Northern March

Northern March also Nordmark, was the Holy Roman Empire territorial organisation on the conquered areas of Wends. In 948 Emperor Otto I the Great established German control over the now largly Slavic inhabitants of the area and founded the dioceses of Havelberg and Brandenburg, but he died in 983. In the great uprising in 983 the Slavs wiped out German control from the territory of present day Brandenburg. The monasteries were buried, priests and Germans officials killed or expelled. The Slavic tribes living east of Elbe remained independent and pagan for the next 150 years. In 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate Albert the Bear was granted the Northern March by the Holy Roman Emperor Lothar II. In the beginning of the 12th century the Saxon German kings and emperors conquered the lands of eastern and southern Germania, which had been previously inhabited by Slavic peoples. Many Slavic inhabitants survived the conquests and live there until today - Sorbs, Lusatians. The church brought bishoprics, which with their walled towns, afforded protection for the townspeople from attack. With the monks and bishops started recorded history in the town of Brandenburg, that should grow to the realm of Brandenburg. For some time up until the 15th century, some part of the area that would become Brandenburg was inhabited by the Slavic Wends, who still make up a part of the area's modern population. Albert's control of the region was nominal for several decades, but he engaged in a variety of campaigns against the Wends, as well as more diplomatic efforts which saw his control become more real by the middle of the century. In 1150, he formally inherited Brandenburg from its last Wendish ruler, Pribislav. Albert, and his descendants the Ascanians, then made considerable progress in Christianizing and cultivating the lands.