Editing Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor (section)

===Relations with Poland===
====War with Mieszko Lambert====
{{Main|Germania Slavica}}
[[File:Polska 992 - 1025.png|thumb|The [[Duchies of Poland|Duchy of Poland]] at its greatest extent under [[Bolesław I the Brave|Bolesław I]] and his son [[Mieszko II Lambert]]]]

Duke [[Bolesław I of Poland]] of the [[Piast dynasty]] repeatedly clashed with [[Emperor Henry II]] during the [[German–Polish War (1002–18)|German–Polish Wars]] of 1002 to 1018. In January 1018, Henry II and Bolesław I signed the [[Peace of Bautzen|peace treaty of Bautzen]],{{sfn|Knefelkamp|2002|p=125}} that settled the permanent coexistence of the Empire and Poland as Bolesław recognized Henry II as his nominal feudal lord.{{sfn|Previté-Orton|1912|p=451}} In return, Henry II generously invested Bolesław with territories on the Empire's eastern border. In order to reinforce his dynastic bonds with the German nobility, Bolesław, a widower, married [[Oda of Meissen]], daughter of the Saxon margrave [[Eckard I of Meissen]]. The Empire and Poland enjoyed peace for the remainder of Henry's reign. However, Bolesław then seized the opportunity presented by Henry's death in 1024 and the subsequent interregnum to consolidate his own power, crowning himself King on [[Easter]], 25 April 1025. Bolesław was thus the first Polish king, as his predecessors only held the ducal title of the political entity, called [[Civitas Schinesghe]] at the time, that had only a few decades ago revealed itself to the world and the [[Holy See]] in Rome.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krystyna Łukasiewicz|date=2009 |title="dagome Iudex" and the First Conflict over Succession in Poland |journal=The Polish Review |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=407–429 |jstor=25779841}}</ref> Bolesław died within two months of his coronation, most likely due to an illness. His son, [[Mieszko II Lambert]], succeeded him as King, crowned on Christmas, 1025. Upon assuming the Polish throne, Mieszko expelled his older half-brother [[Bezprym]] and his younger brother [[Otto Bolesławowic]]. Otto went west to seek Conrad II's protection.{{sfn|Wolfram|2006|p=209}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Herzog Mieszko II - Lambert Piast |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Herzog-Mieszko-II-Lambert-Piast/6000000000768959047 |publisher=Geni |access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref>

Conrad considered the assumption of the title "king" by Mieszko an act of war and a disregard of his imperial authority, but had to address domestic issues before dealing with Mieszko. In 1026 Conrad II marched into Italy to consolidate imperial authority south of the Alps and to claim the imperial crown from the Pope. In his absence, Duke [[Ernest II of Swabia]], [[Conrad II, Duke of Carinthia|Conrad the Younger]] and Duke [[Frederick II of Upper Lorraine]] rebelled against his authority.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mathilde von Schwaben |url=http://bsbndb.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/sfz58985.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130701012634/http://bsbndb.bsb.lrz-muenchen.de/sfz58985.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 July 2013 |last=Eckhard Freise |publisher=Neue deutsche Biographie |access-date=1 April 2020}}</ref>

The rebels sought the support of Mieszko, which the Polish king granted, promising to take military action against Conrad. Conrad returned to Germany in mid-1027, putting an end to the rebellion before Mieszko could deploy his forces. In preparation for his own invasion of Poland, Conrad developed a closer relationship with King [[Cnut]] of England and Denmark (whose kingdom lay beyond the Empire's northern border). Cnut accompanied Conrad at his imperial coronation in 1027, and Conrad granted Cnut authority over the [[Duchy of Schleswig|March of Schleswig]], the land bridge between Denmark and Germany.{{sfn|Wolfram|2006|p=215}}

Fearing the possibility of a joint German-Danish attack, in 1028 Mieszko took the initiative and invaded [[March of Lusatia|Lusatia]] in the eastern Empire and occupied the territories of the [[Lutici]]an Federation, where [[West Slavs|West Slavic]] [[Polabian Slavs|Polabian]] tribes had settled and represented the majority of the population since the 10th century after centuries of steady immigration.<ref name="Goldberg2006">{{Cite book |last=Eric Joseph Goldberg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oyiTg0wgl58C&pg=PA121 |title=Struggle for Empire: Kingship and Conflict Under Louis the German, 817–876 |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-8014-3890-X |pages=121–}}</ref> Slavs had long been the targets of imperial military campaigns, particularly for the punishment and subjugation of [[paganism|pagan]] tribes. [[Emperor Otto I]]'s lieutenants, [[Herman Billung]] and [[Gero]], harassed Slavic settlers beginning in the 940s. As part of the [[Slavic revolt of 983]], the Lutici rebelled against the Empire. In the ensuing war (983–995), the Lutici succeeded in reclaiming their independence and gained control of the [[Billung March]] and [[Northern March]] from the Empire.{{sfn|Lübke|2002|p=99}} Though [[Emperor Otto III]] allied with Duke [[Bolesław I of Poland]] to reintegrate them into the Empire, Otto III's death ended the friendly relationship between Poland and the Empire. Instead, Bolesław competed with Otto III's successor, Emperor Henry II, for dominion over the Lutici, causing Henry II to ally the Empire with the Lutici against Poland. Under the [[Peace of Bautzen]] in 1018, all three parties remained in uneasy peace, with Poland allowed to retain the [[Margraviate of Meissen]]. Of the eastern marches, the Empire only kept the [[March of Lusatia]]. Mieszko's 1028 invasion ended the peace. The Lutici sent ambassadors to seek Conrad's protection against Mieszko, which Conrad granted and renewed the German-Lutician alliance.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ostsiedlung – ein gesamteuropäisches Phänomen |date=25 May 2002 |url=https://www.grin.com/document/106527 |publisher=GRIN Verlag |isbn=9783640048069 |access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=A. Pleszczynski |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004205642/Bej.9789004185548.i-352_003.xml |title=The Birth of a Stereotype – Appearance Of The Piast State Within Eyeshot Of The Elites In The Liudolfings' Empire |date= 2011 |publisher=Jstor |isbn=9789004205642 |access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Herrmann1985">{{Cite book |last=Joachim Herrmann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iXggAAAAMAAJ |title=Die Slawen in Deutschland: Geschichte und Kultur der slawischen Stämme westlich von Oder und Neisse vom 6. bis 12. Jahrhundert |publisher=Akademie-Verlag |year=1985}}</ref>

Conrad, seeking to relieve pressure on the Lutici, counter-invaded Poland in 1029 and besieged [[Bautzen]] in the [[Margraviate of Meissen]]. However, faced with a potential invasion by Hungary and the failure of the Lutici to provide their promised contingent of troops, Conrad retreated. In 1030, Poland secured an alliance with Hungary, with Stephen I invading Bavaria while Mieszko invaded Saxony. Conrad responded by allying with [[Yaroslav the Wise]], [[Grand Prince of Kiev]], who captured [[Red Ruthenia]], on Poland's eastern border. In 1031, Conrad concluded a peace treaty with Hungary by ceding the lands between the rivers [[Lajta]] and [[Fischa]] to Hungarian control. Freed from the threat of Hungarian attack, the Emperor was able to focus his attention on Poland. Marching on Mieszko in autumn 1031, Conrad again besieged [[Bautzen]]. Mieszko was crushed by the Holy Roman and Kievan invaders and his exiled brother [[Bezprym]]'s rebellion. He surrendered to Conrad in the fall of 1031. The [[Treaty of Merseburg]] provided that Mieszko return the [[Margraviate of Meissen]] and the [[March of Lusatia]] to the Empire.{{sfn|Boshof|2008|p=71}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mieszko II Lambert King of Poland |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mieszko-II-Lambert |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="mie">{{Cite journal |last=Henry Joseph Lang |date=1974 |title=The Fall of the Monarchy of Mieszko II, Lambert |journal=Speculum |publisher=Jstor |volume=49 |issue=4 |pages=623–639 |doi=10.2307/2852030 |jstor=2852030|s2cid=159636093}}</ref><ref name="Cambridge1995">{{Cite book |last=Cambridge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-SsbHs5zTAC&pg=PA267 |title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 3, c. 900 – c. 1024 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1995 |isbn=978-0-521-36447-8 |pages=267–}}</ref>

====Treaty of Merseburg====
Soon after Mieszko had concluded peace with the Empire, he was deposed by [[Bezprym]], who had been in exile in the [[Kievan Rus']] since 1025. Bezprym, with Conrad's approval, had persuaded the Kievan Grand Prince [[Yaroslav I the Wise]] to invade Poland and install Bezprym as sovereign. Mieszko fled to [[Duchy of Bohemia|Bohemia]] where he was imprisoned and [[castrated]] by Duke [[Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia|Oldřich]] in retribution for Mieszko's father [[Bolesław I the Brave|Bolesław]]'s blinding of Duke [[Boleslaus III, Duke of Bohemia|Boleslaus III]], Oldřich's brother, thirty years earlier. Shortly after taking power, Bezprym sent the [[Polish regalia]] to Conrad, officially renouncing the title "king" in favour of the traditional title "duke" and accepting the overlordship of the Empire over Poland.{{sfn|Boshof|2008|p=71}} The royal regalia were delivered by Mieszko II's wife, [[Richeza of Lotharingia]].<ref name="Halfond2016"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Medieval Russia 980–1584 |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article-abstract/102/4/1140/80981?redirectedFrom=fulltext |last=Janet Martin |date=1 October 1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=4 April 2020}}</ref>

Bezprym's reign, however, was short. His extreme cruelty caused his half-brother [[Otto Bolesławowic]] to conspire against him. Bezprym's own men murdered him in the spring of 1032, which created a [[power vacuum]] in Poland. Conrad responded by holding a [[hoftag|diet]] at [[Merseburg]] in 1033 to address the situation. Conrad's wife, Empress [[Gisela of Swabia]], interceded on Mieszko's behalf and requested he be freed from imprisonment in Bohemia and allowed to regain the Polish throne. Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Merseburg]], Conrad divided Poland among Mieszko, Otto and Detric, another half-brother. Mieszko was allowed to retain the title of Duke and nominal authority over all of Poland. Now that the Empire had a strong central leader, the treaty significantly increased the Empire's influence over Poland.{{sfn|Knefelkamp|2002|p=137}}{{sfn|Boshof|2008|p=72}}

The regulation was short-lived as in 1033 Otto was killed by one of his own men, and Mieszko II took over his domains. Shortly after, Mieszko expelled Detric and reunited the whole country. Though Mieszko regained his territory, he still was opposed by the nobility and his own subjects. Mieszko did not adopt Bezprym's renunciation of the Polish crown and continued to style himself as King. Mieszko II died soon after in 1034, and upon his death, a [[Pagan reaction in Poland]] erupted. Subsequently, his wife [[Richeza of Lotharingia|Richeza]] and son [[Casimir I of Poland|Casimir I]] fled to the Empire.<ref name=mie/>{{sfn|Knefelkamp|2002|p=137}}{{sfn|Boshof|2008|p=72}}