Person

Gero the Great

c. 900–965 · 10th century · Also known as Margrave Gero

Gero the Great was a Saxon noble whom Otto I appointed in 937 to command the eastern frontier of Saxony against the Slavs. He extended German rule over the Slavic lands between the Saale, Elbe and Oder through harsh campaigns and in 963 forced Mieszko I of Poland to pay tribute. He founded Gernrode Abbey, and after his death in 965 his vast march was divided.

Gero the Great
Image: The original uploader was Mhf77 at German Wikipedia. · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Duchy of SaxonyMilitary

Mentioned in 4 state histories

Marca GeronisMargraviate of Lower LusatiaNorthern MarchMargraviate of Meissen

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Gero the Great. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gero-the-great
MLA
“Gero the Great.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gero-the-great. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Gero the Great.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gero-the-great.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Gero the Great’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gero-the-great (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻