The Situation in the East of Europe
After his defeat by Otto I, Mieszko I of Poland had converted to Christianity and married the daughter of Saxon Margrave Dietrich of Haldensleben, a vassal of Otto I. Granted the title of Duke of Poland, he became a loyal ally and, although his relationship with Otto II was less fruitful, he took part in sporadic campaigns against the Pagan Tribes East of the Elbe in conjunction with East Francia forces.
When Otto II died, Mieszko I supported Duke Henry's claims on the Eastern throne.
East Francia and the Duchy of Bohemia came into significant contact with one another in 929, when King Henry I [the Fowler] had invaded the Duchy to force Duke Wenceslaus I to pay regular tribute to East Francia. Boleslaus I succeeded him as Duke and refused to continue paying the annual tribute to East Francia. This action caused Henry I's successor Otto I to launch an invasion of Bohemia in 936. In the peace treaty of 950 Boleslaus I agreed to resume paying tribute and to recognize Otto I as his overlord. The Duchy was then incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire as a constituent state. Boleslaus II swore loyalty to Otto II and, when he died, Boleslaus II supported Margrave Eckard I of Meissen claims over Duke Henry's. Only after Eckard was assassinated by Saxon nobles did Bolesław lend his support to Duke Henry's son Henry II.
Géza of Hungary reversed the policy of isolation after their defeat in 955. Géza sent envoys to Otto I in 973, the same year he was baptised and Christianity spread among the Hungarians. Géza expanded his rule over the territories west of the Danube and the Garam, but significant parts of the Carpathian Basin still remained under the rule of Pecheng tribal leaders.
In 997, Géza died and was succeeded by Stephen. Stephen married Gisela, daughter of Henry II. He had to face the rebellion of his relative, Koppány, who claimed the Hungarian throne. Stephen defeated Koppány using some Western tactics and a small number of Swabian Knights.
Duke Henry's claim to the East Francia throne, whilst supported from abroad, had very little support within the Kingdom itself but the nobles were unable to rally sufficient support for any other candidates. Duke Henry negotiated for and achieved the elevation of his son, also Henry, to become Henry II. He became King not through acclaim but through a lack of choice. His accession was finally recognized in the diet called by Philip I, Henri II's son [and co-Emperor since 988], in 994.
The lack of a centralized power in the East had allowed Italy and Bohemia to assert far more independence and effectively break away from East Francia.
Poland
In 996, Duke Bolesław II of Poland sent the Bishop of Prague, Adalbert, to Christianize the Prussians. He was martyred by the Prussians for his efforts in 997. Bolesław II, who bought Adalbert's body from the Prussians for its weight in gold, laid him to rest in the cathedral at Gniezno, which had become the ecclesiastical center of Poland. Bolesław II worked to canonize Adalbert, making him the first Slavic bishop to become a saint.
Bolesław had taken advantage of the strife following Otto II's death, occupying territories west of the Oder River: the Marches of Meissen and Lusatia. Bolesław took control of these territories following the assassination of Margrave Eckard I.
Henry II accepted Bolesław I's gains, allowing the Polish Duke to keep Lusatia as a fief, with Bolesław recognizing Henry II as his overlord, however, Henry II refused to allow Bolesław I to keep possession of Meissen.
Shortly after Bolesław's departure from Merseburg, an assassination attempt was made against him, Bolesław was seriously injured. The Duke accused Henry II of instituting the attack, and relations between the two were severed. Bolesław I also refused to pay tribute to East Francia.
Boleslaus III, Duke of Bohemia, was ousted in a revolt in 1002. Bolesław intervened in the Bohemian affair and reinstalled Boleslaus III upon the Bohemian throne in 1003. Boleslaus III undermined his own position by ordering a massacre of his leading nobles.
Bohemian nobles requested Bolesław to intervene in the crisis. Bolesław agreed and invited the Bohemian Duke to Poland. Once there, Boleslaus III was blinded and imprisoned, where he remained until his death 30 years later. Now claiming dominion, Bolesław invaded and conquered Bohemia without any serious opposition. Bohemia had previously been under the influence of East Francia. The Polish invasion further increased the tension in the East.
Bolesław openly defied Henry II and, in 1004 burnt down the castle of Meissen, an act of war. Henry II launched a military campaign against Poland in 1004 that would last until 1018.
Henry II gathered an army to march against Poland. In 1003 Henry II had formed an alliance with the pagan Slavic Lutici tribe. In consequence Henry II halted Christianization efforts among the Slavic peoples. The alliance with the Western Slavs against Poland was controversial, however. Many nobles had wanted continued missionary work and the submission of the Elbe Slavs. Additionally, many East Francia nobles opposed the war having developed family ties with Poland during Otto II's reign.
In preparation for Henry II's invasion, Bolesław developed a similar alliance with other Slavic peoples. With his conquests west of the Oder River, his domain stretched from the Baltic to the Carpathian Mountains.
Henry II invaded in the summer of 1004, reaching the Ore Mountains in northern Bohemia and the castle at Žatec where he killed the Polish force left there. Simultaneously, Jaromír, brother of the deposed Duke Boleslaus III invaded Bohemia with Henry's military support. Jaromír occupied Prague and proclaimed himself Duke. The state he regained was a small one, however, as Polish forces continued to hold Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia.
Henry II retook Meissen and advanced deep into Poland but suffered significant losses along the way. At Poznań his forces were ambushed by the Polish army and suffered further losses. Meeting in Poznań, Henry II and Bolesław I signed a peace treaty affirming the status quo bellum. Bolesław was forced to give up his claim to the Bohemian throne. The peace lasted only three years.
In 1008, Henry II denounced the Peace of Poznań, Bolesław therefore attacked the Archbishopric of Magdeburg.
Due to interference from the Emperor, the East Francia counter-offensive began three years later in 1011. The Emperor's opposition meant that nobles were reluctant to commit troops. The offensive achieved little of consequence beyond some pillaging in Silesia. Bolesław's forces pillaged and burned the city of Lubusz. In 1013, a third peace treaty was signed confirming Bolesław's possession of the Marches of Lusatia and Meissen as fiefs.
The peace quickly deteriorated. With Henry II absent from East Francia, Bolesław sent his son, Mieszko to the Duke of Bohemia in order to persuade the new Duke Oldřich into an alliance against Henry II. The mission failed and Oldřich imprisoned Mieszko. He was released only after the intervention of the Emperor. As a result, Mieszko was sent to Philip's Imperial court to discuss co-operation between Poland and the Empire.
Henry II had approached Yaroslav, pretender to the throne of Kiev. A son of Kievan Grand Duke Vladimir the Great, he was vice-regent of the Principality of Novgorod. Yaroslav's eldest surviving brother, Sviatopolk I of Kiev, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev. Henry II's support of Yaroslav was in opposition to not only Sviatopolk but to Bolesław as well. Years before, Bolesław I had married one of his daughters to Sviatopolk, making the new Kievan Grand Duke a son-in-law to the Polish Duke.
Henry II returned to East Francia in 1015 and prepared for a third invasion of Poland. With three armies at his command, the largest contingent since the beginning of the conflict in 1004, his armies simultaneously marched north, south, and centre from East Francia.
Henry II commanded the centre army, supported by allied Slavic tribes, and moved from Magdeburg to cross the Oder into Poland. Henry II was soon joined by Bohemian Duke Oldřich and by Duke Bernard II of Saxony.
Henry II had misread the political situation after Mieszko's visit to the Imperial court. Philip had become concerned with the alliances and increasing power-base Henry II had been forging in Eastern Europe. The link with Kiev was a step too far for Philip. He declared that he would defend his Vassal and Ally, Bolesław, if he were to be attacked.
As the East Francia army crossed the Oder river and marched across Poland, Henry II's forces killed or captured several thousand Poles, but suffered heavy losses in the campaign. Bolesław I sent a detachment of Moravian knights under Mieszko II in a diversionary attack against East Francia's Eastern March. The East Francian army retreated from Poland in order to address the assault.
During the retreat Gero II, Margrave of the Eastern March, was ambushed by Polish forces and killed. Bolesław I's forces now took the offensive. Bolesław I sent Mieszko II to invest Meissen in 1016, then under the command of Mieszko II's brother-in-law Margrave Herman I. His military attempt at conquering the city failed, however, he was able to convince Herman to surrender the city by negotiation.
By this time, Philip had gathered an army east of the Rhine and was advancing on Freising, Henry's Capital. Henry II withdrew from the Eastern Marches, moving to Bamberg then south to intercept Philip south of Eichstadt. Despite the long march, Henry II's forces performed well, drawing Philip in with a false withdrawal then cutting them off, taking many noble prisoners for ransom.
Henry II then opened peace negotiations with Bolesław I and a ceasefire was declared, summer 1017. Negotiations failed and in autumn 1017 Henry II again marched his army into Poland, this time via Silesia. His army reached Głogów, where Bolesław I faced him. Using Głogów to refuse the right wing, Bolesław I fought a defensive battle, allowing Henry to shatter his troops on the prepared defences.
Henry II then retreated back to Prague to reinforce, but found the city in the hands of rebels. His weakened army was unable to capture the city. As his army besieged Prague, disease brought about from the winter cold devastated his forces. His attacks unsuccessful, Henry II was forced to retreat back to Bavaria. With this defeat, Henry II was ready to end the war and begin serious peace negotiations with Bolesław and Philip.
In 1018, Henry II signed a treaty, known as the Peace of Bautzen. The Polish duke was able to keep the contested marches of Lusatia and Meissen on purely nominal terms of vassalage, with Bolesław I recognizing Philip as his feudal lord. Philip also promised to support Bolesław I in the Polish ruler's expedition to Kiev to ensure his son-in-law, Sviatopolk, claimed the Kievan throne. Additionally, Duke Oldřich was deposed in favour of Eckard, previously Margrave of Meissen. Sealing the peace, Bolesław I, married Oda of Meissen, daughter of the Saxon Margrave. To compensate Oldřich he was awarded the lands of Julich, then vacant.
At Philip's order, Henry II travelled to Poland in 1019, he took with him a crown bestowed by the Emperor and the Pope. Henry also arranged the betrothal of King Bolesław's son Mieszko II with the Emperor's grand-niece Michela of Chartres.
The Empire and Poland remained at peace for the remainder of Philip's reign. Henry's death in 1024 gave Bolesław an opportunity to increase his own power. Bolesław tried to take advantage of the interregnum in East Francia but Bolesław died within two months. Bolesław's son, Mieszko II, succeeded him, crowned on Christmas Day 1025. On assuming the throne, Mieszko expelled his older half-brother Bezprym and his younger brother Otto Bolesławowic. Otto went to the Empire, taking refuge in Julich.
Philip died on campaigning against the Moors in Iberia, his son, Henri, was only 7 years old and had not yet been crowned co-Emperor as was traditional. This left the Empire in disarray as well.
Duke Oldřich of Julich had thrived since losing Bohemia but he had still nurtured ambitions for greater power. Henry II's support mostly gravitated to him and he was seen as a candidate for King of East Francia. Conrad of the Palatinate, although technically in Franconia, recently ceded to the West, emerged as the leading candidate, supported by Otto Bolesławowic.
Conrad considered the assumption of the title "king" by Oldřich an act of war but had to address domestic issues before marching against him. In 1026 Conrad marched into Italy to assert East Francia authority south of the Alps and to claim the crown from the Pope. In his absence, Oldřich and his ally, Frederick II of Upper Lorraine rebelled against his authority.
The rebels sought the support of Mieszko, which the Polish king granted and promised to take military action against Conrad. Conrad returned to East Francia in mid-1027, putting an end to the rebellion before Mieszko could marshal his forces. Mieszko had developed a closer relationship with Cnut, King of Jorvik and Denmark.
Fearing a joint Polish-Danish attack, Conrad invaded Lusatia and the territory of the Lutician Federation in 1028.
The Lutici were a federation of West Slavic or Polabian tribes, located on the north-east border of East Francia. The Lutici were the regular target of East Francia aggression. During the 940's East Francia subjugated many of the Slavic tribes. In 983, as part of the Great Slav Rising, the Lutici initiated an open rebellion and, in the ensuing war, succeeded in reclaiming their independence and gained control of the Billung and Northern Marches from the Empire.
Attempts to reintegrate them into the Empire had ended the friendly relationship between Poland the Empire. Instead, Bolesław competed for dominion over the Lutici.
Conrad's 1028 invasion ended the peace. The Lutici sent ambassadors to seek Mieszko's protection, which he granted. Seeking to protect the Lutici from Conrad's invasion, Mieszko launched a counter-invasion in 1029 and placed Bautzen under siege.
Faced with a potential invasion by Hungary, Conrad retreated. Poland had secured an alliance with Hungary, with Stephen I invading Bavaria while Mieszko invaded Saxony. Conrad responded by allying with Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev.
Conrad concluded a peace treaty with Hungary by confirming possession of Carinthia in Hungarian control. Freed from the threat of Hungarian attack, Conrad was able to focus his attention on attacking Poland. Marching on Mieszko in autumn 1031. Conrad laid siege of Polish held Bautzen. Mieszko's authority was shaken by the East Francia and Kievan invasions, and a rebellion led by his exiled brother Bezprym. Mieszko considered surrendering to Conrad but was deposed by Bezprym in 1031.
When Mieszko had assumed the Polish throne he exiled his brother, who fled to the protection of Kievan Rus. With Bezprym's accession Kievan Grand Prince Yaroslav's invasion of Poland. Mieszko fled to the Duchy of Bohemia where he was imprisoned.
Bezprym's reign was short, his cruelty caused his half-brother Otto Bolesławowic to head a conspiracy. Bezprym's own men murdered him. The relationship between Conrad and Otto Bolesławowic was still good, the war was ended with Otto confirmed as King of Poland and in possession of Lusatia and Meissen. He also agreed to hold Pomerania as a fief from Conrad. A Pagan reaction erupted in Poland.
Bohemia
The Duchy of Bohemia had been incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1004 however, Poland occupied the traditional Czech territories of Moravia, Silesia, Lesser Poland and Lusatia. Following the resumption of hostilities between the East Francia and Poland in 1028, Eckard went on the offensive against Poland, reconquering Moravia. When the war ended Eckard expected to receive Moravia. The retention of Moravia by Poland opened a rift between Eckard and Conrad.
Poland was unable to stabilize in the wake of the Pagan revolt of 1031, forcing Conrad to intervene. Conrad summoned Eckard to assist but he refused. His absence raised the ire of Conrad, but, now busy dealing with a revolt in Italy he placed his son Henry of the Palatinate in charge of punishing Eckard . At age 17, Henry's march on Bohemia was his first independent military command. The expedition was complete failure. Henry was killed in battle and Eckard now led a general rebellion against Conrad.
Hungary
Stephen had been crowned as the first Christian King of Hungary, Christmas Day, 1000. Under Stephen the relationship between Hungary and the Empire was friendly although that with East Francia was less so. Under Conrad, however, relations quickly turned hostile as Conrad pursued a more aggressive policy regarding eastern Europe. Conrad II expelled Venetian Doge Otto Orseolo, the husband of Stephen's sister Grimelda of Hungary, from Venice in 1026. Conrad also contested the claim of Stephen's son, Emeric, to the Duchy of Bavaria.
Conrad planned a marriage alliance with the Byzantine Empire and dispatched one of his advisors, Bishop Werner of Salzburg, to Constantinople. The bishop travelled as a pilgrim, but Stephen, refused to let him enter into Hungary. The Bavarians incited skirmishes along the common Imperial-Hungarian border in 1029, in 1030, open conflict erupted as part of the Polish conflict. Conrad invaded Hungary, but retreated in the face of Hungarian scorched earth tactics. Conrad settled the conflict in 1031 by granting lands in eastern Bavaria to Hungary and confirming possession of Carinthia in Hungarian control.
Arles
Rudolph II, King of Arles, had no sons. When he died, in 1006, the Emperor inherited the title but left the Kingdom mostly in the hands of his new vassals.
Though Arles was definitively under imperial control, the kingdom was allowed significant autonomy. The chief importance of the annexation of Arles was to augment the influence and dignity of the Emperor but, it also secured control over the western Alpine passes in Italy, allowing the Empire to secure its hold over Italy.
Baltic Coast
After the defeat of the Magyars, in the late 950's, steps were taken to bring the Baltic Coast between the Elbe and Oder rivers under Germanic control. The lands were controlled by Pagan Slavic tribes in various stages of state-building. The Duke of Saxony subdued the Polabian Tribes who lived east of the Elbe, on the borders of the Duchy. The following winter he marched against the Hevelli tribes and seized their capital, Brandenburg.
Further south the Glomacze lands on the middle Elbe, north of Bohemia, were attacked, capturing Jahna, their capital, after a siege, and establishing a fortress built at Meissen. This strongpoint later bacame the capital of the march of Meissen.
Meanwhile the Redarii tribe, west of the upper Oder river, had driven away their chief, captured the town of Walsleben and massacred its inhabitants. Their leaders then submitted to the Duke of Saxony.
Counts Bernard and Thietmar marched against the fortress of Lenzen beyond the Elbe, and, after fierce fighting, completely routed the enemy. The Lusatians and the Ukrani on the lower Oder were subdued and made tributary in 962 and 964, respectively.
Otto I into his kingdom territories held by the Wends, who together with the Danes had attacked Germany, and also conquered Schleswig in 964.
Pagan Baltic;1010
In 1028, to counter the closer relationship with Poland, Conrad granted authority over the March of Schleswig, the borderlands between Denmark and East Francia, to Cnut. It was the competition between Denmark and Poland over the pagan tribes between the Elbe and Oder rivers that spoilt the relationship, later becoming a small scale, undeclared, war.
Pagan Baltic;1028
