It was split off the Duchy of Oświęcim, when after eleven years of joint rule the sons of Duke Casimir I in 1445 finally divided the lands among themselves, whereby his eldest son Wenceslaus received the territory around the town of Zator. The fragmentation of the duchy continued after Wenceslaus' death in 1468, when in 1474 his sons Casimir II and Wenceslaus II as well as Jan V and Władysław again divided the Zator territory in two along the Skawa river.
After the death of Casimir II in 1490 however both parts of the duchy were reunited, and in 1494 Jan V as the last surviving brother became its sole ruler. As Jan himself had no heirs, he decided in the same year to sell the duchy to King John I Albert of Poland, under a guarantee that he would remain duke until his death. Jan was killed in 1513 and Zator was united with Poland. At the General sejm of 1564, King Sigismund II Augustus issued privileges of incorporation recognizing both Duchies of Oświęcim and Zator as part of the Polish Crown into the Silesian County of the Kraków Voivodeship, although the Polish kings retained both ducal titles and the name of the Duchy survived in the legal acts (it had however no special privileges).
The Duke of Silesia was the sons and descendants of the Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. In accordance with the last will and testament of Bolesław, upon his death his lands were divided into four or five hereditary provinces distributed among his sons, and a royal province of Kraków reserved for the eldest, who was to be High Duke of all Poland. This was known as the fragmentation of Poland. Subsequent developments lead to further splintering of the duchies.
The Duchy of Greater Poland was a district principality in Greater Poland that was a fiefdom of the Kingdom of Poland. It was formed in 1138 from the territories of the Kingdom of Poland, following its fragmentation started by the testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth. In 1177, the state broke had separated into the duchies of Poznań, Gniezno and Kalisz, and united again in 1279, lasting in that form until 1320, when it was incorporated back into the Kingdom of Poland. Its capital was Poznań.
Zator is an old town on the Skawa river within Oświęcim County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. From 1975 to 1998 it belonged to the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Zator. According to data from December 31, 2008, Zator was inhabited by 4779 people.
The Duchy of Teschen, also Duchy of Cieszyn or Duchy of Těšín, was one of the Duchies of Silesia centered on Cieszyn in Upper Silesia. It was split off the Silesian Duchy of Opole and Racibórz in 1281 during the feudal division of Poland and was ruled by Silesian dukes of the Piast dynasty from 1290 until the line became extinct with the death of Duchess Elizabeth Lucretia in 1653.
The Duchy of Silesia with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval duchy located in the historic Silesian region of Poland. Soon after it was formed under the Piast dynasty in 1138, it fragmented into various Silesian duchies. In 1327, the remaining Duchy of Wrocław as well as most other duchies ruled by the Silesian Piasts passed to the Kingdom of Bohemia as Duchies of Silesia. The acquisition was completed when King Casimir III the Great of Poland renounced his rights to Silesia in the 1335 Treaty of Trentschin.
The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the Kingdom of Bohemia under the Treaty of Trentschin. Thereafter until 1742, Silesia was one of the Bohemian crown lands and lay within the Holy Roman Empire. Most of Silesia was annexed by the King of Prussia under the Treaty of Berlin in 1742. Only the Duchy of Teschen, the Duchy of Troppau and the Duchy of Nysa remained under the control of the Bohemian crown and as such were known as the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia until 1918.
The Duchy of Oświęcim, or the Duchy of Auschwitz, was one of many Duchies of Silesia, formed in the aftermath of the fragmentation of Poland.
The Kraków Voivodeship was a voivodeship (province) in the Kingdom of Poland from the 14th century to the partition of Poland in 1795. Located in the southwestern corner of the country, it was part of the Lesser Poland province.
Jan IV of Oświęcim, was a Duke of Oświęcim during 1434–1456 and Duke of Gliwice from 1465 to 1482.
The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his hereditary province and also the Lesser Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków according to the principle of agnatic seniority.
Bolesław I of Cieszyn was a Duke of half of Bytom and Siewierz from 1405, Duke of Cieszyn and half of both Głogów and Ścinawa from 1410, and Duke of Toszek and Strzelin during 1410–1414.
Bolesław II of Cieszyn , was a Duke of Cieszyn since 1431, ruler over half of Bielsko and Frysztat, and during 1452 sole ruler over one half of Bytom.
Duchy of Racibórz was one of the duchies of Silesia. Its capital was Racibórz in Upper Silesia.
The Treaty of Trentschin was concluded on 24 August 1335 between King Casimir III of Poland and King John of Bohemia as well as his son Margrave Charles IV. The agreement was reached by the agency of Casimir's brother-in-law King Charles I of Hungary and signed at Trencsén Castle in the Kingdom of Hungary. It initiated the transfer of suzerainty over the former Polish province of Silesia to the Kingdom of Bohemia, whereafter the Duchies of Silesia were incorporated into the Bohemian Crown.
Wenceslaus I of Zator, was a Duke of Oświęcim during 1434–1445 and Duke of Zator from 1445 until his death.
Casimir II of Zator, was a Duke of Zator during 1468–1474, and ruler over the eastern half of Zator from 1474 until his death.
Wenceslaus II of Zator, was a Duke of Zator during 1468-1474, and ruler over the eastern half of Zator from 1474 until his death.
Jan V of Zator, was a Duke of Zator during 1468–1474, ruler over the western half of Zator from 1474 to 1494, and ruler of a reunified duchy from 1494 to his death.
Władysław of Zator, was a Duke of Zator during 1468–1474, ruler over the western half of Zator during 1474–1482 and Duke of Wadowice since 1482 until his death.
Jan II of Opole was a Duke of Opole-Brzeg -Strzelce-Niemodlin in 1476, ruler over Gliwice, Toszek, Niemodlin, Bytom, Koźle, and Racibórz. He belonged to the Silesian branch of the Polish Piast dynasty which was the oldest branch of the first Polish royal dynasty.
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