At the end of the 9th century, an unknown historian, later named the Bavarian geographer, reported on tribal Slavic groups living on the banks of the Vistula, Warta and Oder rivers, and occupying the vast plains of Central Europe. Initially, the scattered Slavic tribes in Western sources were called Lekhites, but later they began to be called glades, after the name of one of the strongest tribes; it was from the meadows that the founder of the Polish state, Mieszko I., came out.
Ancestors
Separate disparate tribes of the Lekhites were ruled by princes whose names history has not preserved. Modern historians know only one message, which concerns the genealogy of the rulers of the Glade tribe. This is explained by the fact that the glade, having carried out a number of successful military operations and subjugated the neighboring tribes, preferred to oust the names of their rulers from the memory of the vanquished, and preserve their traditions in history. In the 12th century, the chronicler Gallus Anonymus recorded oral legends about the rulers of the meadows, and this is how they ended up in medieval chronicles. According to Anonymous, Prince Popiel, who was expelled, ruled in the city of Gniezno. His place was taken by Semovit, who did not occupy a high social position, but was the son of a simple plowman Piast. Semovit and laid the foundation for the Piastovich dynasty, who ruled in the fortification of Gniezno. It was this prince and his heirs, Lestko and Semomysl, who became the ancestors of Meshko I.
Background
Most likely, Mieszko I formed his state not from scratch. One can be sure that the history of the Polish state began long before the birth of this prince, and the former princely dynasty had already taken serious steps towards the centralization of power. The ancestors of Meshko I added the lands of neighboring tribes to the possessions of the glades: Kuvians, Mazovshans, Lendzyans. On the occupied lands, defensive structures were built - cities. In some lands, towns were located at a distance of 20-25 km from each other, that is, during the daytime march of a combat detachment. A strong army and centralized administration became decisive factors in expanding and strengthening the power of the glades. But vast territories, wetlands and impenetrable jungles of forests allowed the conquered tribes to maintain significant independence. The invaders did not change the way of life of the captured tribes, but imposed taxes on the peasant communities, which were collected by the servants of the prince. Thus, the founder of the Polish state owed a lot to his predecessors, who over the previous two centuries had created a system of government.
Start of reign
Meshko was the son of Semomysl, his mother's name remainedunknown. The beginning of the reign dates back to 960, when the future founder of the Polish state began to rule in the principality of Great Poland with the center in Gniezno. Ten years later, he almost doubled the area under his control, annexing the territories of Mazovia, Kuyavia and Gdansk Pomerania. The year 982 became the date of the conquest of Silesia, and in 990 the meadow was annexed by the Vistula lands. The conquests of the Poles began to take on a threatening character. In Western European and Arabic sources, information appeared about a powerful Slavic state with strong power and a well-trained army. Therefore, it is generally accepted that the Polish state was formed in the 10th century, when the Polish possessions were significantly expanded and strengthened, and the prince and his squad converted to Christianity.
Christianization
Without the adoption of Christianity by Mieszko I in 966, the formation of the Polish state would have been impossible. The expansive foreign policy of the prince led to an aggravation of relations with neighboring states. Emperor Otto I repulsed the attempts of the Polyans to conquer the lands of the Lubushans, and Mieszko I agreed to pay tribute to this ruler. At the same time, the prince develops Polish-Czech relations. To secure relations with the Kingdom of Bohemia, Mieszko marries the daughter of the Czech king, Princess Dubravka. Two powerful neighbors - the Holy Roman Empire and the Czech Republic, led the prince to the decision to accept Christianity. Prince Mieszko was baptized according to the Latin rite in 966. The adoption of Christianity gave impetus to the fact that the first Polish state began to be recognized by contemporaries at the European level.
The way of the Polish state
At the initial stage of formation, the Polish-Lithuanian state occupied an area of approximately 250 thousand square meters. km. It is impossible to say more precisely, since the borders of the newly formed country were constantly changing. Most of the population was engaged in agriculture. The most numerous stratum of the population were the Kmets, free peasants. The Kmets lived in large family and neighborhood communities. After the unification of the tribes, the differences between the communities were preserved, which gave rise to the administrative division of Polish lands, and later the adoption of Christianity, the same principle formed the division of the territory into dioceses.
Administrative divisions
The city district was the smallest level of administrative division. It was under the control of the representatives of the prince, who had full administrative, military and judicial power. There are references to four such centers in the cities of Gniezno, Poznań, Geche and Wloclawek. It was here that military gatherings of shield-bearers and men-at-arms took place, which formed the backbone of the Polish army. If necessary, detachments were assembled from all the free peasants. In terms of their armament and military training, such detachments were inferior to the soldiers of the princely squad, but they were successfully used in reconnaissance and in partisan attacks. According to historians, at the beginning of the 11th century, the total number of troops of Mieszko I was over 20 thousand people.
Economy of the ancientPoland
Maintaining a large and combat-ready army required a constant influx of funds. To ensure the country's defense capability and hold the occupied lands, Prince Meshko I created an established fiscal apparatus, which was engaged in the collection and distribution of taxes. The tax was paid by the entire rural population of the country, in the form of livestock products and agriculture. Another financial lever was the distribution of "regalia" - various rights to conduct especially profitable branches of economic activity. Regalia were: coinage, extraction of precious metals, the organization of markets and inns, some types of hunting. The main exports were furs, amber and slaves. But by the end of the 11th century, the development of agriculture began to require a constant influx of labor, and the growing influence of the church prohibited human trafficking. Therefore, the slave trade after XI ceased to be an element of export, and subsequently ceased altogether.
The end of Mieszko's reign І
As in other European states, the rights to the princely throne were inherited. However, the right of birthright was not yet fixed on the Polish lands, therefore there were frequent civil strife between possible contenders for the throne. The founder of the Polish state had two brothers, one of whom died in battle, and the second, Chtibor, held a high-ranking post. Dying, Mieszko I left part of the state in the hands of his firstborn son Boleslav. This son went down in history as Boleslav the Brave. He inherited from his father a developed,rich, vast country with great international influence. And after a long series of victories and defeats, Bolesław the Brave became the first king of the Polish state.
