Billung Mark (East Francia)
This article is about the specific polity Billung Mark (East Francia) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Was a frontier region of the far northeastern Duchy of Saxony in the 10th century. It was named after the family which held it, the House of Billung. It was a vassal of East Francia, and later part of the Holy Roman Empire.
Establishment
January 936: The Billung March was formed in 936, when Otto II, Duke of Saxony and King of East Francia, made Hermann Billung princeps militiae (margrave, literally "prince of the militia"), granting him control of the border with rule over the West Slavic Obotrite tribes, including the Polabians, Warnabi and Wagri, as well as the Redarii, Circipani, and Kissini tribes of the Veleti confederation, and the Danes, who had repeatedly campaigned the territory.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
The Magyars (or Hungarians) successfully conquered the Carpathian Basin (corresponding to the later Kingdom of Hungary) by the end of the ninth century, and launched a number of plundering raids thoughout Europe.
January 937: Hungarian raid against Saxony (in 936).
February 937: Hungarian raid against Saxony (in 936). The territories were left after the raid.
January 939: In 938, the Magyars repeatedly attacked Saxony.
February 939: In 938, the Magyars repeatedly attacked Saxony. The territories were left after the raid.
The Frankish Kingdom was partitioned and reuinited several times as the Frankish rulers used to divide their territories equally among their heirs. This lead also to a number of wars and revolts.
2.1.Incoronation of Otto I
East Frankish King Otto I was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor.
February 962: The Billung March was formed in 936, when Otto II, Duke of Saxony and King of East Francia, made Hermann Billung princeps militiae (margrave, literally "prince of the militia"), granting him control of the border with rule over the West Slavic Obotrite tribes, including the Polabians, Warnabi and Wagri, as well as the Redarii, Circipani, and Kissini tribes of the Veleti confederation, and the Danes, who had repeatedly campaigned the territory.
January 961: From c. 960 Harald Bluetooth appears to have established a kingdom in the lands of the Danes which stretched from Jutland to Skåne.
Disestablishment
February 962: The Billung March was formed in 936, when Otto II, Duke of Saxony and King of East Francia, made Hermann Billung princeps militiae (margrave, literally "prince of the militia"), granting him control of the border with rule over the West Slavic Obotrite tribes, including the Polabians, Warnabi and Wagri, as well as the Redarii, Circipani, and Kissini tribes of the Veleti confederation, and the Danes, who had repeatedly campaigned the territory.
Selected Sources
Reuter, T. (1995): The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900-c. 1024, Cambridge University Press, p. 543
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