Duchy of Bytom

Origins

When Władysław of Opole died in 1281, his lands were divided among his sons. Casimir received Bytom, an old market town in eastern Upper Silesia, together with lands around Gliwice and Koźle. In 1289 he paid homage to Wenceslaus II of Bohemia, the first Silesian duke to accept Bohemian overlordship.

Rule and society

The duchy was small, with farmland, forests and early silver and lead mining around Bytom. Casimir's son Władysław ruled it in the early 14th century, and later dukes divided it into smaller shares. The population was largely Polish-speaking, with German settlers in the towns.

Decline and legacy

After the Bytom line died out in 1355, the duchy was divided between the dukes of Oleśnica and Cieszyn and later fragmented further, with parts passing among Silesian princes until the end of the 15th century. It eventually came under the Bohemian crown, and Bytom is now in Poland.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.