Diwanus (also ''Diwan'', ''Diwane'') was the leader (''capitaneus'') of the

Bartians The Bartians (also ''Barthi'', ''Barthoni'', ''Bartens'', or ''Barti'') were an Old Prussian tribe who were among the last natives following a pre-Christian religion before the Northern Crusades forced their conversion to Christianity at the cost ...

, one of the Prussian clans, during the

Great Prussian Uprising The Prussian uprisings were two major and three smaller uprisings by the Old Prussians, one of the Baltic tribes, against the Teutonic Knights that took place in the 13th century during the Prussian Crusade. The crusading military order, suppo ...

(1260–1274) against the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

. He was son of Kleckis (

Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid con ...

: ''bear'') and therefore is sometimes referred to by a nickname derived from the word ''bear''. His first major victory came when Schippenbeil fell in 1263 after almost three years of siege. Twenty knights and their men sallied out to fight the joint forces of Batians and Sudovians in an open battle. However, the pagans blocked escape routes and all Teutons were killed.Urban, William. ''The Prussian Crusade'', p. 289. In terms of knights killed, it was one of the top ten losses by the Teutonic Knights during the 13th century. The garrison at Schippenbeil was left with too few soldiers and supplies to withstand the siege and escaped through

Galindia Galindians were two distinct, and now extinct, tribes of the Balts. Most commonly, Galindians refers to the Western Galindians who lived in the southeast part of Prussia. Less commonly, it is used for a tribe that lived in the area of what is tod ...

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

. Diwanus expected that fugitives would take a shorter route north to

Balga Balga (russian: замок Бальга; german: Burg Balga; lt, Balga; pl, Balga) was a medieval castle of the Teutonic Knights in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The castle ruins are located on the shore of the Vistula Lagoon, north of Mamonovo ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

, therefore the knights had a head start. Diwanus soon learned about the true route and, with a handful of his best men, hurried to pursue the fugitives. During a charge on the escapees, Bartians killed three knights, but Diwanus was seriously injured. Since all major Teutonic castles in Bartia fell, Bartians did not have the need to safeguard their land from potential attacks from Teutonic strongholds. They were free to send men to help other Prussian clans. Diwanus and his men were making minor expeditions into Pogesania and

Chełmno Land Chełmno land ( pl, ziemia chełmińska, or Kulmerland, Old Prussian: ''Kulma'', lt, Kulmo žemė) is a part of the historical region of Pomerelia, located in central-northern Poland. Chełmno land is named after the city of Chełmno (hist ...

. In 1271, a major campaign was organized together with Pogesanian leader Linko. The Bartian infantry and Pogesanians besieged a border castle, but were fended off by the Knights from Christburg. The Prussians, who managed to escape, joined their cavalry while the Knights set up their camp on the opposite bank of the Dzierzgoń River, blocking the route home. When Christians retired for the night, one half of the Prussian army crossed the river in a distance, in order to attack the Knights from the rear, while the other half charged straight across the river. The Knights were encircled.Urban, William. ''The Prussian Crusade'', pp. 326–327. The Battle of Paganstin saw twelve knights and 500 men killed. The Prussians immediately assaulted Christburg and almost captured it. The Prussians were still looting the surrounding area when cavalry from Elbing arrived. Many of the Prussian infantry perished while cavalry escaped. Despite these losses, Diwanus was soon back and blocked roads leading to Christburg hoping to starve the castle. Three times the Knights tried to send supplies to the castle via the Dzierzgoń River, and each time the vessels were intercepted by the Bartians. However, Christburg refused to surrender. In 1273, Diwanus brought 800 men for a siege on

Schönsee Schönsee is a town in the Schwandorf district of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bo ...

. The small outpost had only three knights and a handful of sergeants. Diwanus tried to persuade them to surrender, but they refused and tried to hide their true strength by dressing every soldier as a noble knight. When Bartians attacked, brother Arnold shot and killed Diwanus.Urban, William. ''The Prussian Crusade'', p. 329. The Bartians, left without a leader, returned home. They withdrew from the uprising, and within a year the war was lost.

References

{{Prussian leaders 13th-century births 1273 deaths Old Prussian people People from Prussia proper Pagans of the Prussian Crusade Military personnel killed in action Pagan martyrs