Boleslav II of Bohemia
| Boleslaus II | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Bohemia | |
Fresco in the Znojmo Rotunda, 12th-century
|
|
| Reign | 972 - 999 |
| Spouse(s) |
Adiva Emma of Mělník |
| Noble family | Přemyslid dynasty |
| Father | Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia |
| Mother | Biagota |
| Born | c. 930 |
| Died | 7 February 999 |
Boleslaus II the Pious (Czech: Boleslav II. Pobožný; c. 930 - 7 February 999), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death
Boleslaus was an elder son of Duke Boleslaus I the Cruel and brother of the three other children of his father who survived to adulthood: Strachkvas, Dobrawa (the wife of Duke Mieszko I of Poland) and the abbess Mlada. His mother may have been Biagota, a mysterious figure known only from her coins. According to some historians, she was the wife of Boleslaus I.
Boleslaus II took over the rule of the Duchy of Bohemia as kníže (a title that may be translated either as duke or prince) on his father's death in 972. Like his father, Boleslaus II initially quarrelled with the Ottonian kings of Germany. In 974 he and Duke Mieszko I of Poland supported the rebellious Duke Henry II of Bavaria in his civil war against the rule of Emperor Otto II. In 976, Henry was defeated and fled to Boleslaus' court at Prague Castle, whereafter Otto's forces campaigned the Bohemian lands. Finally in 978, Boleslaus solemnly pledged allegiance to the emperor at the Easter festivities in Quedlinburg.
In turn, the relations with Poland deteriorated from about 980 onwards. When Emperor Otto II died in 983 and was succeeded by his minor son Otto III, the alliance was overturned, as Boleslaus again allied with the insurgent Bavarian Duke Henry, while Mieszko I took the side of the young king. Moreover, when Boleslaus occupied the Saxon Margravate of Meissen, he thwarted the plans of Mieszko's son Bolesław, who had married a daughter of Margrave Ricdag. In 987 Boleslav had to retire from Meissen; from about 990, he sparked a long-lasting conflict with Poland around the lands of Silesia and Lesser Poland. In 992 he approached King Otto III and participated in an unsuccessful campaign against the Lutici tribes in the wake of the 983 Great Slav Rising.
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