principality · Poland, Lithuania and Russia

Principality of Jersika

1190 CE – 1239 CE (approx.) · capital Jersika

An Orthodox principality of the Latgalians on the Daugava, ruled by King Visvaldis until the crusaders of Riga absorbed it.

Origins

Jersika was a hill fort on the Daugava in eastern Latvia and the centre of a Latgalian principality linked to the Principality of Polotsk. By about 1200 it was ruled by a prince the German sources call Vissewalde, known in Latvian as Visvaldis, who was probably of mixed Latgalian and Rus' descent.

Rule and society

Jersika controlled trade on the Daugava and ruled over Latgalians and Selonians, some of whom were Orthodox Christians with churches. Henry of Livonia calls Visvaldis a king. He allied with the Lithuanians against the German crusaders who had founded Riga.

Decline and legacy

In 1209 Bishop Albert of Riga stormed and burned Jersika, captured Visvaldis's wife and forced him to become a vassal, receiving part of his land back as a fief. The rest of his territory passed gradually to Riga and the Livonian Order, and the principality had disappeared by about 1239.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (3)

More states of Poland, Lithuania and Russia →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Jersika. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-jersika
MLA
“Principality of Jersika.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-jersika. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Jersika.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-jersika.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Jersika’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-jersika (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻