Vladivoj ( – January 1003) was

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

from 1002 until his death.

Life

He was probably a member of the Piast dynasty, maybe the second son of Doubravka, daughter of Duke Boleslaus I of Bohemia, and her husband Duke

Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and a ...

, or a distant relative. When Duke Boleslaus III was dethroned during a revolt by the Czech

Vršovci The Vršovci (also Vrshovici; singular: Vršovec) were a Czech noble family in the Duchy of Bohemia. History In Bohemia First noted in the power struggles of the 10th–12th centuries in Bohemia. The Vršovci were the third most powerful politi ...

clan, the Bohemian nobles declared Vladivoj, who had earlier fled to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, duke in 1002. The Czech historian

Dušan Třeštík Dušan Třeštík (1 August 1933 – 23 August 2007) was a Czech historian. He specialized in medieval history ( Dark Ages (500–1000)) of the Czech lands and theory of history. Třeštík was born in 1933 in Sobědruhy, now a part of the city ...

writes that Vladivoj assumed the Bohemian throne with the support of the Polish duke Bolesław I the Brave. In November, he also obtained the support by the German king Henry II who enfeoffed him with the Bohemian duchy. After Vladivoj died in 1003, Bolesław the Brave invaded Bohemia and restored Boleslaus III who had many Bohemian noblemen murdered. It is said that Vladivoj was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, and drinking was a possible contributor to his death. A massacre of the Vršovci clan at Vyšehrad ordered by Boleslaus III led to his deposition and the succession of his younger brother Jaromír.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vladivoj Dukes of Bohemia 980s births 1003 deaths 11th-century rulers in Europe Christian monarchs