After Mindaugas’s assassination in 1263, Lithuania entered a turbulent period, but the state did not collapse. Treniota briefly took over as Grand Duke, but his power was contested by Tautvilas, who was killed by Treniota. However, Treniota himself was assassinated in 1264 by loyalists of the late Mindaugas. Control passed to Vaišvilkas, Mindaugas's son, and Švarnas from Galicia-Volhynia. Their reign was short-lived, with Vaišvilkas ultimately withdrawing into monastic life by 1267, leaving Švarnas in control of parts of southern Lithuania until his death around 1271.
The rise of Traidenis around 1269 marked the beginning of a more stable era. Traidenis actively resisted the German orders, defeating the Livonian Order at the Battle of Karuse in 1270 and winning a major victory at Aizkraukle in 1279. These victories secured Lithuanian dominance and led to a Semigallian rebellion against the Livonian Order. However, Traidenis died soon after, leaving Lithuania without his strong leadership.
With Traidenis’s death, the remaining Baltic tribes were subdued by the Teutonic and Livonian Orders. The Prussians, Skalvians, Nadruvians, and Yotvingians were conquered by 1283, and Semigalia fell in 1291. Lithuania now stood as the last independent pagan state, facing the full focus of the Teutonic and Livonian Orders in the battles to come.