Ladislaus the Exile

Ladislaus the Exile (1105-1159), the eldest son of Boleslaus the Wrymouthed and under the latter's will the first sovereign prince. In addition to his hereditary province of Silesia, he took over the senior's province, together with Cracow and Gniezno. He sought allies in his efforts to reunify the country. In 1146, he won the support of the emperor Conrad III and turned against his brothers, but was defeated and banished. He sought refuge in Germany. In 1157, he supported the emperor Frederick Barbarossa's expedition against Poland, but he never recovered the throne of the senior prince. He was the first of the Silesian Piast rulers. [art]