The Battle of Blue Waters[a] was fought at some time in the autumn of 1362 or 1363 on the banks of the Syniukha River, a left tributary of the Southern Bug, between the armies of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Golden Horde.After the death of its ruler Berdi Beg Khan in 1359 the Golden Horde experienced a series of succession disputes and wars that lasted two decades (1359–81).Such attacks had little effect and the Lithuanians and Ruthenians, armed with spears and swords, moved forward and broke the front lines of the Tatar army.[5] The victory brought Kiev and a large part of present-day Ukraine, including sparsely populated Podolia and Dykra, under the control of the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania.As such, the Tale is a piece of political propaganda written to support Lithuanian claims to Podolia and exalt the virtues of Karijotas's sons rather than give an accurate account of the military campaign.Polish historian Stefan Maria Kuczyński produced a dedicated study Sine Wody in 1965; Lithuanian Romas Batūra published Lietuva tautų kovoje prieš Aukso ordą.