History of Silesia - Kingdom of Poland

Kingdom of Poland

Further information: History of Poland (966–1385)

At the end of the 9th century Silesia came within the sphere of influence of two other neighbours, the Holy Roman Empire and Poland. In order to proselytise Silesia to Christianity Holy Roman emperor Otto I in 971 donated the tithe of the Dziadoszyce area to the Diocese of Meissen, and in 996 Otto III defined the Oder up to the spring as the border of the Margraviate of Meissen. All this however was without practical consequences as the expanding Polish state of Mieszko I conquered Silesia at the same time. The Dziadoszyce area was already incorporated c. 970. In 990 Mieszko annexed Middle Silesia and its main township Niemcza with the help of the Holy Roman Empire, which supported Poland in order to weaken Bohemia. In the coming years Mieszkos successor, Bolesław I, integrated the area of the Opolane and Golenszanie into his realm. With the establishment of an independent Polish ecclesiastical province in 1000 (see: Congress of Gniezno) the bishopric of Wrocław, subordinate to the archbishopric of Gniezno, was established.

After the death of Bolesław I in 1025 his oldest son Mieszko II was crowned as king of Poland. Due to a foreign invasion in 1031 Mieszko had to go on exile. The military defeat of the young state led to a pagan revolt that took place between 1031 and 1032. It endangered the newly established Christian church also in Silesia where it ousted the bishop of Wrocław. However Mieszko managed to regain power in 1032 and restored order in the kingdom. He died in 1034 and his oldest son Casimir the Restorer came into power. In 1037 a nobility revolt took place and Casimir had to flee from the country. This was used by a Bohemian Duke Bretislaus I who after pillaging Greater Poland took control of Silesia in 1038. In 1039 Casimir was back in Poland and started to reunite the country. In 1050, he retook most of Silesia, but was forced to pay a tribute to Bohemia. This tribute, 300 Marks per year and later raised to 500 Marks, was the reason for long-lasting wars between the two countries. Silesia was moreover divided by internal struggles, as some parts of the society were unsatisfied with the changes imposed by Poland. In 1093 an uprising of the Silesian nobility, which was supported by Bohemia, took place. The nobles demanded removal from power of despotic palatine Sieciech as well as recognition of rights to the Polish crown of prince Zbigniew of Poland. The uprising was only partly successful. Zbigniew was officially recognized as an heir to the throne, Sieciech however retained power until 1099 and fled the country in 1101. This era of wars and unrest ended with the peace treaty of Kladsko (Polish: Kłodzko) in 1137, in which the border between Bohemia and Silesia was defined and the affiliation of the Kladsko area to Bohemia was confirmed.

In 1146, High Duke Władysław II was driven into exile to Germany by his brothers, who opposed his attempts to strengthen control of High Duke over the remaining dukes. Silesia then became a possession of the new High Duke, Bolesław IV the Curly. Meanwhile, Władysław was trying to persuade Holy Roman Emperors Conrad III and his successor Frederick Barbarossa to aid him in retaking his duchy but he never managed to succeed. In 1163, his three sons Konrad, Mieszko and Bolesław took possession of Silesia with Imperial backing and probably ruled it together until 1172. Afterwards they divided the territory. Bolesław received the area of Wrocław, Opole and Legnica, Konrad Żagań, Głogów and Krosno and Mieszko the smallest part with Ratibor and Cieszyn. As Konrad prepared himself in Fulda for a clerical career his brother Bolesław administered his possessions until Konrads early dead, when Bolesław incorporated Konrads part into his duchy. Mieszko at the same time expanded his own duchy with parts of the Duchy of Kraków around Bytom and Oświęcim, which were given to him by Casimir II in 1778, and Opole, which he received after the dead of Bolesław. In 1202 Bolesław's son, Henry I, and Mieszko moreover specified to rule out the right of succession among their branches, an arrangement which was largely responsible for the special position of what would become Upper Silesia. In the same year Poland abolished the seniorate and Silesias duchies became independent under constitutional law.

In the first half of the 13th century Silesian duke Henry I the Bearded, managed to reunite much of the divided Kingdom of Poland (Regnum Poloniae). His expeditions led him as far north as the Duchy of Pomerania, where he for a short time held some of her southern areas. He became the duke of Kraków (Polonia Minor) in 1232, which gave him the title of the senior duke of Poland (see Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty), and came into possession of most of Greater Poland in 1234. Henry tried to achieve the Polish crown but he did not manage to succeed. His activity in this field was continued by his son and successor Henry II the Pious but his sudden death in 1241 (Battle of Legnica) unabled him to achieve this goal. His successors were not able to maintain their holdings outside of Silesia, which were lost to other Piast dukes. Polish historians refer to territories acquired by the Silesian dukes in this period as Monarchia Henryków śląskich ("The monarchy of the Silesian Henries"). In those days Wrocław was the political center of the divided Kingdom of Poland.