Dietrich II ( – 19 November 1034) was Margrave of Lusatia from 1032 to 1034, the first of the

Wettin dynasty The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest ...

Life

Dietrich was the only son of Count Dedo I, Count of Wettin and his wife Thietburga, a daughter of Count

Dietrich of Haldensleben , father = Wichmann the Elder , mother = Frederuna of Ringelheim Dietrich (Theoderich, Theodoric) of Haldensleben (died 25 August 985) was a count in the Schwabengau, later also in the Nordthüringgau and the Derlingau, who was the first Ma ...

, the first

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

of the

Northern March The Northern March or North March (, ) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the ...

. Dietrich II thereby was a grandson of the Wettin progenitor

Theodoric I Theodoric I (; ; 390 or 393 – 20 or 24 June 451) was the king of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila the Hun at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where he was killed. Early career In 41 ...

. At Christmas 1009, after his father was killed in a fierce struggle with Margrave Werner of the Northern March, Dietrich was vested with the County of Wettin in the Saxon

Hassegau

The Hassegau was a medieval shire (''Gau (territory), Gau'') ...

by King

Henry II of Germany Henry II (; ; ; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024 AD), also known as Saint Henry, Order of Saint Benedict, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler of the Ottonian dy ...

Pöhlde Pöhlde is a village in southern Lower Saxony in Germany. It is part of the town Herzberg am Harz. It has a population of 2207 (1 October 2006). Archaeological excavation has revealed traces of settlement dating to the 2nd through 4th centuries AD. ...

. From 1015, he also appeared as a and count in the neighbouring

Schwabengau The Schwabengau (modernized name; originally: Suavia, Suevon, Nordosquavi) was an early medieval shire ('' Gau'') in the Eastphalia region of the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it became the nucleus of the later Princi ...

. Upon the death of his uncle Frederick I, who had died without male issue in 1017, Dietrich inherited

Eilenburg Eilenburg (; , ) is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Nordsachsen in Saxony, approximately 20 km northeast of the city of Leipzig. Geography Eilenburg lies at the banks of the river Mulde at the southwestern edge of the D� ...

and

Brehna Brehna is a town and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Sandersdorf-Brehna. It is situated southwest of Bitterfeld. Important in this city is the churc ...

. In 1018, Dietrich II and his brother-in-law, Margrave Herman I of Meissen acted as witnesses when the

Peace of Bautzen The Peace of Bautzen (; ; ) was a treaty concluded on 30 January 1018, between Holy Roman Emperor Henry II and Bolesław I of Poland which ended a series of Polish-German wars over the control of Lusatia and Upper Lusatia (''Milzenerland'' or ...

was concluded between Emperor Henry II and the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

ruler

Bolesław I the Brave Bolesław I the Brave (17 June 1025), less often List of people known as the Great, known as Bolesław the Great, was Duke of Poland from 992 to 1025 and the first King of Poland in 1025. He was also Duke of Bohemia between 1003 and 1004 as Boles ...

, ending a lengthy German–Polish War. From 1029, Emperor Conrad II again waged war against Poland. Bolesław's son and successor

Mieszko II Mieszko II Lambert (; c. 990 – 10/11 May 1034) was King of Poland from 1025 to 1031 and Duke from 1032 until his death. He was the second son of Bolesław I the Brave but the eldest born from his third wife, Emnilda of Lusatia. He organized ...

lost Lusatia and finally had to renounce his claims in the 1033 Treaty of Merseburg. According to the

Annalista Saxo The Annalista Saxo ("Saxon annalist") is the anonymous author of an important imperial chronicle, believed to have originated in the mid-12th century at Nienburg Abbey in the Duchy of Saxony. General The chronicle of the "Annalista Saxo" is a ...

chronicles, Dietrich played a key role in the emperor's campaign and in turn could succeed the Lusatian margrave Odo II in 1032. However, Dietrich earned the hatred of his brother-in-law Eckard II of Meissen and was killed by his henchmen, whereby Eckard became his successor in

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

. Dietrich II's possessions were divided among his sons. As Count of Eilenburg, he was succeeded by his eldest son Dedi, who also became Margrave of Lusatia upon the death of Margrave Eckard II of Meissen in 1046.

Marriage and issue

Dietrich married Mathilda, daughter of Margrave

Eckard I of Meissen Eckard I (''Ekkehard''; – 30 April 1002) was Margrave of Meissen from 985 until his death. He was the first margrave of the ''Ekkehardinger'' family that ruled over Meissen until the extinction of the line in 1046. Life Eckard was of noble ea ...

. They had seven children: * Dedi (ca. 1004–1075) the eldest son, who eventually became his successor as Margrave of Lusatia * Frederick (ca. 1020–1084), elected

Bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

in 1063 * Thimo (ca. 1034– ca. 1101), count of Wettin *

Gero Gero I ( 900 – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great (),Thompson, 486. Also se was a nobleman from East Francia who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he ...

(ca. 1020–1089), count of

* Konrad (died 1040), count of

Camburg Camburg is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, 18 km northeast of Jena, and 13 km southwest of Naumburg. Since 1 December 2008, it is part of the town Dornburg-Camburg. The ...

. * Rikdag * Ida (Hidda), married to Duke Spytihněv II of Bohemia.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric 02, Margrave of Lower Lusatia 970s births 1034 deaths Year of birth uncertain House of Wettin