Battle of the Omovzha River (1234)

The battle on Omovzha [1], also - by the German name of the river - The Battle of Embach [2] (now the Emajõgi River ) - a battle between the Novgorod - Vladimir army led by Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (father of 14-year-old Alexander Nevsky ) and the Order of the sword. in 1234, won by Yaroslav.

Contents 1	Prehistory 2	Hike and battle 3	Meaning 4	See also 5	Notes 6	References Background For the first time Jaroslav led a campaign against the Order in 1223. A series of campaigns of those years was carried out in support of the uprising of the Estonians against the Crusaders. And although during the presence of Russian troops in the Baltic states, the balance of forces was not in favor of the order, he managed to keep his fortresses and move closer to the Pskov border, which caused unrest in Pskov. In particular, when in 1228 Yaroslav began a new campaign against the Order, rumors spread that in reality he plans to go to Pskov. Then the Novgorodians refused to take part in the campaign, and the Pskovs made an alliance with the order, and the campaign was disrupted.

to you, prince, we bow and brothers to Novgorod; we are not going on the road, and we are not giving out our brothers; And with рижаны Эмеме Миръ have taken. Rk Kolyvanov Este hodivshe silver poimayu and poidoste themselves in Novgorod, and the truth is not the target, the city is not vzyaste, while Kѣsi takozh, while Medvѣzhe golovѣ takozh; and for that we shall find the brother of Israel on the lake, and the lines of conduct, and you, it is good, away; or you have thought up on us, we will oppose you with the holy Mother of God and will bow; then you will destroy the ray, and the wives and the children will take it, not the ray of persecution; try to bow to you [3]

In 1232, representatives of the Novgorod nobility, who were guided by an alliance with Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovsky, arrived from Chernihiv in Pskov. Upon learning of these events, Yaroslav arrived from Pereyaslavl in Novgorod. He made peace with Pskov, and his opponents had to leave Pskov. They were taken in the possession of the Order, in the Bear Head. Mikhail Vsevolodovich himself, as well as Trubchevsky prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich [4], who originally came along with the boyars, after Yaroslav’s campaign ( 1231 ) into the Chernigov lands did not dare to open struggle.

In the bull of November 24, 1232, Pope Gregory IX asked the order to send troops to protect half-pagan Finland, whose baptism was carried out by the Swedish bishops, from being colonized by Novgorod. In 1233, the Novgorodian fugitives, together with Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich [5] (the son of Vladimir Mstislavich, who lived in Riga after the death of his father) captured Izborsk , but were soon beaten out of Pskov. The decision to march into the possessions of the Order was made by Yaroslav after the crusaders made a similar raid on Tesov in the same year.

Hike and battle In 1234, Yaroslav came from Pereyaslavl with lower regiments, together with Novgorod invaded the possession of the Order and stopped near the city of Yuriev, not going to the siege. The knights made a sortie from Yuriev, as well as from Bear Head ( Otepää ), located about 40 km south of it, but were defeated. Some of them returned for the walls, and the other part, pursued by Russian, fell through the ice Omovzhi River ( Emajõgi ) and drowned.

Among the dead, the chronicle mentions the best Nѣmtsov nѣcoliko and nizovets (that is, the soldiers of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality) nѣcoliko. According to the Novgorod chronicle, Nѣmtsi worshiped the prince, while Yaroslav took the world with all their truth with them.

Ida Prince Yaroslav the Germans at St. George's, and not a hundred doshed city ... Prince Yaroslav Bisha them ... on retse on Omovyzhe Nemtsov oblomishasya [6]. - PSRL, IV, 30, 178 According to the terms of the world, the eastern and southern parts of the Dorpat bishopric ceded to Pskov.

Meaning Crusaders were defeated in their territory, and they have not taken a more serious invasion than raids on Izborsk and Tosov in 1233 (up to the weakening of the North-Eastern Russia the Mongol invasion in 1237 - 1239 years ). They attempted to take revenge at the expense of the lands inhabited by Lithuanian tribes (the Pskovs also participated in the campaign on the side of the order), but failed ( 1236 ), after which the Order of the Swords joined with the Teutonic Order ( 1237 ).