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32- جيرو الاول ( العظيم )
Gero I (c. 900 – 20 May 965), called the Great (Latin
magnus
), ruled an initially modest
march
centred on
Merseburg
, which he expanded into a vast territory named after him: the
marca Geronis
. During the mid-10th century, he was the leader of the
Saxon
Drang nach Osten
.
Succession and early conflicts</SPAN>
Gero was the son of
Count Thietmar
, tutor of
Henry I
. He was appointed by
King Otto I
to succeed his brother,
Siegfried
, as count and
margrave
in the district fronting the
Wends
on the lower
Saale
in 937. His appointment frustrated
Thankmar
, the king's half-brother and Siegfried's cousin, and together with
Eberhard of Franconia
and
Wichmann the Elder
, he revolted against the king (938). Thankmar was dead within a year and his accomplices came to terms with Otto. Gero was kept in his march.
During the insurrection of his opponents, Gero had been prosecuting a losing war against the Slavs in 937–938. The losses his troops sustained could not be made up for by the produce of the land nor by tribute, since the Slavs refused to pay. As an important marcher lord, Gero's command included
milites ad manum Geronis presidis conscripti
, that is, a "military following," "warband of vassals or companions," or "specially chosen group of fighters" differentiated from the rest of the army (
exercitus
). These men formed the elite of Gero's troops.
Slav campaigns</SPAN>
In 939, an
Obodrite
attack left a German army routed and its margravial leader dead. Gero in revenge invited thirty Slav chieftains to a banquet whereat he killed all but one, who managed to escape by accident. In response, the
Stodorani
revolted against German overlordship and chased the Germans across the Elbe, but Gero was able to reverse this before Otto's arrival in
Magdeburg
later in the year. He subsequently bribed
Tugumir
, a baptised Slav prince, to betray his countryman and make his people subject to Germany. Soon after, the Obodrites and the
Wilzes
made submission.
In 954, while Gero was away, the
Ukrani
(or Ucri) revolted, but Gero returned with
Conrad the Red
and pacified them.
In 955, some Saxon counts rebelled and were banished by
Duke Herman
. They found refuge in
Swetlastrana
, a Slav town, location unknown, where the Obodrite chiefs
Nakon
and
Stoinegin
(or Stojgnev) resided. There Herman besieged them until an agreement was reached, but an ensuing skirmish spoiled the peace. The Obodrites, Wilzes,
Chrepienyani
,
Redarii
, and
Dolenzi
then banded together to oppose the coming army of Gero, the king, and
Liudolf, Duke of Swabia
. After negotiations failed because the Germans harsh terms, the Slavs were defeated in battle on the
Drosa
.
[7]
Gero participated in general Saxon campaigns against the Slavs in 957, 959, and 960, as well as campaigning against the Wends and forcing
Mieszko I
of the
Polans
to pay tribute, grant land lien, and recognise German sovereignty during Otto's absence in Italy (962–963).
[8]
Lusatia, according to
Widukind
, was subjected "to the last degree of servitude."
[9]
Gero was responsible for subjecting the
Liutizi
and
Milzini
(or Milciani) and extending German suzerainty over the whole territory between the
Elbe
and the
Bober
.
[2]
In these lands, the native Slavic populace was reduced to serfdom and "tribute-paying peoples" were converted into "census-paying peasants."
Relationship with Church and family</SPAN>
Gero had a close relationship to Otto I. Otto was godfather to Gero's eldest son, Siegfried, and he granted Siegfried the
villae
of
Egeln
and
Westeregeln
in the
Schwabengau
in 941. As an act of devotion, Gero made a pilgrimage to
Rome
in 959 after Siegfried's death. In Siegfried's name, in 960, he also founded a
Romanesque
monastery in a forest named after him,
Geronisrode
(
Gernrode
), and left a large part of his great wealth to it on his death.
[13]
This monastery, dedicated to
St Cyriacus
,
[14]
was later converted into a convent.
[15]
Gero's second son, Gero II, had already died at that point. The name of Gero's wife has to be hypothesised from
libri memoriales
: it was either Judith (Iudita) or Thietsuuind (Thietswind).
Death and division of territory</SPAN>
At his death, Gero's march extended as far as the
Neisse
river. He was not popular with the Saxon nobility of his day, because he had a strong sense of moral rectitude and was of low birth.
Nonetheless, he became celebrated in the
Nibelungenlied
as the
marcgrâve Gêre
, though have disputed whether he was ever officially accorded that title.
[
Gero's tomb can still be see in Gernrode today. A decorative painting was added to it c. 1350. It depicts Gero standing over a vanquished Wend.
[18]
After his death, the huge territory he had conquered was divided by the Emperor Otto into several different marches: the
Northern March
(under
Dietrich of Haldensleben
), the
Eastern March
(under
Odo I
), the
March of Meissen
(under
Wigbert
), the
March of Merseburg
(under
Günther
) and the
March of Zeitz
(under
Wigger I
). Later the Northern March was subdivided into the marches of
Landsberg
,
Lusatia
, and
Brandenburg
.
The division of Gero's "super-march" probably had something to do with its immense size and the political consideration of trying to please many without making enemies.
[19]
The subdivisions into which it was divided, however, were natural. As early as 963, Lusatia — and even upper and lower Lusatia — and the Ostmark were distinguishable as governable provinces within Gero's march.
[2]
Sources</SPAN>
The primary chronicle sources for Gero's life are those of
Widukind of Corvey
and
Thietmar of Merseburg
, on which most of the work in the secondary sources is based
ربما ان ابرز معلومه عن هذا العظيم هي انه جاء من عائلة من عامة الشعب ( ليس من النبلاء ) لكنه حتما مجهول الطفولة ولا يكاد يعرف شيء عن الظروف التي نشأ فيها حتى ان تاريخ ميلاده غير مؤكد.
مجهول الطفولة
رد مع الإقتباس