Editing Moravia (section)

===Union with Bohemia===
{{main|Margraviate of Moravia|Duchy of Bohemia|Kingdom of Bohemia}}

Following the defeat of the Magyars by Emperor [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] at the [[Battle of Lechfeld]] in 955, Otto's ally [[Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Boleslaus I]], the [[Přemyslid]] ruler of [[Bohemia]], took control over Moravia. [[Bolesław I Chrobry]] of Poland annexed Moravia in 999, and ruled it until 1019,<ref>The exact dating of the conquest of Moravia by Bohemian dukes is uncertain. Czech and some Slovak historiographers suggest the year 1019, while Polish, German and other Slovak historians suggest 1029, during the rule of Boleslaus' son, [[Mieszko II Lambert]].</ref> when the Přemyslid prince [[Bretislaus I of Bohemia|Bretislaus]] recaptured it. Upon his father's death in 1034, Bretislaus became the ruler of Bohemia. In 1055, he decreed that Bohemia and Moravia would be inherited together by [[primogeniture]], although he also provided that his younger sons should govern parts (quarters) of Moravia as vassals to his oldest son.

Throughout the Přemyslid era, junior princes often ruled all or part of Moravia from [[Olomouc]], [[Brno]] or [[Znojmo]], with varying degrees of autonomy from the ruler of Bohemia. Dukes of Olomouc often acted as the "right hand" of Prague dukes and kings, while Dukes of Brno and especially those of Znojmo were much more insubordinate. Moravia reached its height of autonomy in 1182, when Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick I]] elevated [[Conrad II, Duke of Bohemia|Conrad II Otto of Znojmo]] to the status of a [[margrave]],<ref>There are no primary testimonies about creating a margraviate (march) as distinct political unit</ref> immediately subject to the emperor, independent of Bohemia. This status was short-lived: in 1186, Conrad Otto was forced to obey the supreme rule of [[Duke of Bohemia|Bohemian duke]] [[Frederick, Duke of Bohemia|Frederick]]. Three years later, Conrad Otto succeeded to Frederick as Duke of Bohemia and subsequently canceled his margrave title. Nevertheless, the margrave title was restored in 1197 when [[Vladislaus III of Bohemia]] resolved the succession dispute between him and his brother [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Ottokar]] by abdicating from the Bohemian throne and accepting Moravia as a vassal land of Bohemian (i.e., Prague) rulers. Vladislaus gradually established this land as [[Margraviate]], slightly administratively different from Bohemia. After the [[Battle of Legnica]], the [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] carried their raids into Moravia.

The main line of the [[Přemyslid]] dynasty became extinct in 1306, and in 1310 [[John of Luxembourg]] became Margrave of Moravia and King of Bohemia. In 1333, he made his son [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles]] the next Margrave of Moravia (later in 1346, Charles also became the King of Bohemia). In 1349, Charles gave Moravia to his younger brother [[John Henry, Margrave of Moravia|John Henry]] who ruled in the margraviate until his death in 1375, after him Moravia was ruled by his oldest son [[Jobst of Moravia]] who was in 1410 elected the Holy Roman King but died in 1411 (he is buried with his father in the [[Church of St. Thomas (Brno)|Church of St. Thomas in Brno]] – the Moravian capital from which they both ruled). Moravia and Bohemia remained within the [[Luxembourg dynasty]] of Holy Roman kings and emperors (except during the [[Hussite wars]]), until inherited by [[Albert II of Habsburg]] in 1437.

After his death followed the [[interregnum]] until 1453; land (as the rest of lands of the Bohemian Crown) was administered by the [[landfriedens]] (''landfrýdy''). The rule of young [[Ladislaus the Posthumous]] subsisted only less than five years and subsequently (1458) the Hussite [[George of Poděbrady]] was elected as the king. He again reunited all Czech lands (then Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Upper & Lower Lusatia) into one-man ruled state. In 1466, [[Pope Paul II]] excommunicated George and forbade all Catholics (i.e. about 15% of population) from continuing to serve him. The Hungarian [[Crusades|crusade]] followed and in 1469 [[Matthias Corvinus]] conquered Moravia and proclaimed himself (with assistance of rebelling [[Bohemian nobility]]) as the king of Bohemia.

The subsequent 21-year period of a divided kingdom was decisive for the rising awareness of a specific Moravian identity, distinct from that of Bohemia. Although Moravia was reunited with Bohemia in 1490 when [[Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary|Vladislaus Jagiellon]], king of Bohemia, also became king of Hungary, some attachment to Moravian "freedoms" and resistance to government by Prague continued until the end of independence in 1620. In 1526, Vladislaus' son [[Louis II of Bohemia|Louis]] died in battle and the Habsburg [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] was elected as his successor.

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Bohemia 1138–1254.jpg|Bohemia and Moravia in the 12th century
Brno - Kostel sv. Tomáše, místodžitelský palác a alegorická postava spravedlnosti.jpg|[[Church of St. Thomas (Brno)|Church of St. Thomas in Brno]], mausoleum of Moravian branch [[House of Luxembourg]], rulers of Moravia; and the old governor's palace, a former Augustinian abbey
Trebic podklasteri bazilika velka apsida.jpg|12th century Romanesque [[St. Procopius Basilica in Třebíč]]
Moravská orlice.jpg|The [[Coat of arms of Moravia|Moravian banner of arms]], which first appeared in the medieval era<ref>{{cite conference|first1 = Zbyšek|last1 = Svoboda|first2 = Pavel|last2 = Fojtík|first3 = Petr|last3 = Exner|first4 = Jaroslav|last4 = Martykán|title = Odborné vexilologické stanovisko k moravské vlajce|book-title = Vexilologie. Zpravodaj České vexilologické společnosti, o.s. č. 169|pages = 3319, 3320|publisher = Česká vexilologická společnost|date = 2013|location = Brno|url = https://www.vexilologie.cz/cvs/vexilologie/vexie169.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference|first = František|last = Pícha|title = Znaky a prapory v kronice Ottokara Štýrského|book-title = Vexilologie. Zpravodaj České vexilologické společnosti, o.s. č. 169|pages = 3320–3324|publisher = Česká vexilologická společnost|date = 2013|location = Brno|url = https://www.vexilologie.cz/cvs/vexilologie/vexie169.pdf}}</ref>
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