The Northern March within the Empire, 10th century.

The Northern March or North March (German: Nordmark) was created out of the division of the vast marca Geronis in 965. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Marca Geronis ("march of Gero" was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century It initially comprised the northern third of the marca (corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends. Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. A Slavic rebellion in 983 reversed German control over the region until the establishment of the March of Brandenburg by Albert the Bear in the 12th century. The Margraviate of Brandenburg (Markgrafschaft Brandenburg was a major Principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 Albert the Bear (Albrecht der Bär c 1100&ndash18 November 1170 was the first Margrave of Brandenburg (as Albert I from 1157 to his death and was briefly Duke

Slavic background

The Northern March was established in territory known in antiquity as Magna Germania, which reached to the Vistula river. Germania was the Latin Exonym for During the Migration Period, many Germanic peoples began migrating towards the Roman frontier. The Migration Period, also called Barbarian Invasions, or sometimes Völkerwanderung ( German for "wandering of peoples" is the English name The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic In the northeast they were replaced primarily by Slavic peoples. The first Slavs were certainly in the Brandenburg area by 720, after the arrival of the Avars in Europe. The Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan. These Slavs had come via Moravia, where they had arrived in the mid-seventh century. Great Moravia (see Name section was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe from the 9th century to the early 10th century The remnants of the Germanic Semnoni were absorbed into these Slav groups. Semnoni (Semnonen or Semnones were a Germanic tribe which was settled between the Elbe and the Oder in the 1st century when they

The group of people who settled at the Spree river became known as Sprevjane. The Sprevane or Sprevani (Sprewanen Slavonic: Sprevjane) name were a Slavic tribe who lived around the river Spree, where Berlin They settled east of the line formed by the Havel and Nuthe rivers, in the current Barnim and Teltow regions. Barnim is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise Poland, the district of Märkisch-Oderland, Teltow is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district in Brandenburg, Germany. They built their main fortification at the confluence of the Spree and the Dahme at Köpenick. Dahme may refer to Dahme Brandenburg, a town in Brandenburg Germany Dahme Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in Schleswig-Holstein Köpenick is an area in the borough of Treptow-Köpenick in Berlin. The Hevelli lived west of that line, in the current Havelland and Zauche regions. The Hevelli or Hevellians (sometimes Havolane; Heveller or Stodoranen; Hawelanie or Stodoranie; Havolané or Stodorané) were a Havelland is a geograhical region and district in Brandenburg, Germany. They were named Habelli for the ancient Germanic name of the river "Habula" (Havel). The Havel (ˈhaːfəl is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The name for themselves was the Stodoranie. They built their main fortification at "Brenna" (modern Brandenburg). Brandenburg an der Havel is a Town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. The Hevelli also built a large outpost at the current site of Spandau Citadel in Berlin. The Spandau Citadel (Zitadelle Spandau of Berlin, Germany, is one of the best-preserved Renaissance Fortresses of Europe Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. The Sprevjane and Hevelli not only waged war against their German, but also their Slav, neighbours.

History of the Northern March

History of Brandenburg and Prussia
Northern March pre-12th century		Old Prussians pre-13th century
Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157–1618 (1806)		Ordensstaat 1224–1525
		Duchy of Prussia 1525–1618	Royal (Polish) Prussia 1466–1772
Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701
Kingdom in Prussia 1701–1772
Kingdom of Prussia 1772–1918
Free State of Prussia 1918–1947
Brandenburg 1947–1952 / 1990–

Establishment and loss, 965–983

After the Saxon War of 808, the victorious Charlemagne bestowed on the Slavic tribes allied with him (such as the Obotrites) part of the Saxon lands between the Elbe and the Baltic Sea. Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state "Prussians" redirects here "Prussians" may also refer to citizens of the former German state of Prussia. The Margraviate of Brandenburg (Markgrafschaft Brandenburg was a major Principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 Year 1806 ( MDCCCVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The monastic state of the Teutonic Knights (Deutschordensland sometimes known in English by the German term Ordensstaat (ˈɔːdn̩ˌʃtɑːt or "Order-State" The Duchy of Prussia or Ducal Prussia (Herzogtum Preußen Prūsijos kunigaikštystė Prusy Książęce was a Duchy in the eastern part of Prussia from Royal Prussia ( Prusy Królewskie was a province of the Kingdom of Poland from 1466 and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1772 Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Brandenburg-Prussia (Brandenburg-Preußen was a German Monarchy established by the Personal union between the Duchy of Prussia and the The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising Year 1772 ( MDCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his The Obotrites (Abodriten also commonly known as the Obodrites, Abotrites, or Abodrites, were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes The Elbe ( die Elbe Low German: de Ilv) is one of the major Rivers of Central Europe. The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. A period of quiet followed in the region. The Bishopics of Brandenburg and Havelberg were established around 940 and the Christianisation of the pagan Slavs began. The Bishopric of Brandenburg was a Roman Catholic Diocese established by Otto the Great in 948, including the territory between the Elbe The Bishopric of Havelberg (Bistum Havelberg was a Roman Catholic Diocese founded by King Otto I, King of the Germans in 946 The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity

Henry I of Germany conquered Brandenburg in 928–929 and imposed tribute upon the tribes up to the Oder. The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe. By 948 his son Otto I had established German control over the many remaining pagans, who were collectively referred to as Slavs or Wends by contemporaries. Otto I the Great ( 23 November 912 &ndash 7 May 973) son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke Slavic settlements such as Brenna, Budišin (Bautzen), and Chotebuž (Cottbus) came under German control through the installation of margraves. Bautzen ( pronounced, until 1868: Budissin; Upper Sorbian: Budyšin; Lower Sorbian: Budyšyn) is a Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: Chóśebuz) is a City in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around 125 km southeast of Berlin on the Margrave (marchio is the English and French form (recorded since 1551 of the German Title Markgraf (from Mark " The main function of the margravial office was to defend and protect the marches (frontier districts) of the Teutonic kingdom. Mark from the Old English mearc and march (or various plural forms of these words derived from the Frankish word marka ("boundary" The Kingdom of Germany grew out of East Francia in the tenth century After the death of the margrave Gero the Great in 965, the vast collection of marches (a "super-march") was divided by Otto into five smaller commands. Gero I (c 900 &ndash 20 May 965) called the Great (Latin magnus) ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg The Northern March was one of these. The others were the Eastern March, the March of Merseburg, the March of Meissen, and the March of Zeitz. The Saxon Eastern March or Ostmark (Sächsische Ostmark was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century The Marca Geronis ("march of Gero" was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century The March or Margraviate of Meissen (Mark(grafschaft Meißen was a mediæval principality a march, of the Holy Roman Empire in the area of the modern The March of Zeitz (Mark Zeitz was a frontier county of the Holy Roman Empire, created through the division of the Marca Geronis in 965 when

Many Slavic tribes allied together in a rebellion in 983 and threw the Germans back, destroying their monasteries and killing or expelling the priests and German officials. Until the collapse of the Liutizi alliance in the middle of the 11th century, the German expansion in the direction of the Northern March remained at a standstill and the Wends east of the Elbe remained independent for approximately 150 years. The Veleti (Wieleten Wieleci or Wilzi(ans (also Wiltzes; German Wilzen) were a group of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory

March of Brandenburg

Main article: Margraviate of Brandenburg

In the beginning of the 12th century, the German kings re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands on the eastern borders of the Holy Roman Empire. The Margraviate of Brandenburg (Markgrafschaft Brandenburg was a major Principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in In the wake of the Wendish Crusade of 1147, the German magnate Albert the Bear was granted the Northern March by the Emperor Lothair II. The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Crusades undertaken by the Catholic kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian Albert the Bear (Albrecht der Bär c 1100&ndash18 November 1170 was the first Margrave of Brandenburg (as Albert I from 1157 to his death and was briefly Duke Lothair III of Supplinburg (1075 &ndash 1137 was Duke of Saxony (1106 King of Germany (1125 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 to 1137 Some Slavic tribes survived the conquests and still live there today, such as the Sorbs in Lusatia, but others were assimilated through a process of Germanisation. Sorbs (Serbja Serby also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs, are a Slavic people settled in Lusatia Upper and Lower Lusatia Upper Lusatia ( Oberlausitz or Hornja Łužica) is today part of the German state of Saxony except for a small part east of Germanisation (also spelled Germanization) is either the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or Assimilation The church under Albert established dioceses, which with their walled towns protected the townspeople from attack. With the arrival of monks and bishops begins anew the recorded history of the town of Brandenburg, from which would develop the eponymous margraviate.

Albert's control of the region was nominal for several decades, but he engaged in a variety of military and diplomatic actions against the Wends, and saw his control become more real by the middle of the century. In 1150, Albert formally inherited Brandenburg from its last Wendish ruler, the Christian Pribislav. Pribislav Henry (Pribislaw-Heinrich c 1075 &ndash 1150 was a Christian Prince and the last ruler of the Slavic Hevelli tribe in the Albert and his Ascanian descendants made considerable progress in Christianising and cultivating the newly-German lands. The House of Ascania (Askanier was a Dynasty of German rulers

List of margraves

• Dietrich, 965–983
• Lothair, 983–1003
• Werner, 1003–1009
• Bernard, 1009–1051
• William, 1051–1056
• Otto, 1056–1057
• Lothair Udo I, 1056–1057
• Udo II, 1057–1082
• Henry I, 1082–1087
• Lothair Udo III, 1087–1106
• Rudolf I, 1106–1114
• Henry II, 1114–1128
• Udo IV, 1128–1130
• Rudolf I, 1130–1144

Sources

• Reuter, Timothy. Dietrich or Theodoric of Haldensleben (also Theoderic'' died 985 was the first Margrave of the Nordmark from 965 until his deposition in 983 Lothair or Liuthar (died 25 January 1003) was the Margrave of the Northern March from 983 until his death Werner (also Wirinher or Werinharius; died 11 November 1014) was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1003 until 1009 Bernard or Bernhard (died 1051 was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1009 until his death William (died 10 September 1056) was the Margrave of the Nordmark from 1051 until his death Otto (died 26 June 1057) was illegitimate son of Bernard Margrave of the Nordmark, and a Slav mistress Lothair Udo II (c 1025 &ndash 1082 was the Count of Stade and Margrave of the Nordmark from 1057 until his death Timothy Alan Reuter ( January 25 1947 – October 14 2002) grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German- Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056. New York: Longman, 1991.
• Thompson, James Westfall. James Westfall Thompson (1869&ndash1941 was an American historian specializing in the history of medieval and early modern Europe particularly of the Holy Roman Empire and Feudal Germany, Volume II. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. , 1928.

Notes