On This Day

Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania

Mindaugas (1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania.

Mindaugas (1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians. The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast of Lithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251, during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptised as a Roman Catholic; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian Order, a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians.

Historical Significance

Mindaugas (1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania.

Events Before

  1. The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt, and Louis IX of France is captured

    The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France.

  2. The Virgin Mary gives Simon Stock a Brown Scapular (legend)

    The Virgin Mary gives Simon Stock a Brown Scapular (legend)

  3. BC Solar eclipse on this date might indicate the birth of the legendary Heracles in Thebes, Greece

    BC Solar eclipse on this date might indicate the birth of the legendary Heracles in Thebes, Greece

  4. Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad Extirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the torture of heretics in the Me

    Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad Extirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition

  5. King Alfonso X 'the Wise', King of Castile & Leon crowned

    Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, Spanish: el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284.

Events After

  1. University of Salamanca granted a royal charter by Alfonso IX. Third oldest university still operating and the oldest Hi

    University of Salamanca granted a royal charter by Alfonso IX. Third oldest university still operating and the oldest Hispanic.

  2. Königsberg (modern day Kaliningrad) founded by Teutonic Knights and named in honor of the Bohemian King Ottokar II

    Kaliningrad (known as Königsberg until 1946) is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland (663 kilometres (412 mi) west of...

  3. Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensi

    Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensive in Southwest Asia

  4. The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

    The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

  5. Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae

    Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

More from the 1250s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on July 6, 1253?
Mindaugas (1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians. The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals.
Why is Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania significant?
Mindaugas (1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania.

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