Nako, Nakon, Nakko, or Nacco (flourished 954 – c. 966) was an

Obotrite The Obotrites ( la, Obotriti, Abodritorum, Abodritos…) or Obodrites, also spelled Abodrites (german: Abodriten), were a confederation of medieval West Slavic tribes within the territory of modern Mecklenburg and Holstein in northern Germany ( ...

leader who, along with his brother

Stoigniew Stoigniew (died October 16, 955) was an Obotrite leader, reigning in the middle of the tenth century. He is mentioned as a member of the princely Nakonid dynasty in the medieval chronicles of Thietmar of Merseburg and Widukind of Corvey. He was the ...

, led the forces of a Slavic

confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

in a revolt against the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, especially Herman Billung, Duke of Saxony. Małecki, Jan Marian. A history of Kraków for everyone. pg. 18 In 955 Nako and Stoignew were defeated at the

Battle of Recknitz The Battle on the Raxa river (german: Schlacht an der Raxa) was fought on 16 October 955 over control of the Billung march (in present-day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northeast Germany) between the forces of Otto I of Germany allied with the Rani tri ...

Otto I of Germany Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...

. While Stoignew was beheaded, Nako probably accepted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

, because there followed roughly thirty years of peace, during which, according to

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von Bremen) (before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Ges ...

, the Slavs were Christian. Nako and his successors, the

Nakonids The Nakonids were the leading nobility, noble family of the Polabian Slavs, Slavic peoples of the Elbe River from ca. 960 until 1129. They were themselves of Obotrite origin and engineered the formation of a Slavic principality in the region. They b ...

, resided in a "ringwall" of fortresses:

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwer ...

, Starigard,

Liubice Liubice, also known by the German name Alt-Lübeck ("Old Lübeck"), was a medieval West Slavic settlement near the site of modern Lübeck, Germany. Liubice was located at the confluence of the Schwartau with the Trave across from Teerhof Island, ...

, and

Lenzen Lenzen (Elbe) is a small town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. The town lies to the north of the Löcknitz River, not far from where the Löcknitz flows into the Elbe. It is part of the '' Amt'' Lenzen-Elbtalaue. Overview ...

(Lunkini). When the Sephardic geographer

Abraham ben Jacob Ibrahim ibn Yaqub ( ar, إبراهيم بن يعقوب ''Ibrâhîm ibn Ya'qûb al-Ṭarṭûshi'' or ''al-Ṭurṭûshî''; he, אברהם בן יעקב, ''Avraham ben Yaʿakov''; 961–62) was a tenth-century Hispano-Arabic, Sephardi Jewish t ...

travelled through the territory, he referred to Mecklenburg, Nako's principal palace, as "Nako's castle." He was succeeded by his sons

Mstivoj Mstivoj (925? - 995) was an Obodrite prince (''princeps Winulorum'') from 965 or 967 until his death. He inherited his position along with his brother Mstidrag from their father Nako in an unknown year. Name Mstiwoj is an old Slavic name popular ...

and Mstidrag, but they abandoned Christianity and revolted against the Germans again.

References

Obotrite princes 10th-century births 960s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain {{Germany-hist-stub