Leszek I the White (; c. 1184/1185 – 24 November 1227) was Prince of Sandomierz and High Duke of Poland in the years 1194–1198, 1199, 1206–1210, and 1211–1227. During the early stages of his reign, his uncle Duke Mieszko III the Old and cousin Władysław III Spindleshanks, from the Greater Polish branch of the royal Piast dynasty, contested Leszek's right to be High Duke.Malcolm Barber, The Two Cities, p. 368
Leszek was the third or fourth,The existence of a third son of Casimir II named Odon is controversial; however, recent historiography believes that he might have been a real person. K. Jasiński: Rodowód Piastów małopolskich i kujawskich, Poznań–Wrocław 2001, p. 247. but eldest surviving son of Casimir II the Just and his wife Helen of Znojmo.
Struggle for the succession When Casimir II died on 5 May 1194, Leszek was only nine or ten years old. K. Jasiński, writing in 2001, puts his birth year as 1184 or 1185,K. Jasiński: Rodowód Piastów małopolskich i kujawskich, Poznań–Wrocław 2001, pp. 23–25. while an older historiography claimed 1186 or 1187.O. Balzer: Genealogia Piastów, Kraków 2005, pp. 459–460 (1st ed. 1895) The regency was exercised by his mother Helen, who counted on the help of Mikołaj Gryfita, wojewoda of Kraków, and Fulko, Bishop of Kraków.
However, Leszek's uncle Mieszko III the Old – who had been ruler of Kraków from 1173 to 1177 and was deposed after a national rebellion against him – refused to accept this, and with the help of powerful Lesser Poland families, decided to reconquer Kraków.
The war began in 1195. On the side of Leszek and his youngest brother Konrad fought the nobility of Kraków and Sandomierz, and the Rurikid Prince Roman of Vladimir-in-Volhynia. Mieszko III the Old was able to negotiate with his Silesian relatives Mieszko Tanglefoot, Duke of Racibórz, and his nephew Jarosław, Duke of Opole, who promised to send food to him during the campaign.
An extremely bloody battle took place on 13 September 1195 at Mozgawa near Jędrzejów. In the first phase of the battle, the Greater Poland armies – personally commanded by Mieszko III and his son Bolesław – faced the forces of wojewoda Mikołaj and Prince Roman. This battle was inconclusive and ended with the withdrawal of Mieszko III, distraught by the death of his son during the fight. The supporters of Leszek and Konrad decided not to pursue the retreating enemy and returned to Kraków, because the casualties were great and among the injured was Prince Roman. However, this was not the end of the battle, as the troops of Sandomierz led by wojewoda Goworek arrived and attacked the Silesian army of Mieszko Tanglefoot and Jarosław of Opole, who also arrived late to the battlefield. This second phase of the battle was decisively won by the Silesians, but with the escape of Mieszko III to Greater Poland, the Silesians also decided to retreat, taking with them the captured wojewoda Goworek, who regained his freedom a few months later by payment of a ransom.
The withdrawal of Mieszko III the Old during the Battle of Mozgawą allowed Leszek (or more accurately, his regents) to maintain power for the next three years. However, in 1198, Mieszko III finally regained power over the Seniorate Province through an agreement with Helen of Znojmo. On behalf of her eldest son, the Dowager Duchess and Regent formally resigned his control of Kraków in exchange for recognition of his rights over Lesser Poland and Masovia, and receipt of Kujavia (for according to historians, Mieszko III and his son Bolesław had taken over the government of Kujavia after the death of Leszek, Duke of Masovia). This time (with a short interruption in 1199), Mieszko III remained in control over Kraków until his death on 13 March 1202.
Some time earlier (ca. 1200), Leszek and Konrad, who had reached their majority and began to rule personally, decided to divide their domains. Konrad received Masovia and Kuyavia, while Leszek retained only Sandomierz, probably with the hope of eventually reconquering the Seniorate Province and the adjacent land of Sieradz-Łęczyca.
After the death of Mieszko III, the reinstatement of Leszek was proposed. His former ally, Mikołaj Gryfita, fearing his loss of political influence, demanded the dismissal of Leszek's closest collaborator, Goworek. The wojewoda of Sandomierz was ready to step down in order to obtain Kraków for his master, but Leszek, unwilling to discard him, strongly refused this request. In view of this impasse, Mikołaj Gryfita invited the youngest and only surviving son of Mieszko III, Władysław III Spindleshanks, to be the new ruler of Kraków.
It is unknown how long Władysław III ruled over Kraków. According to some historians, his reign ended a few months after the death of his father, in autumn 1202; according to others (and this version seems more likely) it lasted until 1206 or even 1210. In any case, some time after the death of Mikołaj Gryfita (also in 1202), the Kraków nobility invited Leszek to reassume the government without any conditions.
In 1207, Leszek placed his domains under the vassalage of the pope, at that time Innocent III. This put Poland clearly in the camp of pro-Papal territories in opposition to the power of the Holy Roman Emperor. After that, Leszek cooperated closely with Archbishop Henry Kietlicz in implementing the reforms of Innocent III.Halecki and Polonsky. Poland. p. 29
Intervention in Kievan Rus'
In the early years of his rule, Leszek's policy focused mainly in Kievan Rus'. In 1199 he helped Prince Roman of Vladimir-in-Volhynia with troops to reconquer the Principality of Galicia, probably in gratitude for Roman's assistance against Mieszko III at Mozgawa in 1195. This alliance ended unexpectedly in 1205, however, when Roman decided to support Władysław III Spindleshanks' effort to recover the Seniorate Province (which supports the theory that Władysław III was expelled in 1202). Roman then invaded the domains of Leszek and Konrad for unknown reasons (although historians believe that this was due to the intrigues of Władysław III), venturing deep into their territory. Both forces clashed in the Battle of Zawichost (14 October 1205), where Roman was defeated and killed.
Leszek and Konrad then became involved in the conflict associated with the succession of Roman's domains, which was further complicated by the intervention of King Andrew II of Hungary, who supported the rights of Roman's widow and children. Leszek and his brother initially led a coalition of Rurikid princes who wanted to remove Roman's children from Vladimir-in-Volhynia and Galicia. However, after some time, and in order to avoid a war with Hungary, they decided to sign a treaty. In 1206, Leszek met with Andrew II in Volhynia, and afterwards the influence of the Hungarian rulers over Vladimir-in-Volhynia and Galicia was exclusive.
Despite the agreement with the Hungarian King, the conflict continued. Shortly after, Roman's widow and her younger son Vasilko, displeased with the Hungarian rule, decided to escape to Poland, where they found refuge at Leszek's court; her eldest, Daniel had already been sent to the court of Andrew II. During their exile in Poland, they received the land of Belz.
A further confirmation of an active policy in Kievan Rus' was the marriages of Leszek and Konrad with Rurikid princesses. Leszek first married a daughter (name unknown) of Ingvar Yaroslavich, Prince of Lutsk, and then Grzymisława, perhaps a daughter of Yaroslav III Vladimirovich, Prince of Novgorod. Meanwhile, Konrad married Agafia, daughter of Svyatoslav III Igorevich, Prince of Peremyshl.
In 1210, Andrew II decided to replace the reigning prince of Vladimir-in-Volhynia with Roman's eldest son, Daniel. However, not wanting to lose his political influence, he decided to send his troops there. The expected Polish-Hungarian confrontation did not occur in the end, because Leszek was forced to have his army return after Mieszko Tanglefoot captured Kraków.
Once the situation in the Seniorate Province was pacified, Leszek returned to Vladimir-in-Volhynia and Galicia in 1212. As a result of his military actions, he took several border towns. However, in 1213, he failed to prevent the capture of Galicia by the Hungarian boyar Władysław. Although a year later, he was defeated at the Bobrka river, the danger of the zone forced the Hungarian troops to retreat. In the same year, wanting to break the difficult relations with Hungary, Leszek, under the pressure of the Kraków aristocracy gathered around the voivode Pakosław, decided to conclude a peace treaty at Spiš. According to this treaty, the government of Galicia–Volhynia was given to Andrew II's second son Coloman, who was to marry Leszek's oldest daughter Salomea. This treaty also gave Leszek territorial acquisitions in Kievan Rus' (the districts of Przemyśl and Lubaczów).
Unfortunately, this alliance with Hungary did not last, because before the end of the year, Leszek decided to support the restoration of Daniel Romanovich in Galicia when it was clear that the local nobility did not accept the rule of Prince Coloman. The ambiguous policy of the Duke of Kraków cost him in 1215 when the Hungarians, impatient with the lack of help in securing the rule of Coloman, broke the alliance. Once the situation in Kievan Rus' seemed to be calm, the Hungarians sent an army against Leszek, using his support of Daniel as the rationale. During this campaign, Leszek lost the lands of Przemyśl and Lubaczów.
After this defeat, Leszek wanted to make an alliance with Mstislav Mstislavich, Prince of Novgorod. This new political approach failed to bring Leszek any positive results, because it prompted an alliance between Daniel Romanovich and Mstislav against him. As a result, the Duke of Kraków lost a small area between the Narew and Bug rivers in 1218.
These successive failures forced Leszek to reconsider his previous alliance with Andrew II of Hungary. This time, the treaty between them was sealed with the formal marriage between their children, Coloman and Salomea. In return for his resignation over Galicia, Leszek received Volhynia in compensation, after Prince Daniel was expelled.
The expedition under the command of Andrew II and Leszek was finally organized at the end of 1219. The combination of the Polish-Hungarian forces was a success, as Coloman and Salomea were formally proclaimed rulers of Galicia. In that year, Leszek also organized an unsuccessful expedition to Vladimir-in-Volhynia. Another expedition in 1221, this time with the help of Hungary, also ended in failure. Moreover, these invasions prompted Daniel, recently reconciled with Mstislav of Novgorod, to make a retaliatory expedition that ended with the imprisonment of Coloman and Salomea and the proclamation of Mstislav as Prince of Galicia.
However, in 1223, an unexpected alliance developed between Mstislav and Andrew II regarding the succession of Galicia. It was agreed that after Mstislav's death, Galicia would be inherited by Andrew II's youngest son Andrew. This caused a further change in the political situation, as Leszek and Daniel allied against them. Mstislav conducted an expedition against Leszek in 1225 with the help of the Cuman khan Köten. This war, just like the previous ones, ended without a clear outcome despite temporary successes. Moreover, it resulted in another change of alliances in 1227 when Leszek joined with Hungary against Daniel. This was to be Leszek's last intervention in the long-running conflict with Kievan Rus'.
Conflict with Władysław III Spindleshanks