Editing History of Lithuania (section)

====Jogaila's conflict with Kęstutis, Vytautas====
[[File:Treaty of Dovydiškės between Jogaila and Order.png|thumb|left|Jogaila's [[Treaty of Dovydiškės|treaty with the Teutonic Knights]] precipitated the fall of Kęstutis.]]
Algirdas died in 1377, and his son [[Jogaila]] became grand duke while Kęstutis was still alive. The Teutonic pressure was at its peak, and Jogaila was inclined to cease defending Samogitia in order to concentrate on preserving the Ruthenian empire of Lithuania. The Knights exploited the differences between Jogaila and Kęstutis and procured a separate armistice with the older duke in 1379. Jogaila then made overtures to the Teutonic Order and concluded the secret [[Treaty of Dovydiškės]] with them in 1380, contrary to Kęstutis' principles and interests. Kęstutis felt he could no longer support his nephew and in 1381, when Jogaila's forces were preoccupied with quenching a rebellion in [[Polotsk]], he entered Vilnius in order to remove Jogaila from the throne. A [[Lithuanian Civil War (1381–84)|Lithuanian civil war]] ensued. Kęstutis' two raids against Teutonic possessions in 1382 brought back the tradition of his past exploits, but Jogaila retook Vilnius during his uncle's absence. Kęstutis was captured and died in Jogaila's custody. Kęstutis' son [[Vytautas]] escaped.<ref name="Baczkowski 55-61"/><ref name="Lukowski 38-39"/><ref name="Ochmański 58-60">Ochmański (1982), pp. 58–60</ref>

Jogaila agreed to the [[Treaty of Dubysa]] with the Order in 1382, an indication of his weakness. A four-year truce stipulated Jogaila's conversion to Catholicism and the cession of half of Samogitia to the Teutonic Knights. Vytautas went to Prussia in seek of the support of the Knights for his claims, including the [[Duchy of Trakai]], which he considered inherited from his father. Jogaila's refusal to submit to the demands of his cousin and the Knights resulted in their joint invasion of Lithuania in 1383. Vytautas, however, having failed to gain the entire duchy, established contacts with the grand duke. Upon receiving from him the areas of [[Grodno]], [[Podlasie]] and [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]], Vytautas switched sides in 1384 and destroyed the border strongholds entrusted to him by the Order. In 1384, the two Lithuanian dukes, acting together, waged a successful expedition against the lands ruled by the Order.<ref name="Baczkowski 55-61"/>

By that time, for the sake of its long-term survival, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had initiated the processes leading to its imminent acceptance of European [[Christendom]].<ref name="Baczkowski 55-61"/> The Teutonic Knights aimed at a territorial unification of their Prussian and Livonian branches by conquering Samogitia and all of Lithuania proper, following the earlier subordination of the Prussian and Latvian tribes. To dominate the neighboring Baltic and Slavic people and expand into a great Baltic power, the Knights used German and other volunteer fighters. They unleashed 96 onslaughts in Lithuania during the period 1345–1382, against which the Lithuanians were able to respond with only 42 retributive raids of their own. Lithuania's Ruthenian empire in the east was also threatened by both the unification of Rus' ambitions of Moscow and the centrifugal activities pursued by the rulers of some of the more distant provinces.<ref name="Ochmański 70-74">Ochmański (1982), pp. 70–74</ref>