The Saxon Eastern March ( German : Sächsische Ostmark ) was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" stems from the Latin term marchia Orientalis and originally could refer to either a march created on the eastern frontier of the East Frankish duchy of Saxony or another on the eastern border of the Duchy of Bavaria : the Bavarian marchia Orientalis (documented as Ostarrîchi in 996), corresponding to later Austria .
15-790: The Saxon Ostmark initially referred to the vast Marca Geronis ('Gero's March'), established about 939 under the rule of King Otto I in the settlement area of the Polabian Slavs ( Sorbs ), beyond the Saxon Eastern border on the Elbe and Saale rivers. The conquered territories were governed by the Eastphalian legate Gero , count in the Nordthüringgau , who was vested with the Carolingian title of margrave . It
30-594: The Ore Mountains . From here the river runs northwards through Saxony ( Grimma , Wurzen , Eilenburg , Bad Düben ) and Saxony-Anhalt ( Jeßnitz and Dessau , the old capital of Anhalt ). The Mulde flows into the Elbe 3 kilometres (2 mi) north of Dessau. In August 2002 a flood caused severe damage, that even endangered the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich" and
45-470: The Ostmark. Some historians even call it the "March of Meissen." Within the span of one page, James Westfall Thompson refers to it as both the " Sorben Mark " and the " Thuringian March ". Part of the complication involved in ascertaining the territoriality of the march over which Gero ruled is the nature of the margravial title in tenth-century Saxony. It may have signified territorial governance, but on
60-522: The Saale in the present-day states of Thuringia , Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt , which was once at the centre of the march. While the borders of the Ostmark changed frequently, in modern times, the term is generally understood to mean the area between the Saale and Mulde rivers. Marca Geronis The Marca Geronis or March of Gero was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It
75-622: The Saale in the west and the Bóbr in the east. Emperor Otto I invested the Saxon count Odo ( Hodo ), one of Gero's relatives, with the title of margrave of the March of Lusatia, an area roughly corresponding to the modern region of Lower Lusatia , which became the heartland of the remaining Saxon Eastern March. During the German-Polish War from 1002 to 1018, Odo's successor Gero II lost
90-581: The central diocese in his march was Magdeburg , it is sometimes called the March of Magdeburg . Other historians prefer to call it the Saxon Eastern March or Ostmark , but these terms are also applied to another march which grew out of it in 965. Because the Marca Geronis was created simultaneously with the March of Billung to the north, it is sometimes said to be the southern half of
105-457: The city Dessau. Its name could be derived from Old German (possibly Gothic ) "Mulda" (𐌼ᚢ𐌻ᛞᚨ), meaning "dust" and a cognate of English " mould "). But more possibly it is related to the German "mahlen" which means "to mill". Therefore, Mulde probably means "the milling river" and corresponds to the great number of water mills driven by the river in former times. This article related to
120-477: The eastern part of the march to Bolesław I of Poland . Nevertheless, Bolesław's son Mieszko II had to return the conquered territory to Emperor Conrad II in 1031. In 1046, Dedi I from the Saxon House of Wettin inherited the march. His son and successor Henry I was, in addition, granted the March of Meissen by Emperor Henry IV in 1089. Both marches remained under Wettin administration and later became
135-669: The establishment of the Northern March around Brandenburg , stretching between the Elbe and Oder rivers, as well as the creation of the March of Lusatia , the March of Meissen , the March of Merseburg and the March of Zeitz in the south. The rule over the Northern March was again lost in the Great Slav Rising of 983. Thereupon, the Saxon Eastern March consisted of the territory between
150-512: The former in 1128 and the latter in 1131. Henry, however, did not prevail, and by 1136, the march had fallen back to the Wettin margrave Conrad of Meissen . During the various divisions of the Wettin lands, the territory was split up several times; most of it belonged to the Ernestine duchies . The term Osterland ( terra orientalis ) is still used today to describe the historic region east of
165-713: The nucleus of the Saxon Electorate . While the Margraviate of Landsberg and the County of Brehna split off from the march, further parts in the west were claimed by the Ascanian Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg and the Counts of Anhalt . The remaining areas were united with the Wettin margraviate of Meissen in 1123. The last time that the Ostmark and Lusatia appear separate is when Henry of Groitzsch received
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#1732765080935180-401: The other hand may have been an honorific for especially powerful counts signifying nothing more than a preeminence in providing defence of the provinces in which were found their counties. It has been suggested that marcher jurisdictions even overlapped within provinces. In 965, Merseburg became the centre of a smaller, more restricted march belonging to Gunther . On Gunther's death in 982, it
195-542: Was his task to collect tributes and to overcome revolts or rebellions in the frontier areas, later partly superseded by Otto's Saxon deputy Hermann Billung . In 963, Gero in late age waged another military campaign against the Slavic Lusatian ( Lusici ) tribes, up to the border with the Polish lands ruled by Mieszko I . After Gero had died without heirs in 965, the tributary lands were divided and re-organised by
210-500: Was probably created for Thietmar in the 920s and passed consecutively to his two sons, Siegfried and Gero . On Gero's death in 965 it was divided into five different marches: the Nordmark , Ostmark , Meissen , Zeitz , and Merseburg . Because Siegfried's and Gero's comital seat was Merseburg , it has sometimes been called the March of Merseburg . However, there is also a Merseburger march which grew out of it after 965. Because
225-625: Was united to the March of Meissen. Mulde The Mulde ( German pronunciation: [ˈmʊldə] ) is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt , Germany . It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is 124 kilometres (77 mi) long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz , of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau ) and the Freiberger Mulde (with Freiberg on its banks), both rising from
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