The Battle of Goźlice was a battle which took place on 23 February 1280[1] near Goźlice (not far from Koprzywnica) where the Polish knights led by the castellan of Kraków, voivodes led by Piotr of Bogoria and Skotnik and Janusz Starż defeated the Tatar-Russian troops led by the Galician-Volhynian prince Leo I of Galicia.[2]
| Battle of Goźlice | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Kraków campaign of Leo I of Galicia | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Duchy of Kraków Duchy of Sandomierz |
 Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Warsz Piotr of Bogoria and Skotnik Janusz Starż | Leo I of Galicia | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Around 600 | A few thousand | ||||||
Course of the battle
editIn 1279, after the death of Prince Bolesław V the Chaste, the Kraków and Sandomierz districts became the property of Prince Leszek II the Black. Taking advantage of the change of ruler, Prince Leo I of Galicia, after entering into a war with the Black Sea Tatars, led by Nogai Khan at that time, set out in 1280 onto the Lublin land, which could be invaded by plunderers, or in order to conquer it.[3]
At the head of 6,000 troops, aided by Tatars and princes Mstislav Danilowicz of Lutsk and Vladimir Vasilkovich of Volhynia, he crossed the border near Chełm. He began the siege of Sandomierz, but most forces crossed the Vistula south of the city, heading for the Cistercian abbey in Koprzywnica. At the same time, Vladimir Vasilkovich ordered his troops to attack Osiek (one of the Russian chronicles provides information about rich loot and prisoners captured in this city).[4]
The Ruthenians were finally defeated near Goźlice by the knights of Sandomierz and Kraków, who numbered much fewer warriors than the Ruthenian forces - about 600 armed men. On March 7, the Polish knights, led by Leszek II the Black, launched a retaliatory expedition that approached Lviv.[2]
The army of Leszek the Black miraculously defeats the Prince of Rus, Leo, who invaded the Kingdom of Poland with a great amount of forces, sending him to Lviv, devastating Rus, and returning home with huge loot.
— Jan Długosz, Jana Długosza kanonika krakowskiego Dziejów polskich ksiąg dwanaście, T. 2, ks. 5, 6, 7, 8, s. 441
References
edit- ^ Nowak, A. (2010). Historia Polski. Kalendarium dziejów: Pradzieje - 1655 [History of Poland: Timeline of history: Prehistory - 1655] (in Polish). p. 160.
- ^ a b Samsonowicz, H. (1998). Leszek Czarny, Poczet królów i książąt polskich [Leszek Czarny, A series of Polish kings and princes] (in Polish) (A. Garlicki ed.). Warsaw: Czytelnik. p. 199.
- ^ Grodecki, Roman; Zachorowski, Stanisław; Dąbrowski, Jan; Wyrozumski, Jerzy (1995). Dzieje Polski średniowiecznej [History of medieval Poland] (in Polish). Kraków : Liszki: Tow. Autorów i Wydawców Prac Nauk. Universitas ; Platan. p. 346. ISBN 978-83-7052-230-8.
- ^ Goranin, Edward; Sielicki, Franciszek; Suszko, Henryk, eds. (1987). Kroniki staroruskie [Old Russian chronicles] (in Polish) (1st ed.). Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy. pp. 245–246. ISBN 978-83-06-01423-5.
Bibliography
edit- Z. Szameblan, Najazdy ruskie na ziemię sandomierską w XIII wieku, „Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Historica“, 36, 1989, p. 7-32.
External links
edit- Rafal Staszewski: Goźlice. Kościół pw. Wniebowzięcia NMP klimontow.net. [Access 2012-02-23].
- Bitwa pod Goźlicami (23.02.1280 r.). Historie Zampomniane (Forgotten history, blog), 2011-09-05. [Access 2012-02-23].