Boleslaw was the son of Mieszko I and the Czech princess Dobrawa. He was coronated as Poland’s first king in 1025. Boleslaw understood the need to garner recognition and forge an alliance with the Western Holy Roman Empire; he subsequently sought after and gained acknowledgment of Polish sovereignty from Otto III. Boleslaw used the growing military might of the united Slavic tribes to gain control over Slavic lands between the Odra and Laba rivers and in Moravy, Grody, Zerwienskie, and Czech. This expansion heightened conflicts and wars with Germany and Kiev Russ sapping the energies of the young and emerging country.

Reigned 992-1025