Casus belli. Ivan the Third’s Declaration of War to Aleksander Jagiellończyk, June 24th, 1500

A previously unknown declaration of war from Ivan III, Grand Duke of Moscow to Aleksander Jagiellończyk, dated June 24, 1500, has been discovered in the archives of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck. This Middle Low German translation provides unprecedented insight into the motivations behind the Muscovite-Lithuanian War (1500–1503), revealing that Ivan III's declaration was issued months after hostilities had already begun. The document, characterized by its literal translation style, sheds light on the diplomatic complaints raised by Muscovite diplomats following the 'eternal peace' of 1494 and highlights the role of bureaucratic documentation in the emerging Russian state's foreign policy. This discovery offers a more precise timeline for the war's onset and underscores the significance of official records in 15th-century geopolitical strategies.

Polekhov, S. V., & Squires, C. R. (2021). Casus belli. Ivan the Third’s Declaration of War to Aleksander Jagiellończyk, June 24th, 1500. Slovene, 10(1), 262–295. https://doi.org/10.31168/2305-6754.2021.10.1.12