← Explore on the interactive map

Eastward Expansion of German Princes

Type Event Region Eastern Europe Time 1091–1099

In the 1090s, princes such as Saxony and Meissen pushed colonization and conquest east of the Elbe while the emperor was preoccupied with civil war a…

Timeline

  1. 1091–1095Saxon March · SaxonyMargraves and other princes of the Saxon March used the emperor's deep involvement in domestic affairs to consolidate a line of castles east of the Elbe and push into Slav lands, expanding the realm of Christian rule through military conquest and settlement.
  2. 1095–1098Meissen · SaxonyThe Margraviate of Meissen continued expanding eastward in the 1090s, establishing strongholds in places like Złotoryja and Lusatia, promoting eastward migration of German peasants and land reclamation, forming an early pattern of eastward colonization.
  3. 1097–1099Pomeranian frontier · PomeraniaGerman princes and ecclesiastical forces applied military and missionary pressure on the Wends (western Slavic tribes); border conflicts in the late 1090s created conditions for the larger Wendish Crusade around 1100.

Sources