European Kingdoms

Bohemia & Moravia

Situated in the western two-thirds of modern Czechia, Bohemia covered most of the western uplands, with the city of Prague at its core, while Moravia formed the eastern portion. Bohemia gained its name from the Celtic Boii tribe, who inhabited the region from around the fourth century BC. Their arrival here as part of the rapid expansion of the La Tène culture also heavily penetrated southern Poland, stopping the Pomeranian Face-Urn culture from expanding southwards. Rome later named the area inhabited by the Boii as the Boiohæmum. At the end of the first century BC, the Boii were subjugated by Germanic tribes such as the Marcomanni, Buri, Gepids, Quadi, and Rugii.

The Bavarii confederation formed in this region towards the end of the fifth century AD before migrating southwards. Between then and the sixth century, the territory was settled by Slavs who filled the central European void left by the barbarian migrations and the rule of the Huns. These Slavs appear to have moved in as a new ruling elite, governing previous populations of Celts and Germans and creating an ethnic mixture that can still be seen today in Czechia. For a time the Slavs were governed by the Avars, until they were cleared by a short-lived Slav kingdom which covered parts of Carinthia, Hungary and Moravia. In the ninth and early tenth centuries, Bohemia was successively ruled by the Carolingian Franks, the Hungarians and the Holy Roman empire.

By the tenth century Bohemia-Moravia had fully emerged from its tribal Slavic origins and formed a state that was initially recognised as a (vassal) duchy (there are rulers before this time who claim the title of duke of Bohemia, but who perhaps weren't recognised as such. To make things more complicated, many Bohemian dukes were in fact siblings of reigning dukes, and almost certainly held no real power themselves. Nevertheless, the regnal numbering includes them, so they are shown here for reasons of completeness).

Bohemia was later elevated to a kingdom, but the exact date in which that occurred is a little confused, although Vratislav is the first ruler referred to as 'king'. This state, with Hungary and Poland, had at various times monarchs whose rules overlapped, and who sometimes ruled two or all three of the kingdoms at the same time.

(Additional information by Tomas Urban, and from External Link: The Balts, Marija Gimbutas (1963, previously available online thanks to Gabriella at Vaidilute, but still available as a PDF - click or tap on link to download or access it).)

454

The fall of the Huns allows the Heruli to rise up and free themselves. They set up a strong Roman foederati kingdom of their own in southern Moravia, near the rivers March and Theiss and covering later Brno and Vienna. They subdue all their neighbours, including the Langobards, turning them into vassals.

The landscape of Bohemia is and was defined by wooded mountainsides and extensive farming land - a green and fertile area at the centre of Europe

508

The Heruli and Gothic kingdom in southern Moravia is destroyed by the Langobards. Herulian fortunes wane after this disaster.

c.623 - 658

The local Slavs form a kingdom of their own with the intention of expelling the Avars. The Slav Kingdom achieves its aim under the leadership of Samo, but is short lived. During this period, in 636, although the Slavic leader, Dervan, and his Sorbs - located in territory immediately to the north-west of Bohemia - have joined Samo in his battles to maintain the kingdom, Dervan is now defeated by Radulf, duke of Thuringia.

658 - 830

The region dissolves into various Slavic territories without any overall control.

Kingdom of Great Moravia (Slavs)
AD 830 - 906

Indo-Europeans - Slavic Tribes (Intro) Anatolian Tribes Balkans Tribes Baltic Tribes Celtic Tribes Germanic Tribes Italic Tribes Indo-Iranian/Aryan Tribes Slavic Tribes Tocharians (Intro)

The Great Moravian Kingdom (or empire) was established along the River Morava by the Slavic leader Mojmír. Mojmír's successors expanded it to include Bohemia (today's western Czechia), plus today's Slovakia, the southern Poles and western Hungary. The kingdom found itself at the crossroads between the Germanic people in the west and Byzantium in the east.

(Additional information from Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: An Introduction to Early Hungarian History, András Róna-Tas (Central European University Press, 1999).)

830 - 846

846

Prince Pribina, a Slav noble and adventurer who had been chased out of Moravia by Mojmir I, is granted the eastern section of Avar territory - in Lower Pannonia - as the principality of Balaton, with his headquarters near Lake Balaton on the River Zala (close to the modern village of Zalavár, in Zala County in Hungary, surrounded by forests and a swamp). As dux of the eastern march and prince of Balaton, Pribina's main duty is to hem the territorial ambitions both of Great Moravia and Bulgaria. Having himself been a victim of Moravia's ambitions, Pribina is only too happy to play a large role in Eastern Frankish campaigns against that state.

King Louis 'the Pious' of the Frankish empire attempted to leave the empire intact for his eldest son, Lothar, but the others rebelled at the idea. The treaty of Verdun in AD 843 confirmed the official division of the empire between Charlemagne's three surviving grandsons (click or tap on map to view full sized)

846 - 870

855

With tensions increasing along the Frankish-Slavic border, Boris of Bulgaria is persuaded by Rastislav to attack the Eastern Franks in support of him. The campaign is a complete failure, with subsequent retribution involving Louis 'the German' invading Bulgaria at the same time as it is attacked by previously-peaceful Croats (possibly a diversionary tactic organised by Louis). Peace is soon agreed, without necessarily harming Boris' standing at home.

c.867

Fearing Eastern Frankish influence and power, Rastislav requests that the Eastern Roman emperor sends representatives in order to introduce Eastern Christianity into Moravia. Cyril (Constantine by birth) and Metodej (Methodius), two priors, arrive to establish the religion and convert the king's successor.

They create the Slavonic script (the Cyrillic alphabet which is still in use in Russia and Bulgaria) and translated religious texts from Greek and Latin into the Old Slavonic language. On their subsequent journey to Rome they are hosted by Comes Kocel of Lower Pannonia in his march territory that has been formed out of the former Avar lands.

870 - 894

Converted to Roman Christianity.

885

After Methodius' death, the Roman Catholic religion is adopted and Cyrillic script is replaced by the Latin alphabet. The disciples of Cyril and Methodius are expelled, finding refuge in a Bulgaria which adopts their Cyrillic script, maintaining it to this day.

894 - 906

Possibly struggled against his brothers for rule.

906

The Franks (perhaps remembering their defeat at the hands of Samo's Carinthian Slavs), urge the Magyars to attack Moravia. The Moravians are defeated and the kingdom falls. The emerging dukes of Bohemia annexe Moravia to their territory.

Duchy of Bohemia-Moravia (House of Przemysl)
AD 845 - 1212

Bohemia and Moravia were joined by Silesia and Upper and Lower Luzice (the two Luzice countries were located in eastern Germany and were very small. Something of their culture and language survives into the modern age). Together, these lands formed an equivalent of the United Kingdom in that they were individual territories united under one ruler, and they were known as the Czech kingdom.

Boriwoj was not the first ruler of the duchy, but its origins, and the first four or five rulers, are shadowy, barely-known figures.

The Czech lands were never fully independent but were part of the Holy Roman empire with enough independence to govern themselves. They just provided troops and other services to the HRE when required.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Mirka Lewis, from The Codex Gigas, a thirteenth-century Bohemian manuscript on display at the Swedish National Library in Stockholm, and from Gesta principum Polonorum, Gallus Anonymus (early twelfth century chronicler whose real name has been lost).)

845 - 895

895 - 907

Son?

907 - 921

Son of Boriwoj.

921 - 929

Son. Annexed Moravia. Murdered by Boleslav.

921

The name of Duke Vaclav or Venceslav is Anglicised as Wenceslas in some later texts about one of his most famous exploits. The famous Christmas carol, 'Good King Wenceslas', concerns him braving harsh winter conditions to bring alms to the poor peasants on the Feast of Stephen (26 December). Immediately after his death the duke is considered a martyr and is raised to sainthood. A cult of Wenceslas springs up in Bohemia and England.

929 - 967

Brother.

962

With the accession of the Saxon king, Otto I, the power of the Germanic Roman empire is confirmed. Otto is quite vigorous in establishing new counties and border areas within and without the empire's borders. The county of Ardennes under Sigfried gains the stronghold of Lucilinburhuc (the later Luxemburg), Arnulf I the Elder is restored in Flanders, and the March of Austria is formed from territory already captured from Hungary (around 960, and on Bohemia's southern border).

Germany in AD 962 may have had its new emperor to govern the territories shown within the dark black line, but it was still a patchwork of competing interests and power bases, most notably in the five great stem duchies, many of which were attempting to expand their own territories outside the empire, creating the various march or border regions to the east and south (click or tap on map to view full sized)

At the same time, Saxony gains Hermann Billung as its duke, charged with maintaining the duchy's eastern borders and expanding them further to the east, alongside the recently-created North March. Perhaps as a reaction to this or as the culmination of a process that is already heading that way, the duchy of Poland is formed around the same time (on Bohemia's north-eastern border).

967 - 999

Son.

982

References to Vnnd.r and N.nd.r. in 982 and 1094 respectively remark upon a Christian 'nation' of Rum which is located between the lands of the 'Madjgharî' and the MIRV (M.rdât). The Pechenegs lie to the east (around the north-west corner of the Black Sea coast), while above them and leading north-eastwards are the Kievan Rus and the Volga Bulgars respectively.

The Madjgharî are the Magyars, a people who contribute to the populating of Hungary. Rum is Rome, although the people are not specifically being labelled as Romans - they are simply more civilised than their neighbours in terms of being settled farmers with an element of presumed sophistication. The MIRV are Moravians, living to the north, but seemingly not yet having fully migrated far enough to settle next to the more westerly Bohemians, although their territory has already been annexed to Bohemia. The Vnnd.r are tentatively linked to the Venedi.

999 - 1002

Deposed. Died 1003.

1002 - 1003

1002

The name Vladivoi consists of two parts, with the first being 'vlad'. This is particularly interesting as it is probably a Slav corruption of 'galat', a version of 'celt' which was preserved in 'Galicia' (see feature link for more).

1003

Restored.

1003 - 1004

Duke Boleslaw I of Poland.

1004 - 1012

1012 - 1034

Son of Boleslav II. Died 1037?

1012 - 1034

Oldrich fights several border wars against the Germans to maintain nominal Czech independence, and so secures its survival until it is strong enough to form a kingdom.

1034 - 1055

Son.

1038

During a period of anarchy in Poland, Duke Brestislav I captures, plunders and destroys the cities Gniezno and nearby Poznan in 1038. As a result, the Polish capital is moved to Krakow.

1055 - 1061

Son.

1061 - 1092

Brother. King of Bohemia (1082-1092).

1082 - 1092

A year after attempting to claim the Polish throne for himself, Vratislav wins the personal title of king, but it is not an hereditary one. His successors remain dukes until 1212. He gains control of Galicia in 1084.

1092

Brother. Margraf of Moravia.

1092 - 1100

Son of Vratislav II. Duke of Bohemia. No offspring. Died 1110?

1101 - 1107

Brother. Duke of Bohemia.

1107 - 1109

1109 - 1117

Brother. Duke of Bohemia.

1111

Two years after defeating Emperor Henry V in battle, Boleslaw III of Poland faces a defeat of his own while trying to establish his superiority over the Bohemians. He is forced to accept the return of his rival and half-brother, Zbigniew, as part of the peace process.

1117 - 1120

Restored. Died 1124.

1120 - 1125

Restored. Died.

1125 - 1140

Brother. Duke of Bohemia.

1140 - 1172

Son of Vladislav I. Duke (1140-1156), then king. Died 1174.

1158

The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, grants Vladislav the hereditary title of king of Bohemia, but then refuses to acknowledge his successors. Vladislav has already improved his dynastic connections by marrying first Gertrude of Babenburg and then Judith of Thuringia, daughter of Landgrave Louis I.

1172 - 1173

Son of Vladislav II.

1173 - 1178

Son of Sobeslav I. No offspring. Died 1180?

1178 - 1189

Restored.

1189 - 1191

1191 - 1192

Son of Sobeslav I. No offspring.

1192 - 1193

Son of Vladislas II.

1193 - 1197

1197

Brother of Ottokar.

1198 - 1212

Restored. First acknowledged king of Bohemia in 1212.

c.1200

One Konrad Swantiborides of Pomerania visits the Czech capital at Prague around 1200 where he holds high office and resides in Prague castle. He is also granted the fief of the town of Stranka in the Czech lands. Given the name, it is highly likely that this Konrad is the same as Konrad, grandson of Wartislaw (II) Swantiboriz, despite the absence of written information to confirm it.

Kings of Bohemia-Moravia (House of Przemysl)
AD 1212 - 1310

Bohemia achieved the status of an hereditary kingdom. With a series of tough warrior kings on the throne, the country became very successful - and feared - in Central Europe. Neighbouring Moravia became a margraviate, a junior partner in the kingdom with the title margrave of Moravia usually being bestowed upon the heir to the Bohemian throne.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Mirka Lewis, from Meinhard der Zweite. Tirol, Kärnten und ihre Nachbarländer am Ende des 13. Jhs, Hermann Wiesflecker (1955 & 1995), from Eines Fürsten Traum. Meinhard II. - Das Werden Tirols (Catalogue, 1995), and from Gesta principum Polonorum, Gallus Anonymus (early twelfth century chronicler whose real name has been lost).)

1212 - 1230

First acknowledged king of Bohemia.

1213

Under Bernard of Spanheim the duchy of Carinthia reaches the height of its power and influence. He now marries Judith, daughter of Ottokar I, thereby allying the Spanheimers to the powerful Czech Przemysls.

1230 - 1253

Son. Not to be confused with 'Good King' Wenceslas (921).

1241 - 1242

Mongol leaders Batu Khan and Subedei turn their attention farther into Europe. They enter Galicia, capturing the capital and destroying the cathedral there and ending any hopes that the Galicians might have had of holding onto Kyiv. Both Poland and Hungary are also conquered, with European defeats at Liegnitz and the River Sajo (the Battle of Mohi).

Austria, Dalmatia, and Moravia also fall under Mongol domination, and the tide seems unstoppable. However, the death of Ogedei Khan causes the Mongols to withdraw, with Batu Khan intent on securing his conquests in the lands of the Rus thanks to the possibility that his rival, Guyuk Khan, could be elected great khan.

1247

The heir to the throne, Vadislaus, suddenly dies and his younger brother, Ottakar, is thrust into the limelight. He is appointed margrave of Moravia, charged with restoring the Moravian lands following the ravaging attacks of the Mongols in 1242.

1253 - 1278

Son. Also held Austria, Carinthia, Slovenia, & Styria.

1253

Ottokar II is also known as the Golden and the Iron, as he greatly enriches and strengthens the country. Unfortunately, under his rule the Czechs destroy the gold market in Europe by oversupplying it with their own intensive mining. They also supply the silver coins which they call Tolar (from which the modern word 'dollar' originates).

King Przemysl II Ottokar the Great, the 'Golden and Iron', was an inspirational empire-builder for his Czech kingdom of Bohemia-Moravia - he was also a capable politician, who managed to bring the state out of crisis and greatly strengthen it

1269

The previous duke of Carinthia, Ulrich III, had secretly agreed in 1268 to be succeeded by Ottokar, his Bohemian wife's nephew. This is despite also having formally recognised his own brother as his successor, Philip, archbishop of Salzburg. Ottokar now makes good on his agreement upon Ulrich's death, with the old duke having outlived his own children. The duchy of Carinthia is appended to Ottokar's own powerful Bohemian kingdom. As he already holds Austria (since 1250), this gives him a continuous corridor of territory down into neighbouring Styria, along with Slovenia.

1271

Ottokar and Stephen of Hungary sign the First Peace of Pressburg (Pozny to the Hungarians, modern Bratislava in Slovakia). This follows another battle between the two over Hungarian claims to areas of Austria and Slovakia (to the east of Moravia, sandwiched between that and Hungary), and Bohemian-captured territory in Hungary itself. Each claim is dropped so that Bohemia unquestionably rules Austria and Slovakia, and Hungary is fully restored to its rulers.

1276 - 1278

Rudolf of Habsburg wrests the duchies of Austria and Carinthia from Ottokar in 1276. Then he goes further by killing the Przemysl king just two years later in battle on the Moravia Field, on the right bank of the River Morava in Austria.

1277/80

The Swantiborides disappear from the history of Pomerania, possibly dying out with Casimir, castellan of Kolberg. However, Mirka Lewis, in her research into her own Stransky family of what is now Czechia, suggests differently. Having pinpointed Konrad Swantiborides (fl 1176) as a potential link between the Swantiborides and the Czechs, she suggests that it could be Konrad's own relatives who survive there as the initially wealthy Stránská family (Stranka or Stranky, or 'von Stransky' during German domination of the Czechs).

Konrad's great-nephew is Casimir ('the Younger') who accepts a position under King Ottokar II, apparently drawing the remaining family members towards Prague and abandoning any remaining role they may have in Pomerania.

1278 - 1283

Duke of Austria (1273-1282), HRE (1273-1291).

1278 - 1283

Appointed governor by Rudolf I of Austria.

1283 - 1305

Son of Ottokar II. Also king of Hungary & Poland.

1305 - 1306

Son. Also of Poland. Assassinated as a teenager. Last Przemysl.

1306

Forced to step down by Rudolf. Later Henry II of Tyrol.

1306 - 1307

Henry, youngest brother of Otto and Albert, counts of Tyrol, briefly becomes king of Bohemia as Jindrich (or Heinrich in its German form), but is quickly forced to step down by the powerful and ambitious Rudolph III of Austria. Rudolph is not at all welcome as far as the Bohemian nobles are concerned, and his early death in 1307 allows them to re-select Henry for the title.

Otto of Tyrol and Carinthis was succeeded by his younger brother, Henry, who enjoyed some success in his own career, becoming king of Bohemia for a short time before gaining Carinthia - his crest is show here

1306 - 1307

Uncrowned pretender to the HRE. Duke of Austria.

1307 - 1310

Uncrowned pretender to the HRE. Henry II of Tyrol.

1310

Once it has been weakened by a lack of strong leadership and internal conflict, Bohemia becomes integrated into the Holy Roman empire. Jindrich (Heinrich, or Henry, of Tyrol) loses his title but as a form of compensation gains Carinthia following the death of his elder brother, Otto.

Kingdom of Bohemia (House of Luxembourg)
AD 1310 - 1437

1310 - 1346

Son of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor.

1320

On 20 January, all of Poland (except for Silesia, Polish areas of Pomerania, and Mazovia) is reunited as a single Polish kingdom with the coronation of Wladyslaw. The coronation takes place with the support and cooperation of Pope John XXII at Avignon, who also needs to placate Jean of Luxembourg, known as 'the Blind', king of Bohemia and son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII. Jean (or John) has his own claims to Poland.

1347 - 1378

Son. Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.

1347

Karel is the son of Eliska of Przemysl, who herself was the daughter of Wenceslas II. He spends most of his childhood in Prague and is regarded as the true successor to the Czech crown.

1378 - 1419

Son. Holy Roman Emperor Wenzel.

1419 - 1437

Holy Roman Emperor. King of Hungary (1387-1437).

1420

One of Pope Martin's most notable acts is to issue a bull excommunicating Hussites and Wycliffites, along with other heretics in Bohemia. He effectively initiates the Hussite Wars.

1426

With the support of Emperor Sigismund, Frederick I the Warlike leads his Saxon army to near-slaughter at the Battle at Aussig on 16 June 1426 (now Ústí nad Labem in Czechia). The city had been founded by German settlers the second half of the thirteenth century following an invitation by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. In 1423 Emperor Sigismund had pledged the town to Elector Frederick who had soon placed a Saxon garrison there.

With the Bohemian proto-Protestant Hussites now besieging it, a German army of seventy thousand is sent to relieve it. The twenty-five thousand Hussites slaughter them on Sunday 16 June, and then storm the town on the Monday, razing it to the ground. It takes three years before rebuilding work begins.

As a staunch supporter of Emperor Sigismund, king of Bohemia, Frederick the Warlike, prince-elector of Saxony, found himself caught up in the Hussite wars

1431

With Pope Martin V having called for the Council of Basel a few weeks before his death, the council is confirmed and convened by his successor, Eugenius IV. Two major problems are discussed: the question of papal supremacy and the Hussite heresy, the latter being followers of the Bohemian religious reformer, Jan Hus. Despite intending to foster the reintegration of the eastern Orthodox church, the council instead descends into bickering and loss of prestige, before it excommunicates the pope himself and proposes a fresh anti-pope in Felix V.

Kingdom of Bohemia (Non-Dynastic)
AD 1437 - 1564

(Additional information from External Link: Who was the 'Winter Queen'? (Royal Museums Greenwich).)

1437 - 1439

Duke of Austria (1404-1439). King of Hungary (1437-1439).

1439 - 1457

Archduke of Austria & Ladislas V of Hungary (1444-1457).

1444 - 1449

Bernard VII of Lippe concludes a treaty with Duke Adolph I of Cleves-Mark in which he cedes to Adolph a fifty per cent share of the city of Lippstadt, which is already mortgaged to Cleves. At the same time, he joins an alliance that makes him part of the 'Feud of Soest' against his own great-uncle, Archbishop Dietrich II of Cologne. In 1447, Dietrich calls in a Bohemian army that devastates the countryside in Lippe and levels the town of Blomberg. The Bohemians also besiege the cities of Lippstadt and Soest, but are unsuccessful in taking them. Detmold also suffers severe damage during the conflict.

1459 - 1471

Non-dynastic. Regent (1452-1457).

1471

The Lithuanian and Polish Jagiello dynasty gains control of Bohemia (Czechia) in the form of Ladislas II. His successor is a member of the same dynasty, his son, Louis.

1471 - 1516

Also became Ladislas VI of Hungary (1490-1516).

1490

Ladislas gains the throne of Hungary.

1516 - 1526

Son. Louis II of Hungary (1516-1526). Killed by Turks at Mohács.

1526

Following a devastating defeat at the Battle of Mohács and the death of Louis, the Lithuanian Jagiellos lose Hungary and Bohemia to the Habsburgs.

1526 - 1564

Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary (1526-1564).

1526 - 1540

Claimant.

1564

Control of Bohemia, Moravia and Hungary is taken fully by the Habsburgs in their guise of Holy Roman Emperors, although they still undergo a separate coronation to be confirmed as kings of Bohemia.

Introduced in 1560, the system of imperial states replaced the now-outdated feudal system, with an imperial circle ('reichskreis') being a regional grouping of the imperial states (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1564 - 1576

HRE (1564-1576).

1576 - 1611

HRE (1576-1612).

1611 - 1619

HRE (1612-1619).

1619 - 1620

Of Wittelsbach (RhinePfalz/Palatinate). Died 1623.

The Protestant Frederick V of the Palatinate is invited to take the throne by the 'Bohemia Confederacy' to prevent a Catholic incumbent ascending to the throne. He is known as the 'Winter King' due to the briefness of his reign. Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I of England and VI of Scotland, his wife, is also queen of Bohemia, and is otherwise known as the 'Winter Queen'. To the Czechs, Frederick is known as Fridrich Falcky.

1620 - 1621

In Bratislava. Renounced royal title.

1620

The Battle of White Mountain sees Archduke Ferdinand of Austria recapture rebellious Prague and Bohemia from Frederick Falcky. Frederick and Elizabeth are evicted from their court in Prague and deprived of all their Palatinate lands by Emperor Ferdinand II, and Bohemia is absorbed fully into the Holy Roman empire.

The title 'King of Bohemia' is taken by the Habsburgs, where it remains until the empire's termination in its Austrian form in 1918-1919. The move starts the Thirty Years' War in Europe. However, Elizabeth's daughter, Electress Sophia of Hanover, is invited to ascend the British throne in 1714, and her son becomes King George I of England. In Bohemia, Moravia, and neighbouring Slovakia, from the ruins of the post-First World War Austro-Hungarian empire, the republic of Czechoslovakia is formed.