By Red Sox Steve
For the last two weeks, we've looked at Turkey, a region that was home to the earliest agricultural settlements in Europe, starting in about 7000 BCE. As farming spread from the southeastern part of Europe towards the west and north, it displaced mobile hunter-gatherers with agriculturally-based organized settlements. One piece of evidence which indicates the presence of a centrally organized, sedentary lifestyle is a town or other planned settlement. Ancient settlements have been found in places as varying as windy and chilly Scotland and the marshy foothills of the Alps. One of the most famous ancient settlements, however, is in the nation we are looking at this week: Poland.
Biskupin, an outpost that arose after 1000 BCE, is well known among historians due to the amount of advance planning that went into its construction. Biskupin is located 140 miles west of Warsaw on a marshy peninsula. It was one of the first locations to have distinct and straight rows of houses, built end to end as one long structure and sub-divided into single room dwellings. Because the entire town was on top of a marsh, the streets had to be paved with wood. Biskupin was surrounded by a 20 foot wall of wood and dirt as well. There were 100 dwellings within the wall, and by 720 BCE it was thought to house around 700 people, who performed numerous professions, including metalworking. The structure and organization that went into housing and protecting Biskupin's settlers was unprecedented, particularly because of the predominance of nomadic tribes in the region.
Just after 400 BCE, during the middle part of the Iron Age, Celtic tribes started to arrive in Poland, from Bohemia and Monrovia (each, Czech Republic). In Celtic history, the era in which they commenced this expansion is known as "La Tène" (450 BCE - 50 CE, named after a location in Switzerland). During La Tène, the Celts reached their territorial peak and attacked Rome and Delphi. Moving north, they settled in the southern part of Poland. By approximately 170 CE, however, Celtic influence in southern Poland started to decline.
Furthermore, archaeologists have found evidence that Germanic tribes inhabited northwestern Poland prior to the Common Era. Named after Jastorf, a village in Lower Saxony (Germany), a proto-Germanic culture started to expand in about the 6th century BCE. From 300-100 BCE, they settled western Poland in two distinct groups - the Oder in western Pomerania (Oder River) and the Gubin, further south.
Just before the end of the 1st century BCE, Julius Caesar pushed his army into Gaul and was heading further north to Brittania. By doing this, the Roman army was able to defeat the Suebi (Germanic) tribe, which wiped out much of the population of the Oder River Basin. In the process, Rome established the Rhine River (Germany) as an artificial dividing line between Germanic and Celtic tribes. People on both sides of the Rhine, however, were of mixed ethnicity due to intermarriage, commerce and custom. Germanics arriving on the east Rhine from the north pushed other occupants across the Rhine, which made the eastern Rhine a more purely Germanic region.
Further Roman conquest, especially after the start of the 1st century CE, pushed the limits of the Roman empire to Germany. As a result, member tribes of the Suebi moved east, displacing Celtic tribes, before settling in Moravia (the Quadi, a sub-tribe of Suebi) and Bohemia (the Marcomanni, a sub-tribe of Suebi). The Marcomanni were able to conquer the Lugii who occupied that region. The Lugii tribe was well known for controlling a major trading route from the Baltic to the Roman Empire, known as the Amber Road.
The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber. Amber is a tree resin, and is thick and sticky due to its chemical makeup. Because of its ability to preserve objects and to come in a wide variety of colors, it was highly coveted in empires from Rome to Greece to Egypt to Asia. The main trading route went from the Baltic coast through Prussia (northern Germany and Poland), to the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the Adriatic Sea.
Just after the beginning of the Common Era, eastern Europe was ultimately determined to be unconquerable by the Roman Empire. The Romans considered land east of the Rhine River, up to the western edge of the Baltics, to be Magna Germania ("Greater Germania") for a few centuries. Multiple dialects were spoken in this region, due to the number of tribes that migrated through the area.
The next critical movement into Poland was the migration of the Slavics. Some historians have linked a proto-Slavic culture to the Przeworsk cultural identity. Przeworsk is a city in southern Poland where historians and archaeologists first found artifacts related to this unique culture. Thus, some date Przeworsk and Slavic settlement of Poland to the 2nd century BCE. Other historians, however, link Slavic origins to areas of the Ukraine, prior to the beginning of the Common Era.
By the beginning of the 6th century, though, there is little debate about Slavic presence in present-day Poland. Cultural ornaments found in southern Poland, along with other evidence of Germanic tribes migrating from the north, lead investigators to the conclusion that the culture there was a blend of both Slavic and Germanic. Around this time, there is scant evidence of Slavic migration, which has caused researchers to postulate that Slavic identity and culture from the Danube to southern Poland was relatively uniform.
By the 8th century, discrete Slavic traditions began to appear in various parts of central and southeastern Europe. Slavic culture was dispersed and distinct enough throughout this region to designate Poland and other western Slavic regions the Western Slavic zone. Along the Warta River (western-central Poland), a Western Slavic tribe called the Polanians had settled by the 7th century. The name Polanian comes from a Slavic word for "prairie" and can be taken to mean "those who live on cleared fields." The Polanians were centered around the Kujawy region (central Poland), which was a densely populated rural area.
By the ninth century the Polanians had established trade links with the Pomeranians in the Baltic region. The Islamic Near East (considered the "Middle East" today) was the source of silver, which went to Pomerania through France and western Germany, while amber and furs went from the Baltic region southward. The massive amount of silver which passed through the hands of the Pomeranians in the 10th century is one of the reasons that extensive construction took place in Poland around the same time.
The first ruler of Poland was a leader of the Polonians (also referred to in historical research as the Poles or Polans) named Mieszko I. Mieszko, a descendant of Polonian tribal leaders and member of the Piast dynasty, ruled as Poland's first king beginning in 960. He used his own military and political skills along with Polonian wealth to increase his influence and rise to power in the region. In 965, he married Dobrava, daughter of a Bohemian prince. Soon after, he converted to Christianity, more interested in following the Roman church than the Eastern Orthodox Church adopted by many Slavs.
Before he ruled for a decade, Mieszko battled the Pomeranians, Veletians (northern Germany) and Wolinians (northern Poland) to obtain Pomerania. In the process, he sought peace with German emperor Otto I because their territories were adjacent to each other. Mieszko, before his death in 992, conquered the Polabians and Obodrites of northern and eastern Germany, and Silesia (southern Poland) to gain control of trade routes in the Oder valley. Control of the Oder valley trade routes was a way for Poland to control trade routes to both Kiev and Byzantium. In 991, Mieszko drafted a document called the "Dagome Iudex" (by some accounts, this means "I, Prince Mieszko") which outlined his kingdom's boundaries and was entrusted to the pope. The Dagome Iudex outlines boundaries that closely resemble those of modern Poland.
Although Mieszko left his kingdom to his half-German son by his second marriage, his earlier alliance with Bohemia through his first marriage came back to haunt Mieszko's family. Boleslaw, Mieszko's son through his first marriage, and of Bohemian (western Czech Republic) origin, deposed his half-brother and took the throne in 992, ruling as Boleslaw I. Boleslaw continued to rule over Pomerania and Silesia, and was able to obtain Krakow (southern Poland) during his rule as well. He sought Prussian territory, however his representative, the Bohemian bishop Adalbert, was martyred by the Prussians - they did not seek to ally with Poland. Adalbert was later canonized St. Wojciech and buried at a church in Gniezno (western Poland).
In 1000, German emperor Otto III sought a conference with Boleslaw at Gniezno, the goal of which was to advance Roman Christianity in Slavic territory. Because Germany desired Boleslaw's assistance in controlling more Slavic territory, Otto anointed Boleslaw "brother and partner of the empire" and a friend an ally of the Roman people (both references to the Holy Roman Empire, not Rome itself). German historians view this event as a subordination of Boleslaw to German imperial desires, while their Polish counterparts tend to see this as a coronation of their leader by the Holy Roman Emperor. As a result of the new alliance, Boleslaw provided Otto with the arm of St. Wojciech as a relic. In return, Boleslaw was given a replica of what is known as the "Holy Lance", a part of the imperial regalia which contains a nail from the Holy Cross. With the support of Otto, Boleslaw was able to expand his reach. He gained Polabia (northern Poland), and Prague (Bohemia), and was able to ultimately control much of Moravia and Bohemia by 1003.
Otto III died at age 22 in 1002, and relations between Poland and Germany changed quickly. Boleslaw supported a member of German nobility for the throne, Eckard I, who was then assassinated. Boleslaw then put his support behind Henry IV, Duke of Bavaria who ruled Germany as Henry II. Because of the weakened status of Germany during this tumultuous change in leadership, Boleslaw was able to occupy areas west of the Oder river as well as territory in eastern Germany. Henry permitted Boleslaw to keep much of the land he conquered, with the exception of Meissen (eastern Germany). Although relations between the nations improved, a later attempt on Boleslaw's life was found to be organized by Henry II, sundering an already tense German-Polish relationship.
Boleslaw was able to control Kiev as a result of an attack in 1018, and in 1025 was crowned king of Poland upon receipt of headdress sent by the pope. Boleslaw was Poland's first king, as recognized by the Holy Roman Empire. Tensions with Bohemia during this time led to a loss of Moravia by Boleslaw's army. Further conflict with Germany led to a retrenchment of Polish authority out of Silesia and western Pomerania as well. In 1034, Bohemians reclaimed by force the body of St. Wojciech, sent to Prussia as a Polish emissary many years earlier by Boleslaw.
Just after the start of the 12th century, a power struggle erupted as two half-brothers of the ruling Piast dynasty were given territory in Poland. Boleslaw was effectively given southern Poland, while his half-brother Zbigniew was given much of northern Poland. As a result, Boleslaw sought territory in northern Poland and allied with regional monarchs (Hungary and to outflank his rival brother, while Zbigniew sought to pressure his brother through alliance with the southern Bohemians. As a result, Boleslaw desired to compress his brother's influence through bribery (Bohemia) and attack (Pomerania). As a result of armed conflict, Zbigniew ultimately relented and Boleslaw was able to rule Poland as Boleslaw III starting in 1107.
By 1112, Boleslaw had his brother blinded to prevent Zbigniew's ascent to the throne, and had rescinded Bohemia to the Czechs. To the Polish north, Pomerania remained well within his grasp. Not only was he able to conquer the territory, but he also allied with the Holy Roman Empire to Christianize the Slavic pagans in the region. By forcefully imposing Christianity in Pomerania, Boleslaw felt he would be able to strengthen his control over the region. By 1135, just before his death, Boleslaw gave his allegiance to Holy Roman Emperor Lothair II, and was forced to pay 12 years worth of tribute to the church. Before he died in 1138, Boleslaw divided his land among his four sons, establishing a "Senioral Principle" in the process. This principle stated that the eldest son was to have ruling power over the his siblings, control a north-south strip of land running down Poland's center and control Pomerania.
Although Boleslaw's desire was to allocate lands among all his heirs and simultaneously establish central authority, the result of the Senioral Principle was an era of dissolution of power and fragmentation of the kingdom. Boleslaw's oldest son, Wladyslaw, sought to restore unity by preventing his brothers from taking power - this was confronted by the church and other regional ruling interests. As the result of a civil war, much of Poland's principalities became further divided and realigned leading to an environment of persistent warfare. In 1180, during the reign of Casimir II as Duke of Poland, there was a struggle with the aristocracy and clergy over the extent of duchy privelege in Krakow. As a result, the Council of Synod (1180) abolished the "Senior Principle" and established primogeniture - in other words, Casimir II was given perpetual right to Krakow.
Each of the smaller states, permitted to ignore the authority of the Duke of Krakow, became highly independent. They were able to establish alliances, enter into treaties and create their own tariff systems, dissolving the control of a central authority. During the 13th century, as a result of absolute power of the princes of each territory, both landowners and the church increased their jurisdiction. Because the Church was an organized institution with centralized authority, it was able to grow more powerful - gaining wealth and influence over the moral code adhered to by its subjects. At princely councils, the church and the landbarons were able to influence the affairs of each principality. Because affairs related to foreign policy, administration, and taxes were discussed at these meetings, called Colloquia, these meetings would eventually evolve into a Senate.
As a result of Mongol invasions during the 13th century, much of Galicia (southern Poland) and southern Silesia were devastated. However, because the Mongols efforts were mostly to repel European interest in the east (through invasions of much of the Slavic territory), they were not interested in an occupation of the territory. Because this was the case, many German immigrants moved into Poland, and were encouraged to do so because of the declining influence and wealth of the princes.
German immigrants in what is known as "Lesser Poland" (southern Poland) found an arable land, and were thus spared the hard labor required to work it. Because the German charter (conferring rights on German subjects) was more evolved and more easily adopted than its Polish counterpart in these regions, many Polish settlements received these new rights. Germanic legal language was adopted, and settlement was highly encouraged by the prince, as evidenced by his policy to provide all lands tax free (but not rent free) for a number of years to new settlers.
Although persecuted all over Europe during the Crusades, the Jews were well received in Poland. Prince Boleslav imposed serious penalties for acts of vandalism to Jewish cemeteries and synagogues and the statue of Kalisz was erected welcoming the Jews to this town in central Poland. Anyone who accused a Jew of murder had to provide three Gentiles and three Jews as witnesses; being unable to prove the Jewish defendant guilty meant the accuser was subject to punishment himself.
Before the end of the 13th century, German influence over the throne of Krakow increased, as a result of aggressive German behavior to control the church and the monarchy. Although initially supported by the German government, the German descendants in Poland became more Polonized, asserting a separation of Poland from Germany which would first require Poland be unified around a central authority. In 1295, the new King of Poland was Premislas II (or, Przemysł II). At the time of his anointment, Premislas had the support of the Polish clergy, and had already governed as duke of a number of Polish territories. Although he was assassinated a year later, because he accumulated a great deal of power, he had overseen the initial efforts towards Polish unification.
After Premislas' death in 1296, Wladyslaw, duke of Cuiavia (central Poland) proclaimed himself Premislas' successor and also controlled Lesser Poland and Pomerania. Because Władysław faced resistance from local lords in Lesser Poland, he had to conquer the region in 1304 to establish full authority there. Later, Wladyslaw was forced to cede control of much of the Baltic coast due to similar resistive forces there. By 1314, Wladyslaw controlled Lesser Poland, Cuiavia, Krakow, Sandomierz and Greater Poland (central/western Poland) and was able to repel Bohemian and Teutonic claims for the throne and territory. In 1320, the Pope crowned Wladyslaw king of Poland (Wladyslaw I), officially reinstating Poland as a united and independent kingdom.
Poland was ruled by Casimir III the Great, son of Wladyslaw I, for much of the 14th century. Casimir is credited with improving relations with the Teutonic Order (German religious order), the Bohemians and the Hungarians. He also conquered Galician Ruthenia (western Ukraine) to double the size of Polish territory by 1366. Domestically, he oversaw the creation of 500 agricultural villages, 70 new towns and 50 military strongholds. He established a new judicial system and changed the administration and financial structure of Poland as well. In 1364, he founded the University of Krakow, which is the second oldest university in central Europe, and still in existence today.
After the death of the heirless Casimir, the throne was claimed by his nephew, Louis of Hungary. As a result, Louis formed a union between Poland and Hungary in 1374, known as the "Privelege of Koszyce". Under this agreement, the Polish nobility agreed to allow Louis' dynasty over Poland to continue even though Louis had no sons. By the time Louis died in 1382, the union had broken up after a conflict. Polish nobility, in honoring their prior agreement, named Louis' daughter Jadwiga the new King of Poland at age 11.
Poland at this time opposed the German Teutonic Knights as well as the increasing power of the Grand Duchy of Moscow (who considered the entire Russian territory to be its property). Thus, it sought a union with Lithuania which began with the marriage of Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello (later Wladislaw II) to Queen Jadwiga in 1386, beginning what was called the Jagellion dynasty.
By 1410, the new union was able to ultimately defeat the Teutonic Knights, and by the end of the century, the dynasty's influence grew to cover Bohemia and Hungary as well as Poland and Lithuania. In 1526, however, at the Battle of Mohacs (southern Hungary), the Ottoman Empire defeated the Jagiellion army, and its king, Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia. As a result, the Austrians, under the Habsburg dynasty, were able to take control of Bohemia and Hungary. The Ottomans, in claiming much of Hungary after the defeat were now recognized as a powerful enemy by much of Europe.
The Polish-Lithuanian Union became one of the largest states in Europe. As a result of a peace agreement in 1533, the Ottoman threat had been diminished. At the same time, the population of Western Europe was increasing. This allowed the Polish-Lithuanian Union to increase its wealth as the largest supplier of grain to Europe. Although much of western Europe had begun efforts to urbanize and further incorporate capitalism, the Union was able to preserve an agrarian and rural society and economic structure.
Although much of Poland was Roman Catholic, the Roman Catholic church persecuted a number of Protestant sects. However, the Jagiellion dynasty was known for its high level of religious tolerance. By 1552, the Polish congress (Sejm) halted execution of sentences for heresy. Much of the tolerance was thought to be practical - the Union governed people with a wide variety of ethnicities and religions. It is thought that just after the mid-sixteenth century, Poland contained the largest concentration of Jews in the world.
The final king of the Jagellion dynasty, Sigismund II Augustus, was childless despite three marriages. Up to this time, Poland and Lithuania were joined by a personal union. In 1569 in Lublin, Poland, this structure changed dramatically. On July 1, 1569, the treaty of Lublin created a real union of Poland and Lithuania, and a single state called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This new state was to be ruled by an elected monarch acting under the authority of the Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania, in addition to being governed by a common Senate and parliament (Sejm).
Before the end of the 16th century, the Commonwealth was at war with Russia, capturing Russian territory in the Baltics, and ultimately defeating the Russians by 1582. The Polish-Swedish personal union was able to assert control over the Baltic Sea, however rebellion in Sweden touched off a century of warfare between Sweden and the Commonwealth. At the start of the 17th century, the Commonwealth reached its greatest territorial extent, including Smolensk (Russia) and other territories. By 1629, however, the Commonwealth gave much of Livonia (Baltic region) back to the Swedes.
Just before the second half of the 17th century, Polish repression of its Ukrainian holdings touched off a firestorm of rebellion. Local peasantry and Cossacks (militaristic communities of eastern Europe and southern Russia) rebelled under the leadership of a wealthy Ukrainian landowner, Hetman Bogdan Chmielnicki. In 1648, the Polish king Ladislas IV, had died, succeeded by John II Casimir (1609–72), who wisely sought peace with the rebels. Unfortunately, this backfired when Polish nobility revolted against their king in disagreement, weakening Poland enough to suffer invasions by the Ukrainians. The conflict was further exacerbated when Chmielnicki sought to put his son on the Moldavian throne, much to the consternation of the Poles. Chmielnicki and his soldiers were determined to gain independence from Poland, and were thus forced to ally with Russia. In 1654, a Russo-Cossack treaty was concluded, whereby the Ukrainians accept Russian rule over Polish sovereignty, and led to later conflict between the Poles and the Russians.
Because Poland was preoccupied with Ukrainian tensions, Charles X of Sweden was able to overtake much of the Commonwealth in 1654. The Commonwealth sought to recover by giving Prussia its sovereignty in exchange for breaking its alliance with Sweden. The brutal attacks by the Swedes and the unsuccessful siege of a monastery in southern Poland raised revolts against Charles, although many Polish nobles had aligned with him. By 1657, the Swedes had been driven out of Commonwealth territory. Eastern Ukraine was gained by Russia in a peace treaty with the Commonwealth in 1667, causing then king Jan II Kazimierz to rescind the throne in 1668. Although the Commonwealth helped in defeating the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, events of the 17th century severely weakened Poland. It had become a devastated land - half its population had been killed, the economic base had been nearly eliminated by war, and religious fervor replaced religious tolerance.
Because of both the constitutional structure of the Sejm, and its weakened state, 18th century Poland was victimized by its neighbors. Initially, Augustus II (King 1697–1706, 1709–1733) was supported by France in his bid for the throne. He involved the Commonwealth in the Great Northern War in alliance with other nations against Sweden. Because Sweden invaded Poland in 1704, though, Poland sought Russia's assistance, opening the door to further Russian involvement in Commonwealth affairs. By 1734, August III had risen to power over the Commonwealth. He simultaneously inherited Saxony and was elected king with Russian and Austrian support. He spent only 3 years of his reign in Poland, much more interested in growing his power in Saxony. Because of his absentee leadership and general disinterest in ruling the Commonwealth, neighboring Prussia, Austria and Russia positioned themselves to carve up the weakened region.
During the last portion of the 18th century, Commonwealth King Stanisław August Poniatowski, allowed himself to be influenced by Russian tsars as a result of his affection for Russian Empress Catherine the Great. As a result of a 1730 agreement called the "Alliance of the Three Black Eagles", Prussia, Austria and Russia each bound themselves and each other to maintain the laws of the Commonwealth. Later, Catherine the Great forced Poland to adopt a new constitution, undermining the reforms made by King Stanislaw a few years earlier. Poland was ripe for further intervention.
After the Russians defeated the Ottomans, Austrian (via the Habsburg dynasty) interests in southeastern Europe were threatened. Austria thought war against Russia would be the only way to ameliorate the problem. France, friendly with Russia and Austria, recommended territorial change to satisfy both - as a result Prussia got Polish Ermland (northern Poland) and parts of the Polish fief, Duchy of Courland (part of Latvia) and Semigallia (part of Latvia) - already under Baltic German control. Because Prussia controlled Commonwealth access to the sea, it levied high duties which further weakened the Commonwealth. Austria received Zator, Auschwitz and Galicia (less Krakow) while Russia received northeastern lands - commonwealth territories east of the line formed roughly by the Dvina, Drut, and Dnieper rivers. On September 18, 1773, Polish representatives agreed to cede the territories previously claimed by its neighbors.
In efforts to resist the partitioning of its nation, Poles sought but were unable to obtain British and French support. As a result, Poland was forced to enter into an agreement with its enemy Prussia in 1790. From the resulting Polish Constitution of 1791, a Polish middle class was formed, threatening Russian ideology, especially as a result of the French Revolution. In early 1793, Prussia and Russia obtained more land during the Second Partitioning of Poland.
Sensing dissatisfaction among Poles at having surrendered about 30% of its land to its enemies, Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish military leader, led a revolt against Russia and Prussia in Poland and Lithuania in 1794. As a result, Poland's neighbors sought to eliminate any evidence of an independent Polish state. In October 1795, Polish, Prussian and Russian representatives signed a treaty, dividing the remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries.
To be continued...
