Battle of Saule

Battle of Saule
	Part of the Livonian Crusade
	; Supposed site of the battle, near Jauniūnai
Date	22 September 1236
Location	Uncertain56°6′54″N 23°30′52″E / 56.11500°N 23.51444°E
Result	Samogitian and Semigalian victory Destruction of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword;
Belligerents
Livonian Brothers of the Sword; Pskov Land; Livonians; Latgallians;	Samogitians; Semigallians;
Commanders and leaders
Volkwin †	Vykintas
Strength
3,000	4,000–5,000
Casualties and losses
48–60 knights killed; 2,700 total killed;	1,200 total killed
	Location within Lithuania Battle of Saule (Baltic states) Battle of Saule (Baltic Sea)

The Battle of Saule (Lithuanian: Saulės mūšis / Šiaulių mūšis; German: Schlacht von Schaulen; Latvian: Saules kauja) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands. The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic military order established in the Baltic lands, was soundly defeated and its remnants accepted incorporation into the Teutonic Order in 1237. The battle inspired rebellions among the Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians and Oeselians, tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers. Some thirty years' worth of conquests on the left bank of Daugava were reversed. To commemorate the battle, in 2000 the Lithuanian and Latvian parliaments declared 22 September to be the Baltic Unity Day.