Mieszko III the Old

Mieszko III the Old
19th century portrait by Jan Matejko.
High Duke of Poland
Tenure	1173–1177 1191 1198–1199 1201
Predecessor	Bolesław IV the Curly
Successor	Władysław III Spindleshanks
Duke of Greater Poland
Tenure	1138–1177 1182–1202
Predecessor	Bolesław IV the Curly
Successor	Władysław III Spindleshanks
Born	c. 1126/1127
Died	13 March 1202 (aged 76) Kalisz
Burial	Cathedral of Saint Paul the Apostle, Kalisz
Spouse	Elisabeth of Hungary Eudoxia of Kiev
Issue	With Elisabeth: Odon of Poznań Stephen of Greater Poland Elisabeth, Duchess of Bohemia and Margravine of Lusatia Wierzchoslawa Ludmilla, Duchess of Lorraine Judith, Countess of Anhalt and Duchess of Saxony With Eudoxia: Bolesław of Kuyavia Mieszko the Younger Władysław III Spindleshanks Salomea, Princess of Pomerania Anastasia, Duchess of Pomerania
House	Piast dynasty
Father	Bolesław III Wrymouth
Mother	Salomea of Berg

Mieszko III the Old (Polish: Mieszko III Stary) (c. 1126/27 – 13 March 1202), of the royal Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death.

He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, daughter of the German count Henry of Berg-Schelklingen.

According to the 1138 Testament of Bolesław III, Mieszko received the newly established Duchy of Greater Poland, comprising the western part of the short-lived Greater Poland. He had previously been Duke of Poznań where he had his main residence. His older half-brother, Władysław II, the eldest son of the late duke with his first wife Zbyslava of Kiev, was proclaimed High Duke and overlord of the Seniorate Province at Kraków, including the Greater Polish lands of Gniezno and Kalisz, as well as Duke of Silesia.

The first major conflict with the High Duke took place during 1140–1141, when his younger half-brothers Bolesław IV the Curly and Mieszko III together with their mother but without Władysław's knowledge divided between them the lands of Łęczyca, which were held only as a wittum by Bolesław's widow Salomea for life and should revert to Władysław's Seniorate Province upon her death.