page_title: Mieszko III the Old
section_title: Exile and return to Greater Poland
hierarchical_section_title: Mieszko III the Old / Exile and return to Greater Poland
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Mapa polityczna Wielkopolski w latach 1138 - 1202. Autor&#160;: Zuber
context_page_description: Mieszko III the Old, of the royal Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death.
  He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland, by his second wife Salomea, daughter of the German count Henry of Berg-Schelklingen.
context_section_description: By 1179, Mieszko went to Bohemia, ruled by his son-in-law Soběslav II, who nevertheless refused to help him. Mieszko then turned to Germany and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who offered help in his restoration on the Polish throne upon a payment of 10,000 pieces of silver, a sum that Mieszko couldn't amass. Finally in Pomerania, his other son-in-law Duke Bogislaw I agreed to help him. By the agency of his Pomeranian allies, Mieszko forged links with their Polish followers, grouped around Zdzisław, Archbishop of Gniezno, and in 1181 he was able to conquer the eastern Greater Polish lands of Gniezno and Kalisz, which at that time were part of the Seniorate Province. Soon after, Mieszko also managed to recover western Greater Poland, and Odon was pushed to the lands south of the Obra River. In 1182 a formal reconciliation between father and son was achieved. During these events, and for unknown reasons, High Duke Casimir II the Just remained in total passivity; thanks to this, Mieszko had the opportunity to recover all Greater Poland.
  Mieszko still had the intention to recover the lordship over all Poland. In 1184 he tried to forge an alliance with Frederick Barbarossa's son, King Henry VI of Germany, offering him a large sum of silver. Casimir II the Just, however, knew his intentions and had simply sent Henry more money than Mieszko.
  After his failure with the German king, Mieszko decided to take control over Masovia and Kuyavia, then ruled by his nephew Leszek, the only surviving son of Bolesław IV. Mieszko convinced Leszek to name him as his successor if he died without issue. However in 1185, one year before his death, Leszek changed his testament and appointed his younger uncle High Duke Casimir II the Just as his successor, possibly as a result of the harsh proceedings of the Duke of Greater Poland. This time Mieszko acted quickly, and upon Leszek's death in 1186 he took the Kuyavia region and annexed it to his Duchy. Shortly thereafter he ceded this land to his son Bolesław.
caption: Greater Poland under Mieszko III:   Poznań, held by Odon 1177–82   Poznań, held by Odon 1177–1194, by Władysław III 1194–1202   Kalisz, conquered in 1181, held by Mieszko the Younger 1191–93, by Odon 1193–94   Gniezno, conquered in 1181   Kuyavia, held by Bolesław 1186–95
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