Traidenis
Traidenis
(also Traiden). Date of birth unknown; died 1282. Grand duke of Lithuania from about 1270.
Traidenis struggled against the aggression of the Teutonic Order, and he supported the Prussians, western Lithuanians, and Zemgalians in their rebellion against the order. In 1278 he defeated the knights of the Livonian Order. He also carried out campaigns in eastern Poland. In 1279 he made peace with Boleslaw, the prince of Plock. Traidenis conquered almost all of Chernaia Rus’, which he settled with Prussians and western Lithuanians who had fled from the Teutonic Knights. Traidenis’ reign marked the beginning of the consolidation and enlargement of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.