Svatopluk, Duke Of Bohemia
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Svatopluk the Lion (; died 21 September 1109) was
Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...
from 1107 until his assassination in 1109. His rule was overshadowed by the fierce conflict around the Bohemian throne in the 12th century.


Family

A member of the
Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...
, he was the son of Prince
Otto I of Olomouc Otto I (1045 – 9 June 1087), known as Otto the Fair (), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Prince of Olomouc in Moravia from 1061 until his death. He was the youngest son of the Bohemian duke Bretislav I and his wife Judith of Schweinfur ...
and
Euphemia Euphemia (; 'well-spoken f), known as Euphemia the All-praised in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a virgin martyr, who died for her faith at Chalcedon in 303 AD. According to tradition, Euphemia was martyred for refusing to offer sacrifices t ...
, daughter of King
Béla I of Hungary Béla I the Boxer or the Wisent (, ;  – 11 September 1063) was King of Hungary from 1060 until his death. He descended from a younger branch of the Árpád dynasty. Béla's baptismal name was Adalbert. He left Hungary in 1031, together w ...
. His father was the son of Duke
Bretislaus I of Bohemia Bretislav I (; 1002/1005 – 10 January 1055), known as the "Bohemian Achilles", of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1034 until his death in 1055. Youth Bretislav was the son of Duke Oldřich and his low-born concubine Božena. ...
. When Bretislaus died in 1055, the Bohemian ducal dignity first passed to his eldest son, Svatopluk's uncle Spytihněv II, and upon Spytihněv's early death in 1061, it passed to Bretislaus's second son Vratislaus II, according to the patrilineal principle of
agnatic seniority Agnatic seniority is a patrilineality, patrilineal principle of inheritance where the order of succession to the throne prefers the monarch's younger brother over the monarch's own sons. A monarch's children (the next generation) succeed only ...
. Vratislaus, who had received the title of a Bohemian king by order of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV in 1086, elevated Svatopluk's father Otto (the fourth son of Bretislaus I) to the rank of a prince at
Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...
in
Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...
. However, when his father died the next year, young Savatopluk had to yield the inheritance claims raised by Bretislaus's third son, his uncle Conrad I, who took over the rule in the Moravian lands.


Reign

Svatopluk himself received the title Prince of Olomouc in 1091, but again had to wait to ascend the Bohemian throne. At the death of Duke Conrad in 1092 after eight months of rule, the Bohemian throne was awarded to Bretislaus II, the son of the late King Vratislaus, according to the rules of agnatic seniority. Nevertheless, the enmity with the Moravian branch of the Přemyslids increased, more so when Duke Bretislaus II appointed his half-brother Bořivoj II ruler of the Moravian lands and made an application to Emperor Henry IV to acknowledge Bořivoj's succession as Bohemian duke, thus precipitating a
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
with the sons of his uncle Conrad I. In 1099, he prevailed when the Emperor had an Imperial charter written out, and after the death of Bretislaus II in 1100, Bořivoj took power. Emperor Henry IV had to face the fact that his intervention had led to a state of anarchy in Bohemia. When he himself was deposed by his son King
Henry V of Germany Henry V (; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ruler by his father, Henry IV, i ...
, Svatopluk took his chance, marched against Duke Bořivoj, and with the support of Bořivoj's younger brother Vladislaus was able to oust him after two years of fighting and intriguing. Henry V summoned Svatopluk, who dared not resist, and retained him captive in order to restore his liensman Bořivoj. Soon, however, he became reconciled to Svatopluk, who pledged allegiance and promised military support in the German king's campaign against King
Coloman of Hungary Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish (; ; ; 10703February 1116), was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younger brother Álmos were underage when their father Gé ...
. Savatopluk was released and could return to Bohemia. He made the king godfather of his new son, who was baptised Wenceslaus Henry (''Václav Jindřich''). In 1108, Henry V intervened in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
on behalf of King Coloman's younger brother Duke Álmos of Nitra. Keeping his promise, Duke Svatopluk at first joined his expedition, but had to return to Bohemia, where Bořivoj had made an attack with the support of 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 ...
king
Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth (; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between 1107 and 1138. He was the onl ...
, an ally of Coloman. The German king had to abandon the siege of
Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
and King Coloman of Hungary was free to devastate the Moravian lands. Henry was furious and desired to avenge the Polish intervention that caused his Hungarian fiasco. On behalf of Bolesław's expelled brother
Zbigniew Zbigniew () is a Polish masculine given name, originally Zbygniew . This West Slavic name is derived from the Polish elements ''Zby-'' (from ''zbyć, zbyć się, or pozbyć się'', meaning "to dispel", "to get rid of") and ''gniew'', meaning "ang ...
, he invaded Poland, again with the support of Svatopluk, who led a Bohemian army across the
Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...
into
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
to join the German forces at the
Battle of Głogów A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
. Here Svatopluk was killed on 21 September 1109 in Henry's tent by a member of the Bohemian
Vršovice Vršovice is a cadastral district of Prague. All of Vršovice lies within the Prague 10 administrative district. Vršovice is located south-east of the city centre. It borders Vinohrady to the north, Nusle to the south-west, Michle to the south and ...
noble family named John, whose chief Mutina he had decapitated for the support he had given to Bořivoj. Bořivoj was not able to succeed Svatopluk; instead the ducal dignity passed to his younger brother Vladislaus.


References


Ancestry

{{Authority control 1070s births 1109 deaths 11th-century dukes in Europe 11th-century people from Bohemia 12th-century monarchs of Bohemia Roman Catholic monarchs Dukes of Bohemia Burials at Saint Wenceslas Cathedral 12th-century murdered monarchs Year of birth uncertain