Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, called Otto the Rich ( – 9 February 1123), was the first

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlos ...

prince to call himself count of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making i ...

, and was also briefly named duke of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

. He was the father of

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (german: Albrecht der Bär; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Bal ...

, who later conquered Brandenburg from the Slavs and called himself its first margrave. Otto was the eldest son of

Adalbert II, Count of Ballenstedt Adalbert II of Ballenstedt ( – 1076/1083), an early member of the House of Ascania, was '' Graf'' (count) in Saxony and '' Vogt'' of Nienburg Abbey. Life Adelbert, first mentioned in a 1033 deed, was born at Ballenstedt Castle in the Saxon Sc ...

and

Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde ( - 28 March 1100) was the daughter of Otto I of Meissen and a member of the family of the counts of Weimar and Orlamünde. She married successively, Adalbert II of Ballenstedt, count palatine Herman II, and Henry ...

, daughter of Otto I, Margrave of Meissen. After the death of his father-in-law,

Magnus, Duke of Saxony Magnus ( – 23 August 1106) was the duke of Saxony from 1072 to 1106. Eldest son and successor of Ordulf and Wulfhild of Norway, he was the last member of the House of Billung. Rebellion In 1070, before he was duke, he joined Otto of Nordheim, ...

, in 1106, Otto inherited a significant part of Magnus' properties, and hoped to succeed him as duke. However,

Lothar of Supplinburg Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before b ...

was named duke in his stead. In 1112, after Lothar had been banned, Otto was appointed duke of Saxony by Emperor Henry V; but in the same year, he came into a dispute with the emperor and was stripped of his ducal title. He now allied himself with Lothar, and helped Lothar defeat

Hoyer I, Count of Mansfeld Hoyer or Høyer can refer to: People ; Surname * Anna Ovena Hoyer (1584-1655), German-born writer and poet, active in Sweden * Arne Høyer (1928-2010), Danish sprint canoeist who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics * Bizzie Høyer (1888-1971), D ...

, who had been named duke of Saxony by the Emperor, in 1115. Otto conquered the areas around

Zerbst Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district. Geography Zerbst is situated in the Anhalt-Wittenberg regi ...

and

Salzwedel Salzwedel (, officially known as Hansestadt Salzwedel; Low German: ''Soltwedel'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel, and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salz ...

from

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

, and maintained Lothar's support once Lothar became king in 1125. He also claimed the County of Weimar-Orlamünde, of which his mother was the heir.

Family

Otto married Eilika, the daughter of

, before 1095. They had the following children: *

(1100–1170) *

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

(died after 1139), married Henry IV, Count of Stade, and in 1139, Werner, Count of Osterburg

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Count of Ballenstedt 1070s births 1123 deaths Year of birth uncertain Counts of Anhalt Dukes of Saxony 12th-century Saxon people