Spytihněv I ( 875 – 915), a member of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...

, was

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...

from 889 (under regency until 894 or 895) until his death in 915.

Life

He was the eldest son of Duke Bořivoj I, the first historically documented

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

ruler, and his wife Ludmila. Because Spytihněv and his younger brother Vratislaus were still minors at the time of their father's death about 889, the Bohemian lands were placed under the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of their suzerain, the

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

n ruler

Svatopluk I Svatopluk I or Svätopluk I, also known as Svatopluk the Great, was a ruler of Great Moravia, which attained its maximum territorial expansion during his reign (870–871, 871–894). Svatopluk's career started in the 860s, when he govern ...

. After Svatopluk died in 894, an inheritance conflict arose between his sons Mojmír II and Svatopluk II. Spytihněv took advantage of the situation to free himself from Moravian vassalage. According to the Frankish chronicle ''

Annales Fuldenses The ''Annales Fuldenses'' or ''Annals of Fulda'' are East Francia, East Frankish chronicles that cover independently the period from the last years of Louis the Pious (died 840) to shortly after the end of effective Carolingian rule in East Fran ...

'', he appeared with another Bohemian duke Witizla at the Imperial Diet (''Reichstag'') in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

in 895 and paid homage to the

East Frankish East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...

King

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894, and the disputed Holy Roman Emperor, ...

. This was an important first step in detaching Bohemia from Moravian rule. He reinforced Přemyslid rule in

Central Bohemia The Central Bohemian Region ( ; ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in the Czech capital Prague, which lies in the centre of the regio ...

around present-day

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, having several castles erected along the borders of his realm at

Mělník Mělník (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

Libušín Libušín is a town in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. Etymology The oldest entry of the name of the village was Ľubošín. The name was derived from the personal name Ľuboša ...

, Tetín, Lštění, and Boleslav. He also continued the extension of

Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...

as the administrative centre of the rising Přemyslid duchy as a replacement for the early medieval gord of

Levý Hradec Levý Hradec is an early medieval Bohemian gord situated 3 km northwest of Prague borders near Roztoky, in the Czech Republic. This fortified settlement served as the original seat of Bořivoj I, the first known Přemyslid ruler. It wa ...

. Spytihněv further strengthened ties with

East Francia East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...

by forming an alliance with Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria, who in 898 fought against Mojmír II with the result that Bohemia finally separated from the Greater Moravian realm. Designed to protect Bohemia against the ravages of Hungarian invasions, the alliance with East Francia also opened Bohemia to

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

culture and paved the way for the eventual triumph of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Czech spiritual affairs. He was confirmed to buried in the Church of the Virgin Mary in Prague Castle, as were many members of the royal

during this period.

DNA

DNA testing on his remains suggests the Přemysl family's Y-haplogroup was

R1b Haplogroup R1b (R-M343), previously known as Hg1 and Eu18, is a human Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is the most frequently occurring paternal lineage in Western Europe, as well as some parts of Russia (e.g. the Bashkirs) and across the Sahel in ...

, common to Western Europe and Czech Republic.

References

{{Authority control 870s births 915 deaths 9th-century monarchs of Bohemia 10th-century monarchs of Bohemia 10th-century dukes in Europe 9th-century dukes in Europe 9th-century people from Bohemia 9th-century Slavs Dukes of Bohemia Year of birth uncertain Christian monarchs Slavic warriors