Mieszko I according to Jan Matejko

Mieszko I

Prince of the Piast dynasty, the first Christian ruler of Greater Poland. He was born around 935. He took power after his father, Siemomyśl, in the 50s of the 10th century, quickly getting involved in a difficult war with his western neighbor - a union of Slavic tribes known collectively as the Lutyki. He lost one of his brothers in the fighting, and in order to reverse the fate of the conflict, he decided to make an alliance with the Czech prince, Bolesław the Cruel.

In 965 he married the Czech princess Dobrawa, and in 966 - most likely at her instigation - he decided to be baptized. For this purpose, he was to dismiss a group of former wives or concubines - according to the chronicle's note, there were a total of seven of them. Gall Anonim recorded a moralizing story according to which Mieszko was a blind man until he was seven. It is commonly believed that one should not look for its true background.

As a result of the victorious war with Lutykami, the prince seized part of Pomerania. Probably at the beginning of his reign he also conquered Mazovia. Due to border skirmishes and an alliance with the Czechs, he came into conflict with the rulers of Germany:Otton I and II. In 972 he won a skirmish at Cedynia with the German margrave Hodon, and in 979 he most likely repelled the imperial invasion of his country. In the same or the following year, he entered into a second marriage, this time with the German magnate Oda, daughter of the Margrave of Northmarch Theodoric.

In the last years of his rule, he broke off the alliance with the Czechs and led to the conquest of Silesia and Lesser Poland. Most historians attribute it to him that the future capital - Krakow, was incorporated into the country. He also strengthened his cooperation with the German Reich, and in sources he was even referred to as the German "margrave". It is possible that it was on his initiative that the growing state gained the name of Poland. He died in 992, sharing power in the country between Bolesław, born to his first wife, and sons from his second marriage. According to historians, this division is reflected in a document known as "Dagome Iudex".