![]() ![]() It can be said the Ordenstaat lost its raison d'etre. Lithuania's conversion to Christianity removed much of the rationale of the Teutonic Knights' anti-pagan crusades. Jogaila accepted Christianity and became the King of Poland as Władysław Jagiełło. In 1385 the Union of Kreva joined the crown of Poland and Lithuania, and the subsequent marriage of Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania and King Jadwiga of Poland (there was no title "Queen of Poland") was to shift the balance of power both nations were more than aware that only by acting together could the expansion plans of the Teutonic Order be thwarted. In order to further their war efforts against the (pagan) Lithuanian state, the Teutonic Knights instituted a series of crusades, enlisting support from other European countries. Their incursions into Poland in the 14th century gave them control of major towns such as Chełmno (Kulm) and Pomorze (Pommern) region. They stayed on, and, under a papal edict which gave them effective carte blanche to act as they wished, established a power base in the region, occupying the Baltic coastal regions of what are now Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and showed every sign of further expansion. In the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights had been invited to the lands surrounding Chełmno to assist in the expulsion of the ( pagan) Prussians.
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