Tarbatu is the second stronghold of Ugandi: a wooden fort on the east side of Toome Hill from about the 7th century, above an inland trading place on the Emajõgi that grew in the 9th and 10th centuries.
Yaroslav the Wise took it about 1030 and built his own fort, Yuryev; the Sosols burned it in 1061. The Novgorodians captured it in 1133 or 1134, and Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich of Novgorod took and burned it in the winter of 1191-1192; each time they withdrew. On 1 January 1200 it is an Estonian hillfort held by the Ugaunians; the Rus' still call it Yuryev and count it as theirs by right.
It is not a Rus' town and no Rus' garrison is recorded there.
Who holds it
- Name
- None named for 1200
- Title
- The elders of Ugandi
- Since
- not applicable
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- No lord; the stronghold belongs to the free men of its district.
- Confidence
- low
See sources.
Lord in 1200
No lord: the elders and free men of Ugandi (none named).
How things stand that morning
Held by the Ugaunians.
Charter
None. There is no town law in Estonia; Tarbatu is a hillfort with a trading settlement, not a town.
Council
None. The elders of the district decide.
Communities
No foreign merchants are known to winter here.
Fairs and markets
None recorded.
Militia
The free men of the district, who defend the stronghold.
Walls and castle
A timber and earth fort on Toome Hill.
Trade and crafts
The Emajõgi crossing and the river road between Lake Peipus and Võrtsjärv; trade with Pskov and Novgorod.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1224 (after this year)The crusaders take it from Prince Vyachko and his Estonians; the bishopric of Dorpat follows.Depends on: The German war Stopped by: not applicable
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The Rus' chronicles and archaeology, as summarised in en.wikipedia (History of Tartu).
Primary sources for The Estonians
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Charter book of Livonia, Estonia and Courland, volume 1, 1093 to 1300 (documents of 1093 to 1300, edited 1853). The documents of the Livonian mission: Innocent III's bull of 5 October 1199 calling for a crusade to protect the Livonian church, the privileges for Bishop Albert, Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen's acts for the see of Üxküll, and the later charters that settle who held what on the Düna.
- The law of the Gotlanders; The saga of the Gotlanders (Guta lag about 1220, Guta saga about 1220 to 1275; manuscript of about 1350). The law and the short history of the self-governing island. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: History of Tartu
- Wikipedia: Ugandi County
- Novgorod First Chronicle, as reported in Wikipedia (Ugandi County; History of Tartu)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.