Neva, Battle of the
1240 CE
The Battle of the Neva is fought between the Novgorod Republic and Swedish armies on the Neva River, near the settlement of Ust-Izhora, on July 15, 1240.
The purpose of the Swedish invasion is probably to gain control over the mouth of the Neva and the city of Ladoga and, hence, seize the most important part of the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks, which has been under Novgorod's control for more than a hundred years.
The battle is part of the medieval Swedish-Novgorodian Wars.
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Swedish crusaders first invade Russia along the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, but they are halted in 1240 on the banks of the Neva River by Prince Alexander of Novgorod, who thereby earns the name Alexander Nevsky ("of the Neva").
The second crusade, spearheaded by the Teutonic Knights, follows the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland and is defeated by Alexander Nevsky in 1242 on the ice of Lake Peipus.
Swedish soldier-statesman Birger, taking advantage of the confusion prevailing in Russia following the Mongol invasion, leads an army of Swedes, Danes, and Livonian Knights into Russia.
The expedition, supported by Pope Gregory IX, intends to challenge the principality of Novgorod’s territorial claims on the Neva River and the Gulf of Finland and extend Western Christianity.
Prince Alexander of Novgorod, a supporter of Orthodox Christianity, leads a Russian army to an illustrious victory over the invaders at the mouth of the Neva River, near present Leningrad, on July 15, 1240.
He constructs a series of forts in the area, then returns home where the Novgorodans honor him with the surname Nevski (Nevsky), meaning, “of the Neva.” While Swedish, German, Finnish, Baltic and other sources have no information on the battle at all, a sixteenth century Russian legend tells that the Swedish "king" was wounded in the face while dueling against Prince Alexander Nevsky himself.
Alexander’s victory, coming just three years after the disastrous Mongol invasion of Rus, has strengthened Nevsky’s political influence, but at the same time it has worsened his relations with the boyars.
He soon has to leave Novgorod because of this conflict.