principality · Poland, Lithuania and Russia
Principality of Kozelsk
Origins
Kozelsk on the Zhizdra river, a tributary of the Oka, was a small town of the Chernigov land, first mentioned in 1146. It became the seat of a separate appanage in the early 13th century under a junior branch of the Olgovichi princes.
Rule and society
The principality was small and poor, but its fortified town became famous in 1238 when Batu's army, returning from the north, besieged it for seven weeks. The defenders, led in the name of the child prince Vasily, killed many attackers before the town fell and everyone was slaughtered. The Mongols reportedly called it the evil town.
Decline and legacy
Rebuilt, Kozelsk passed under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century and its princes became Lithuanian vassals. In the wars of the late 15th century it changed sides, and the peace of 1494 confirmed it as part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Principality of Kozelsk was a vassal of Grand Duchy of Lithuania1371 CE – 1494 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Kozelsk. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kozelsk
- MLA
- “Principality of Kozelsk.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kozelsk. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Kozelsk.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kozelsk.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Kozelsk’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-kozelsk (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻