taking Polotsk (1563) and Pernau (Pärnu) (1575), and overrunning much of Lithuania up to Vilnius, which led him to reject peace proposals from his enemies. Polotsk ( Polatsk, По́лацк Полоцк Polockas Połock is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river Pärnu (Pernau Пярну formerly Пернов Parnawa is a City in southwestern Estonia on the coast of Pärnu Bay an inlet of the Gulf of Riga

However the Tsar (called The Terrible) found himself in a difficult position by 1579. The Crimean Tatars devastated Russian territories and burnt down Moscow (see Russo-Crimean Wars), the drought and epidemics have fatally affected the economy, and Oprichnina had thoroughly disrupted the government, while Lithuania had united with Poland (new union in 1569) and acquired an energetic leader, king Stefan Batory. Crimean Tatars (sg Qırımtatar, pl Qırımtatarlar) or Crimeans (sg The Russo-Crimean Wars were fought between the forces of the Muscovy and the invading Tatars of the Crimean Khanate. The Oprichnina (Опричнина formed the domestic portion of Russian territory ruled directly by Ivan the Terrible. The Union of Lublin (Liublino unija Belarusian: Лю́блінская ву́нія Polish: Unia This article is about the ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century Not only did Batory reconquer Polotsk (1579), but he also seized Russian fortresses at Sokol, Velizh, Usvzat, Velikie Luki (1580), where his soldiers massacred all Russian inhabitants^[3], and laid siege to Pskov (1581–82). The Siege of Pskov, known as the Pskov Defense in Russia ( оборона Пскова in Russian) took place between August of 1581 Polish-Lithuanian cavalry devastated the huge regions of Smolensk, Chernigov, Ryazan, southwest of the Novgorodian territory^[4] and even reached the Tsar's residences in Staritsa. Ivan prepared to fight, but Poles retreated^[5]. In 1581, a mercenary army hired by Sweden and commanded by Pontus de la Gardie captured the strategic city of Narva and massacred its inhabitants, 7,000 people ^[6]. A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by Pontus De la Gardie (ca 1520 - 5 november 1585) was a French nobleman in the service of the Kingdom of Sweden.

These developments led to the signing of the peace Treaty of Jam Zapolski in 1582 between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in which Russia renounced its claims to Livonia. The Jesuit papal legate Antonio Possevino was involved in negotiating that treaty. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order A Papal Legate – from the Latin authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the Pope to Foreign nations or to some part of the Catholic Antonio Possevino ( Antonius Possevinus) ( 1534 - February 26 1611) was an Italian clergyman who acted as Papal legate and The following year, the Tsar also made peace with Sweden. Under the Treaty of Plussa, Russia lost Narva and the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, being its only access to the Baltic Sea. The Treaty of Plussa (Плюсское перемирие 1583 was in fact a Truce between Russia and Sweden, which ended the Livonian War of The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. The situation was partially reversed 12 years later, according to the Treaty of Tyavzino which concluded a new war between Sweden and Russia. The Treaty of Teusina, also known as the Eternal Peace with Sweden in Russia, was concluded by Russian diplomats under Boyar Afanasiy Pushkin (the The Russo-Swedish War of 1590–1595 was instigated by Boris Godunov in the hope of recovering territory along the Gulf of Finland lost to Sweden during

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