Kraków Krakow Poland

The Slavs come to the Balkans from a broad region in central and eastern Europe, which extended from the rivers Elbe in the west to the Dnieper in the east and from a point which touched the Carpathian mountains in the south and the river Niemen in the north.

Different tribes settle in different parts of the Balkan peninsula, subsequently developing their distinct identities.

The origin of the Croat tribe before the great migration of the Slavs is uncertain.

Most historians believe that the Croats are a purely Slavic people who probably migrated to the Balkans from the present-day Ukraine, but genetic evidence points indicates a high degree of merging with the pre-Slavic indigenous populations of the region of modern day Croatia.

A newer theory holds that the original Croats were nomadic Sarmatians who roamed Central Asia, migrated onto the steppes around 200 BCE, and rode into Europe near the end of the fourth century CE, possibly together with the Huns.

The Sarmatian Croats, the theory holds, conquered the Slavs of northern Bohemia and southern Poland and formed a small state called White Croatia near today's Kraków.

The Croats then supposedly mingled with their more numerous Slavic subjects and adopted the Slavic language, while the subjects assumed the tribal name "Croat."

The earliest mention of the Croatian name, Horoathos, can be traced on two stone inscriptions in Greek language and script, dating from around the year 200 CE, found in the seaport Tanais on the Azov sea, Crimea peninsula (near the Black Sea).

Both tablets are kept in the Archaeological museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The Vistulans (also known as the Vislanes), have from the first century and possibly earlier been part of the Carpian Tribe, which got its name from the area that they lived in, which was beside the Carpathian Mountain Range.

Vistulans in the ninth century have created a tribal state, with major centers in Kraków, Wiślica, Sandomierz, and Stradów.

They are subjugated by Svatopluk, probably around 874, and the Vistulan duke is forced to accept baptism.

Prince Boleslaw incorporates Silesia and Kraków into his Polish principality from 999.

Three new Polish bishoprics, created and confirmed with papal consent, are placed at Kraków, …

The nobles who survive the massacre secretly send messengers to Boleslaw and entreat him to come to their aid.

The Polish duke willingly agrees, and invites Boleslaus III to visit him at his castle in Kraków.

Here, Boleslaus III is trapped, blinded and imprisoned; he will probably die in captivity some thirty years later.

Bretislaus’s raid has an unintended enduring influence on Polish history, as the plundering and destruction of Gniezno will push the next Polish rulers to move their capital to Kraków, which is to retain this role for many centuries ahead.

The coronation of Vratislav II as King of Bohemia in 1085, and his alignment with Ladislaus I, King of Hungary, threatens the position of the Polish ruler, Prince Wladyslaw I Herman.

Therefore, this same year Wladyslaw I is forced to recall from Hungarian banishment the only son of Boleslaw II the Bold and a rightful heir to the Polish throne, Mieszko Boleslawowic.

Upon his return, young Bolesławowic accepts the overlordship of his uncle and gives up his hereditary claim to the crown of Poland in exchange for becoming first in line to succeed him.

In return, Prince Wladyslaw I Herman grants his nephew the district of Kraków.

The situation is further complicated for Wladyslaw I Herman by a lack of a legitimate male heir, as his first-born son Zbigniew comes from a union not recognized by the church.

With the return of Mieszko Boleslawowic to Poland, Wladylaw I normalizes his relations with the kingdom of Hungary as well as Kievan Rus (the marriage of Mieszko Boleslawowic to a Kievan princess will be arranged in 1088).

These actions allow Herman to strengthen his authority and alleviate further tensions in international affairs.

Lack of a legitimate heir had remained a concern for Wladyslaw I.

He and his wife Judith of Swabia had in 1085 sent rich gifts, among which was a life size statue of a child made of gold, to the Benedictine Sanctuary of Saint Giles in Saint-Gilles, Provence, begging for offspring.

The Polish envoys were led by the personal chaplain of Duchess Judith, Piotr.

By 1086, Boleslaw is born.

Three months after his birth, on December 25, his mother dies.

Following Boleslaw’s birth, the political climate in the country changes.

The position of Boleslaw as an heir to the throne is threatened by the presence of Mieszko Boleslawowic, who is already seventeen at the time and is furthermore, by agreement with Herman himself, the first in line to succeed.

Wladyslaw I Herman, shortly after his ascension, had been forced by the barons to give up the de facto reins of government to Count Palatine Sieciech.

This turn of events was likely due to the fact that Herman owed the throne to the barons, the most powerful of whom is Sieciech.

In 1089, Wladyslaw I Herman marries Judith of Swabia, who is renamed Sophia in order to distinguish herself from Wladyslaw I's first wife.

Judith of Swabia is a daughter of Emperor Henry III and widow of Solomon of Hungary.

Through this marriage, Boleslaw gains three or four half-sisters, and as a consequence he remains the only legitimate son and heir.

In all likelihood, it is this situation that precipitates the young prince Mieszko’s demise in 1089.

It is believed that Judith of Swabia was actively aiding Sieciech in his schemes to take over the country and that she was a mistress of the Count Palatine; the death of Mieszko Boleslawowic under mysterious circumstances is, in all probability, caused by orders of the Count Palatine and Judith.

In the same year, Wladyslaw I Herman’s first-born son Zbigniew had been sent out of the country to a monastery in Quedlinburg, Saxony.

This suggests that Wladyslaw I Herman intended to be rid of Zbigniew by making him a monk, and therefore depriving him of any chance of succession.

With the help of Sieciech, Judith convinces her husband to postpone the return of Zbigniew, who seems to have been a strong candidate to the succession despite his illegitimacy.

This eliminates two pretenders to the Polish throne, securing young Boleslaw’s inheritance as well as diminishing the growing opposition to Wladyslaw I Herman among the nobility.

Prince Boleslaw’s childhood occurs at a time when a massive political migration out of Poland is taking place, due to Sieciech’s political repressions.

Most of the elites who become political refugees find safe haven in Bohemia.

Another consequence of Sieciech’s political persecution is the kidnapping of Zbigniew by Sieciech’s enemies and his return from abroad in 1093.

Zbigniew takes refuge in Silesia, a stronghold of negative sentiment for both Sieciech as well as his nominal patron Wladyslaw I Herman.

In the absence of Sieciech and Boleslaw, who are captured by Hungarians and kept captive, Prince Wladyslaw I then undertakes a penal expedition to Silesia, which is unsuccessful and subsequently obliges him to recognize Zbigniew as a legitimate heir.

In 1093, Wladyslaw I signs an Act of Legitimization that grants Zbigniew the rights of descent from his line.

Zbigniew is also granted the right to succeed to the throne.