In
984 Bolesław married unknown daughter of
Rikdag (Riddag, Ricdag),
Margrave of Meißen. Subsequently he married unknown woman from Hungray, maybe daughter of
Geza, Grand Duke of
Hungary; then
Emnilda, daughter of
Dobromir, Duke of
Lusatia (their daughter Regelinde became the wife of Hermann of Meißen); and lastly Oda, another daughter of the Margrave of Meißen. His wives bore him sons, including
Bezprym, Mieszko II and Otton; and a daughter,
Mathilde. After his father's death around 992, Bolesław expelled his father's second wife,
Oda von Haldensleben, and her sons, thereby attempting to unite Poland again.
In
997 Bolesław sent Saint
Adalbert of Prague to
Prussia, on the
Baltic Sea, on a mission to convert the heathen
Prussians to
Christianity — an attempt that would end in Adalbert's
martyrdom and subsequent
canonization.
From his father, he had inherited their principality, centered on Greater Poland, being along the river
Warta ("valley of Warta"), and much smaller than modern Poland.
By 997, Bolesław already possessed
Silesia and
Pomerania (with its chief city,
Gdańsk) and
Lesser Poland (with its chief city,
Cracow). In
1002 Bolesław annexed present-day
Moravia, and in
1001 or
1003, parts of present-day
Slovakia.
In
1000, Emperor Otto III, while on pilgrimage to the tomb of
St. Adalbert at
Gniezno, invested Bolesław with the title
Frater et Cooperator Imperii ("Brother and Partner in the Empire"). Some historians state that the Emperor also pledged a royal crown to Bolesław. During that same visit, Otto III accepted Gniezno's status as an
archbishopric (see
Congress of Gniezno).
After the untimely death of the
Emperor Otto III at age 22 in
1002, Bolesław supported
Eckard I, Margrave of Meissen for the German throne. When Eckard was assassinated in April, Bolesław lent his support to
Henry IV, Duke of Bavaria, and helped make him King as Henry II. Bolesław and his father had earlier backed
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, against Otto, and Henry IV was the son of the earlier Henry. With Eckard dead, Bolesław laid claim to the
March of Meissen as a relative of Eckard through marriage, but Henry only acquiesced to give him the
March of Lusatia and detach it from Meissen. Henry remained suspicious of Bolesław for his early support for Eckard and Bolesław for his part remained committed to extending his own territories at the expense of the Empire.
Bolesław conquered, and made himself Duke of,
Bohemia in
1003 -
1004, ruling as
Boleslav IV.
At the request of his son-in-law
Sviatopolk I of Kiev, the Polish duke intervened in
Kievan affairs: not only did he expel
Yaroslav the Wise from Kiev, but possibly he deployed his troops in Rus' capital for about half a year (see
Kiev Expedition of 1018). According to popular legend Bolesław notched his sword hitting the gate of
Kiev (this sword called
Szczerbiec is a symbol of polish
monarchy). During this campaign Poland re-annexed the
Red Strongholds, later called
Red Ruthenia, lost by Bolesław's father in
981.
The intermittent wars with the
Holy Roman Empire ended with the
Peace of Bautzen in
1018, which left
Sorbian Meißen and
Lusatia in Polish hands.
Emperor Henry II obliged Bolesław to pledge his fealty again in exchange for the lands that he held in
fief. After Henry's death in
1024, Bolesław crowned himself
king (1025), thus raising Poland to the rank of a
kingdom and being the first Polish king, his predecessors having been "princes".
Bolesław sent an army to aid his friend — also his nephew, son of his sister
Sigrid —
Canute the Great in his conquest of
England.
Bolesław's son,
Mieszko II, crowned himself king immediately upon his father's death.
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