Editing Samogitians (section)

==History==
{{see also|Eldership of Samogitia|Grand Duchy of Lithuania}}
On 13 July 1260, the Samogitians decisively defeated the joint forces of the [[Teutonic Knights]] from [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]] and [[Livonian Order]] from [[Livonia]] in the [[Battle of Durbe]]. Some 150 knights were killed, including [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword#Masters of Livonia (within the Teutonic Order)|Livonian Master]] [[Burchard von Hornhausen]] and Prussian Land Marshal [[:de:Heinrich Botel|Henrik Botel]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Zenonas |last=Ivinskis  |author-link=Zenonas Ivinskis |title=Lietuvos istorija iki Vytauto Didžiojo mirties |year=1978 |location=Rome |publisher=Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademija |pages=184–188 |lccn=79346776 |language=lt}}</ref>

[[File:1662 Samogetia is Lithuania.jpg|thumb|left|Samogitia in the 17th century]]
Samogitians lived in western Lithuania and were closely related to [[Semigallians]] and [[Curonians]]. In 1413, they became the last group of Europeans to convert to Christianity. Samogitians lived in the [[Duchy of Samogitia]] within the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. In 1857, there were 418,824 people of Samogitian roots and 444,921 persons declared the Samogitian language as their mother tongue in 1897 in [[Kovno Governorate]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Petrulis |first=Valdas |year=2005 |url=http://www.geo.lt/geo/uploads/media/163-175.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722150819/http://www.geo.lt/geo/uploads/media/163-175.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-07-22 |title=Žemaitijos etninės savimonės regiono erdvinė struktūra |journal=Geografijos metraštis |volume=38 |pages=163–175 |issn=0132-3156 }}</ref> Currently Lithuania does not allow for declaration of Samogitian nationality in passports as it is not a recognized ethnicity.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.lrytas.lt/?data=20070604&id=11809569051179205596&view=4 |title = Žemaičio tautybė - vos porai dienų |access-date = 2007-11-23
|author = lrytas.lt |date = 2007-06-04 |language = lt}}</ref> In list of [[Ethnic groups in Russia|ethnic groups of Russia]] there is one person who declared himself with "Zhemaijty".<ref>[http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/TOM_04_P1.doc Perepis.ru] (in [[Russian language|Russian]])</ref>