Viestards was one of the greatest Semigallian

Semigallians

Semigallians were the Baltic tribe that lived in the southcentral part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania...

 dukes in the 13th century, referred to as King Vester . His capital was Tērvete

Tervete

Tērvete is a village in Latvia and the administrative centre of Tērvete municipality. Famous for the historic hillfort built for the kings of Western Zemgale in the Middle Ages.-History:...

. During the first decades of the 13th century he was allied with the Livonian Brothers of the Sword

Livonian Brothers of the Sword

The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were a military order founded by Bishop Albert of Riga in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks"...

 against Lithuanians

Lithuanians

Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...

, who looted Semigallia on several occasions. In 1205, joint forces defeated Lithuanians and killed duke Žvelgaitis

Žvelgaitis

Žvelgaitis was a Lithuanian duke who died in 1205. He is the first Lithuanian duke whose name is known from reliable sources. The account of his expedition and death is given by Henry of Livonia, an early thirteenth century German chronicler of Latvian history, spanning the years 1186-1227...

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In 1219 Viestards came into conflict with German bishop Albert when German crusaders

Livonian Crusade

The Livonian Crusade refers to the German and Danish conquest and colonization of medieval Livonia, the territory constituting modern Latvia and Estonia, during the Northern Crusades...

 placed their garrison in Semigallian castle of Mežotne

Mežotne

Mežotne is a town in Latvia 10 km west of Bauska and 40 km south of the capital of Latvia, Riga. It lies in the historical region of Zemgale on the left bank of the Lielupe river near the Lithuanian border.- Mežotne Palace :...

. Viestards unsuccessfully attacked Mežotne but managed to defeat the reinforcement of crusaders coming on Lielupe

Lielupe

The Lielupe is a river in central Latvia. Its length is 119 km . The surface area of its basin is 17,600 km²...

 river after that crusaders left Mežotne. Viestards became an enemy of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and made an alliance with his neighbors, the Samogitians

Samogitians

Samogitians are a part of the Lithuanian ethnicity inhabiting the region of Samogitia in Lithuania. Many speak the Samogitian dialect of the Lithuanian language.-History:...

. Together they fought against the crusaders. Viestards died in 1230, but the Semigallians still were not conquered until the end of the 13th century. Viestards never accepted Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 and accepted only one monk in Semigallia as a preacher.

The Order of Viesturs

Order of Viesturs

The Order of Viesturs is a Latvian state order founded in 1938, which fell into abeyance during the years of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, but was reestablished in 2004 in the Republic of Latvia...

 (Vesthardus Rex) was founded in 1938 to commemorate the spirit of independence of the people of ancient Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

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