The Selonians (Henry's Selones) are a Baltic people of the left bank of the Daugava, from about Jaunjelgava upstream past the later Daugavpils, and inland into what is now north-east Lithuania (Rokiškis, Zarasai).
Their chief fort is Sēlpils (Selburg), facing Koknese across the river; Selonians also live in Koknese's own settlement. Henry, writing of 1208, calls Sēlpils a base from which the Lithuanians raided Livonia, and shows the Selonians as Lithuanian allies; after a siege by the Germans and their Liv and Latgalian allies, they took baptism. On 1 January 1200 the Selonians are pagan, free in their forts, and close to the Lithuanians; no leader and no event of 1198-1200 is recorded.
Who rules
- Name
- None named for 1200
- Title
- No ruler named. The elders of Sēlpils and the other Selonian forts
- Since
- not applicable
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- No Selonian leader is named in the sources for these years.
- Confidence
- low
en.wikipedia Selonians; Henry of Livonia (later chapters, not read in this run).
Overlord
Not pinned. Modern accounts say the Selonian lands were subject to the Daugava principalities of Koknese and Jersika (themselves vassals of Polotsk) and that the southern lands were ruled by Lithuanian lords (en.wikipedia); none of this is dated to 1200.
What the realm holds
How it was acquired
Ancestral.
Allies and rivals
Allies and hosts of the Lithuanians (Henry, 1208). Neighbours: the Semigallians to the west, the Daugava princes of Koknese and Jersika across the river, the Lithuanians to the south.
The realm that morning
Free and pagan; ties to Koknese, Jersika and the Lithuanians not pinned for this winter; no raid is recorded that winter, so no belt is drawn. South of them lie the Lithuanian lands (lithuanians); west, the Semigallians of Upmale (semigallians); across the river, Koknese and Jersika (latgalians).
Wealth
Farming and the Daugava; the river trade passes their bank.
Military
Hillforts; a road for Lithuanian war parties crossing the Daugava. No numbers.
Threats
- The German crusade (Sēlpils besieged in 1208, later)
- Lithuanian domination in the south
Government
Elders of each fort and its land; no prince of their own is known. Their dependence on Koknese and Jersika is a modern view, not a dated fact.
Coinage
No coinage of their own: silver by weight (bars and hacksilver), ornaments and foreign coins serve as money (general knowledge, not checked in this run).
Faith
Pagan.
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.
In 1200
- During 1200 (nothing dated)No Selonian event is recorded for 1200.
Later, on the likely course
- 1208 (later; en.wikipedia gives 1207)The Germans with Liv and Latgalian allies besiege Sēlpils; the Selonians accept baptism and a German castle (Selburg) later replaces the hillfort.Depends on: The crusade's advance up the Daugava. Stopped by: Lithuanian relief.
Places of note
- Sēlpils: chief Selonian hillfort, opposite Koknese
Where the sources disagree
- en.wikipedia dates the siege of Sēlpils to 1207; Henry's chronology as usually read gives 1208. It is later than 1200 either way.
Evidence: Henry mentions the Selonians only from 1208; their bounds and organisation are archaeological and modern reconstructions.
On the map: Drawn as one province; the southern edge toward the Lithuanian lands is a guess.
Primary sources for this realm
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 Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
Sources and studies
- Selonians (en.wikipedia)
- Henry of Livonia, Chronicon Livoniae, tr. J. A. Brundage, The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia (1961): Books I-III, chapters I-IX read for this record
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.