Editing Mieszko II Lambert (section)

==Deposition and division==
[[File:Polska1032.jpg|thumb|right|Division of Poland between Mieszko Lambert (red) and his brothers [[Otto Bolesławowic]] (blue) and [[Dytryk]] (green) following the [[Treaty of Merseburg]] in 1032.]]
Historians estimate that the reason for the rapid capitulation of Mieszko II was the bad internal situation in the country. Bolesław left an unstable kingdom to his son, who had to defend his autonomy and position amongst neighboring rulers. Also, the cost of Mieszko II's extensive war against Emperor Conrad II caused his popularity to decline among his subjects, despite the fact that during the invasion of Saxony the King only defended their territory. Furthermore, the final loss of the war against the Holy Roman Empire weakened the position of the King, who had to face several rebellions from the opposition, who claimed that the previous war did not produce the expected benefits. An additional problem was a dynastic crisis: Mieszko II's brothers continued their attempts to gain power with the help of foreign forces.

The brother who caused the first problems to Mieszko II was most likely [[Bezprym]], who allegedly won the alliance of Kiev in order to take power with the support of Otto. When Mieszko II was busy defending Lusatia from the troops of Conrad II, the Kievan expedition came from the east with [[Yaroslav I the Wise]] as the leader. In 1031, Poland was invaded and then [[Bezprym]] was settled on the throne. Mieszko II and his family were forced to flee the country. Queen Richeza and her children found refuge in Germany. The King could not escape to Hungary because, during his travel, he was stopped by Rus' troops. King Stephen I of Hungary was not favorable to accepting him in his country. Without alternatives, Mieszko II went to [[Bohemia]]. Duke Oldřich once again imprisoned him. This time, the King could not count on Imperial support. Mieszko II was not only imprisoned but also castrated, which was to be a punishment to Bolesław I the Brave, who blinded [[Boleslaus III, Duke of Bohemia|Duke Boleslaus III the Red]] (Oldřich's brother) thirty years before. Mieszko II and his wife never reunited again; according to some sources, they were either officially divorced, or only separated.

Bezprym probably made bloody persecutions against the followers of Mieszko II. At the time, power was exercised in the face of mutiny by the people, an event known as the "Pagan Reaction". Having degraded the structure of power, the Duke's authority collapsed, and he was forced to send the [[Polish regalia]] to the Emperor. After only one year of reign, Bezprym was murdered (1032), probably at the instigation of his brothers.

After the death of Bezprym, the Polish throne remained vacant. Mieszko II was still imprisoned in Bohemia and Otto probably in Germany. German sources report that the Emperor organized an expedition in order to invade Poland. It is unknown what happened after this, but certainly Mieszko II was released by Duke Oldřich and he could return to the country. After his recent opponent had regained power, the Emperor immediately reacted and began the preparations for the expedition against Poland. Mieszko II was not prepared for the confrontation, so he used his influence in the German court in order to resolve the conflict.

On 7 July 1032, in [[Merseburg]], a meeting took place between Conrad II and the surviving heirs of the [[Piast dynasty]]. Without alternatives, Mieszko II was forced to surrender the crown and agreed to the division of Poland between him and the other two competitors: his brother Otto and a certain [[Dytryk]] ({{langx|de|Thiedric}}) —his cousin, grandson of Duke [[Mieszko I of Poland|Mieszko I]] and his third wife, [[Oda von Haldensleben]]. Mieszko II probably received Lesser Poland and [[Masovia]], Otto obtained Silesia, and Dytryk took Greater Poland.<ref>Szczur S. ''"Historia Polski średniowiecze"'', p. 80</ref> According to another hypothesis, Mieszko II received Greater Poland, and other neighborhoods were given to Otto and Dytryk.<ref>Labuda G. ''Pierwsze państwo piastowskie'', p. 54</ref> Although the distribution was uncertain, this division was short-lived: in 1033, Otto was killed by one of his own men, and Mieszko II took his domains. Shortly afterwards, he likely had Dytryk expelled and thus was able to reunite the whole country in his hands. Mieszko II regained full power, but he still had to fight against the nobility and his own subjects. In Poland, his renunciation of the crown was disregarded, and after 1032, he was still called king in the chronicles.