AHistoryIndependent states
The Battle of the Vorskla River (1399)
The battle on the Vorskla in which the Golden Horde's emir Edigu and Khan Temür Qutlugh crushed the great army of Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania.
Defeated by Timur in 1395, Tokhtamysh lost the throne of the Golden Horde and took refuge in Lithuania with Grand Duke Vytautas. Vytautas hoped to restore Tokhtamysh and win lordship over the Rus lands in return, and gathered a great army of Lithuanians, Ruthenians, Poles, Moldavians and Teutonic Knights.
The Golden Horde was then ruled by Khan Temür Qutlugh, backed by Timur, and the emir Edigu. In August 1399 the armies met on the Vorskla river in today's Ukraine. Edigu first played for time with negotiations until Temür Qutlugh's forces arrived. In the battle that began on 12 August the Horde's cavalry encircled Vytautas's army and routed it.
Vytautas escaped with a handful of men, and many princes in his army were killed. The Vorskla put an end to Lithuania's plans to expand east and raised Edigu's standing in the Horde. Tokhtamysh never regained the throne.
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Updated: November 11, 2026