Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, called Otto the Rich ( – 9 February 1123), was the first Ascanian prince to call himself count of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) 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 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

, and was also briefly named duke of Saxony. He was the father of

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (; 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 Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...

, 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 Sch ...

and Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde, daughter of

Otto I, Margrave of Meissen Otto I was the Margrave of Meissen from 1062 until his death in 1067, and the second Margrave of the family of the counts of Weimar and Orlamünde. He was a younger son of William III of Weimar and Oda, daughter of Thietmar, Margrave of the Saxon O ...

. After the death of his father-in-law, Duke Magnus of Saxony, in 1106, Otto inherited a significant part of Magnus' properties, and hoped to succeed him as duke. However, Lothar of Supplinburg 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 Count Hoyer I of Mansfeld, who had been named duke of Saxony by the emperor, in 1115. Otto conquered the areas around

Zerbst Zerbst () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, 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 sit ...

and Salzwedel from

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

, 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. It was during this campaign, which made Otto famous across Germany, as the story goes:

Family

Otto married Eilika of Saxony before 1095. They had the following children: *

(1100–1170) *

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

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