Mieszko I of Poland

Mieszko I
Duke of Poland
Imaginary portrait by Jan Matejko.
Reign	960–992
Predecessor	Siemomysł
Successor	Bolesław I Chrobry
Born	ca. 930
Died	25 May 992 Poznań, Poland
Issue	With Dobrawa: Bolesław I the Brave Świętosława, Queen of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and England Daughter, Pomeranian Princess (?) With Oda: Mieszko Świętopełk Lambert
Dynasty	Piast dynasty
Father	Siemomysł
Mother	unknown

Mieszko I ( Polish ; ca. 930 – 25 May 992) was the ruler of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was a son of Siemomysł, and a grandchild of Lestek. He was the father of Bolesław I the Brave (the first crowned king of Poland) and Gunhild of Wenden with his wife Oda. Most sources make Mieszko I the father of Sigrid the Haughty, a Nordic queen, though one source identifies her father as Skoglar Toste, and the grandfather of Cnut the Great (Gundhild's son), and the great-grandfather of Gunhilda of Denmark, Canute the Great's daughter and wife of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor.

The first Christian ruler of Poland, Mieszko I is considered the de facto creator of the Polish state. He continued the policy of both his father and grandfather, who were rulers of the pagan tribes located in the area of present-day Greater Poland. Through both alliances and the use of military force, Mieszko extended ongoing Polish conquests and early in his reign subjugated Kuyavia and probably Gdańsk Pomerania and Masovia. For most of his reign, Mieszko I was involved in warfare for the control of Western Pomerania, eventually conquering it up to the vicinity of the lower Oder river. During the last years of his life, he fought the Bohemian state, winning Silesia and probably Lesser Poland.