Prussian uprisings

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The Prussian uprisings were a number of uprisings by the Old Prussian tribes against the Teutonic Order that took place in the 13th century during and following the Northern Crusades.

Although the Old Prussians repelled the Order of Dobrzyń, they succumbed to the Order of the Teutonic Knights after a bloody conflict spanning several decades in the 13th century during the Northern Crusades. Many of the native Prussians who survived were resettled, in Sambia and elsewhere. Frequent revolts were defeated by the Teutonic Knights.

The most famous uprising occurred in 1260-1274, and was led by Herkus Monte. Other major uprisings occurred in 1242, 1286, and 1295.

[edit] The Prussian Uprising of 1260-1274

The ultimate revolt, named the Great Prussian Uprising in historiography, began in September of 1260 with a Prussian attack killing 150 Order knights. It was triggered by the Lithuanian military victories against the Livonian Order, namely the victorious Battle of Durbe. As the Prussians were drawn into the conflict, each tribe chose a leader; the Sambians, for example, were led by Glande, the Natangians by Monte, the Bartians by Dziwan/Divane, The Warmians by Glape/Glappe, the Pogesanians by Autume/Auctume, and the Sudovians by Skumond/Skomand. The Prussians were successful in reclaiming a part of the occupied territory, but, lacking siege engines, they could not manage to capture heavily fortified masonry castles of the Order.

On January 21, 1261, Herkus Monte defeated the Knights at present-day Ushakovo, near Königsberg, one of the strongholds of the order. In 1262, he was severely wounded during a siege of Königsberg. However, he soon recovered and the following year invaded the Chełmno Land with a large force. On his way back to Notanga, Herkus and his men were confronted by a contingent of their enemies. In the fight that ensued, a Master and a Marshal with forty Knights and a number of soldiers were killed.

Partially because of his victories, the Prussians were able to retake control over some of their lands. After 1263, the chronicles do not mention Herkus again until 1272. Subsequent to the arrival of reinforcements from Western Europe, the Teutonic Order has eventually managed to defeat the Prussians. In the 1260s, the Knights, receiving support from the Pope and Western Europe, were more successful in their fight against the Prussians. The rebels, unable to capture cities and lay siege to their enemy's castles, started losing their fight. By 1272, Herkus, with a small group of his followers, was forced to withdraw to the forests of southern Prussia. Within a year he was finally captured and hanged. In 1274, the rebellion ended, and with reinforcements from all over Europe, the Knights proceeded to attempt to conquer the rest of the Baltic tribes.