Tālava
Eldership of Tālava | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| before 1180–1224 | |||||||||
Tālava and its border speculations in 12-13th centuries. | |||||||||
| Capital | Beverīna | ||||||||
| Common languages | Latgalian | ||||||||
| Religion | Latgalian paganism, Eastern Orthodoxy | ||||||||
| Government | Eldership | ||||||||
| Elder | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | before 1180 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1224 | ||||||||
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Tālava (Latgalian: Tuolova; Latin: Tholowa) was a Latgalian country in the northern Vidzeme and northern Latgale region of modern-day Latvia. It was bordered by the Latgalian Principality of Jersika to the south, the Livonian counties of Metsepole and Idumeja to the west, the Estonian counties of Sakala and Ugandi to the north and the Russian Novgorod Republic to the east.
Tālava was first mentioned in the Livonian Chronicle of Henry in 1207 as the Christian County of Tholowa. Russian chronicles refer to the county of Atzele (Russian: Очела, romanized: Ochela), first mentioned in 1111, which was probably the eastern part of Tālava. The county existed from the 10th century until 1224 when it was divided between Bishopric of Riga and the Brothers of the Sword.