The Battle of Zawichost (1205) was a battle fought between Roman the Great of Galicia-Volhynia and Leszek I the White of Lesser Poland, along with his brother, Konrad I of Masovia. After declaring war and invading Lesser Poland, Roman and his forces (druzhina) were ambushed by the Poles in the vicinity of Zawichost by the Vistula (Visla) River. In the tumult that followed, Roman was killed and the Polish victory would lead to Poland's growing power and the weakening of Rus'. Background In the 11th century, Poland and Rus' entered a border dispute and the lands of Lesser Poland and Rus' (called Ruthenia in Latin) were changing hands constantly. In the early Middle Ages, the area of what later would become Galicia was scarcely populated, as the region was settled by Rus' peoples from the east and by Poles from the west. Border-clashes took place in the lands of Przemyśl, Sanok, Drohiczyn and Vladimir-in-Volhynia. The decline of Kievan Rus' gave Poland the opportunity to seize control of the regions. In 1199, an armed campaign led by Leszek the White helped to install Roman the Great on the throne in Vladimir-in-Volhynia. In 1205, however, Roman declared war on Poland. The Polish chronicler, Jan Długosz, tried to give reasons for Roman's declaration of war: Długosz further explains that before crossing the Polish frontier, Roman sent emissaries to the Bishop of Vladimir and asked for his blessing, as he intended to campaign in Poland for three years. The Bishop declined Roman's gifts and denied him any blessing, explaining that "he cannot bless Roman or his enterprise, since he has previously started unjust and wicked wars and is again embarking on one that is quite unjustified, considering that the Poles have so often exposed their bodies to danger and death to defend the Ruthenians against the barbarians." Roman responded by telling the bishop that he will cut his head off when he returns from his victory. Battle In the early spring, Roman invaded the land of Lublin and laid siege to the city. The Polish garrison was successful in defending the city, but the Rus'ian caused great destruction to the local population, as they captured and raped the wives of the knights of Lublin. Leszek then started recruiting a force of knights and peasants from Sandomierz, Kujawy, and Mazovia, which was reinforced with a force of volunteers from Kraków. When Roman learned of the