Algirdas was one of the seven sons of Grand Duke Gediminas.
10 Facts About Algirdas
2.
Algirdas devoted the next thirty-two years to the development and expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
3.
The division of their dominions is illustrated by the fact that Algirdas appears almost exclusively in East Slavic sources, while Western chronicles primarily describe Kestutis.
4.
Algirdas held his own, acquiring influence and territory at the expense of Moscow principality and the Golden Horde and extending the borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Black Sea.
5.
Algirdas occupied the important principalities of Smolensk and Bryansk in western Moscow principality.
6.
An important feat by Algirdas was his victory over the Tatars in the Battle of Blue Waters at the Southern Bug in 1362, which resulted in the breakup of the Kipchaks and compelled the khan to establish his headquarters in the Crimea.
7.
Algirdas's alleged burial site has undergone archaeological research since 2009.
8.
The Kiev Monastery of the Caves' commemorative book, underwritten by Algirdas' descendants, recorded his baptismal name as Demetrius during the 1460s.
9.
Algirdas is widely honoured in Belarus as a unifier of all Belarusian lands within one state, a successful military commander and ruler of medieval Belarus.
10.
Algirdas was Duke of Vitebsk for over 20 years before becoming Grand Duke of Lithuania.