Siemowit I of Masovia
Siemowit I | |
---|---|
House of Piast | |
Father | Konrad I of Masovia |
Mother | Agafia of Rus |
Siemowit I of Masovia (
He was the sixth son of Konrad I of Masovia and his wife Agafia of Rus.[1]
Life
Siemowit appears clearly in documents only in 1239, when at the behest of his father, he probably killed the canon of Płock Jan Czapla; however, and despite his personal involvement in this matter, current historiography completely blames his father for his action.
Konrad I died on 31 August 1247, leaving the districts of Sieradz, Łęczyca and Czersk to his surviving sons. Using the confusion who followed this death, Siemowit I's older brother Casimir I managed to seize the greater part of their inheritance (Sieradz and Łęczyca); however, Siemowit I was able to keep Czersk thanks to the military support of his other older brother, Bolesław I.
Bolesław I died unexpectedly in early 1248, and under his will he gave all his domains to Siemowit I; after this, the latter avoided an open conflict with his brother Casimir I, accepting his rule over Sieradz-Łęczyca and focusing all his attention on the military conflicts in his frontiers with Kievan Rus', Yotvingia and the Teutonic Order.
Faced with the constant raids of
At the turn of 1255/1256, Siemowit I participated in a great expedition against the Yotvingians with the Ruthenian princes, as well as with the Lesser Poland knights from the principality of Bolesław the Chaste. The third expedition was the most successful and brought tangible benefits. The coalition troops went deep into the Yotvingian territory, destroying several cities in the process. Further hostilities prompted the kunigas to submit to Daniel's authority.
The Polish princes Siemowit and Bolesław gained benefits from this expedition. It seems that immediately after the battle, Siemowit collected tribute from pagan lands. Presumably no less than 1/6 of the total income that Daniel received from the territory of the Yotvingians.
The close collaboration between Siemowit I and the Teutonic Order (expressed, for example, in the defense that the Masovian ruler made for the Order before Pope Alexander IV, who accused them of cruelty in 1258), didn't produce the expected results. Siemowit I was still targeting the Baltic tribes, while the Teutonic Knights received their territorial conquests. Particularly dangerous proved to be the growth of Lithuania, who after the destruction of the Yotvingians became the direct neighbor of Siemowit I's domains.
Another problem that plagued Siemowit I's reign was the relationship with his brother Casimir I, who feared (perhaps not without reason) that the alliance with the Teutonic Knights might also be directed against him. So in December 1254, Casimir I captured his brother and held him prisoner when he returned from
The extremely aggressive policy pursued by Casimir I turned sour in 1259, when Bolesław the Pious, ally of Pomerania, set up a coalition against him with Boleslaw V the Shy, Siemowit I and Daniel of Halych. The victory allowed Siemowit I to recover the district of Sieradz; however, after the signing of the peace treaty at Przedbórz on 2 December 1260, Siemowit I was forced to give Sieradz to Casimir I's eldest son Leszek II the Black, and the Kujavian princes promised that they would never resolve their conflicts with wars.
In the meanwhile, Siemowit I faced more internal problems. In the spring of 1262 Lithuania and Kievan Rus', under the command of
During the captivity of Konrad II (which lasted two years), the regency of Siemowit I's domains was held by his ally Bolesław the Pious.
Marriage and issue
By 1248, Siemowit I married with Pereyaslava (d. 12 April 1283),[1] a daughter of Rurikid Prince Daniel of Halych. They had:
- Konrad II (ca. 1250 – 23 June 1294)[3]
- Bolesław II (1253/58 – 20 April 1313)[3]
- Salomea (ca. 1262 – 1301), a nun.
References
- ^ a b Rowell 1994, p. xxix.
- ^ Kazimierz Jasiński: Rodowód Piastów małopolskich i kujawskich. Wydawnictwo Historyczne. 2001. p. 249.
- ^ a b Bruce-Boswell 1957, p. 453.
Sources
- Bruce-Boswell, Alexander (1957). "Poland, 1050-1303". In Tanner, J.R.; Previte-Orton, C.W.; Brooke, Z.N. (eds.). The Cambridge Medieval History: Victory of the Papacy. Vol. 6. Cambridge at the University Press.
- Rowell, S. C. (1994). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire within East-Central Europe, 1295-1345. Cambridge University Press.