The Battle of Riga

The Teutonic Knights had been summoned to the Polish duchy of Massalia to defend its borders against Prussian pagan tribal raiders. The Livonians were interested in diplomacy but not so much in conversion which angered the Pope Celestine III who called for a crusade to convert the Livonians. A larger contingent of Germans established a power base at the city of Riga which is the modern Latvian capital. An order called the Livonian brothers of the sword was established to apply further military pressure on the Livonian pagans. After a devastating defeat to a coalition of local tribes in the north of the modern country of Lithuania in 1236 it was up to the state of