Selonians in the context of the other Baltic tribes, c. 1200. The Eastern Balts are shown in brown hues while the Western Balts are shown in green. The boundaries are approximate.
History
Little is known about the Selonians. There is little archaeological evidence and in historic sources the region is often described as a "scarcely populated land". In written sources they are mentioned only few times.
Archeological data can trace the Selonians back to the beginning of 1st millennium AD when they lived on both sides of the Daugava River.[1] But since the 6th and 7th centuries their settlements can be traced only on the left bank of the river.
Selonian culture had a very strong Latgalian influence. Selonian and Latgalian burial traditions show little difference. Some scholars speculate that during the late Iron Age the Selonians had already partly merged with the Latgalians.[2]
The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia mentions the Selonians at the beginning of the 13th century, when they were conquered and christened. The author of the chronicle describes the Selonians as Lithuanian allies.[3] Their lands were subjects of the principalities of Jersika and Koknese, which were vassals of the principality of Polotsk. The Southern lands however were ruled by Lithuanian lords.
In 1207, the German Brothers of Sword together with their Livonian and Latgalian allies besieged the main Selonian centre at Sēlpils hillfort. Reason for the attack were German claims that Sēlpils hillfort was used as main Lithuanian support base for their attacks in Livonia. After a long siege the Selonians agreed to baptism and German rule and the stone Sēlpils Castle (German: Selburg) was built in place of the hillfort.[4] The Selonians were last mentioned in written sources in the 15th century.
References
^. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2012-02-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^Šnore E., Zariņa A. Senā Sēlpils. Rīga: Zinātne, 1980. 236 lpp.
^. Archived from the original on 2007-11-03. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
selonians, this, article, about, baltic, ethnicity, star, wars, aliens, list, star, wars, species, latvian, sēļi, lithuanian, sėliai, from, livonian, sälli, highlanders, were, tribe, baltic, peoples, they, lived, until, 15th, century, selonia, located, southea. This article is about the Baltic ethnicity For the Star Wars aliens see List of Star Wars species P T The Selonians Latvian seli Lithuanian seliai from Livonian salli highlanders were a tribe of Baltic peoples They lived until the 15th century in Selonia located in southeastern Latvia and northeastern Lithuania They eventually merged with neighbouring tribes contributing to the ethnogenesis of modern Latvians and Lithuanians They spoke the Eastern Baltic Selonian language Selonians in the context of the other Baltic tribes c 1200 The Eastern Balts are shown in brown hues while the Western Balts are shown in green The boundaries are approximate History EditLittle is known about the Selonians There is little archaeological evidence and in historic sources the region is often described as a scarcely populated land In written sources they are mentioned only few times Archeological data can trace the Selonians back to the beginning of 1st millennium AD when they lived on both sides of the Daugava River 1 But since the 6th and 7th centuries their settlements can be traced only on the left bank of the river Selonian culture had a very strong Latgalian influence Selonian and Latgalian burial traditions show little difference Some scholars speculate that during the late Iron Age the Selonians had already partly merged with the Latgalians 2 The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia mentions the Selonians at the beginning of the 13th century when they were conquered and christened The author of the chronicle describes the Selonians as Lithuanian allies 3 Their lands were subjects of the principalities of Jersika and Koknese which were vassals of the principality of Polotsk The Southern lands however were ruled by Lithuanian lords In 1207 the German Brothers of Sword together with their Livonian and Latgalian allies besieged the main Selonian centre at Selpils hillfort Reason for the attack were German claims that Selpils hillfort was used as main Lithuanian support base for their attacks in Livonia After a long siege the Selonians agreed to baptism and German rule and the stone Selpils Castle German Selburg was built in place of the hillfort 4 The Selonians were last mentioned in written sources in the 15th century References Edit Archived copy Archived from the original on 2013 10 20 Retrieved 2012 02 27 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Snore E Zarina A Sena Selpils Riga Zinatne 1980 236 lpp SELI Archived from the original on 2007 11 03 Retrieved 2012 02 27 Indrika hronika A Feldhuna tulk E Mugurevica prieksvards un komentari Riga Zinatne 1993 453 lpp See also EditSelonian language This article about ethnicity is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Selonians amp oldid 1105670991, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
