Mieszko II was the son of Bolesław Chrobry and Emnida. He was born in the year 990. In 1013 he married the German princess Ryksa. His father thought it fit to properly raise Mieszko in the details of governing. He was destined to do the one thing that his father did not intend: to divide Poland among his children, which was in fact a common practice at that time.

Mieszko was crowned along with Ryksa in the year 1025 and promised to carry on the policies of his great predecessors. In doing this he was forced to inherit the wars with the Germans in which he was supported by the tribes of the Lutyk�w. At the start, the outcome looked favorable, but in the year 1031 he was attacked from the east by the Russians and was forced to concede ˜uüyce to the German Emperor Konrad II in exchange for peace. At this point Mieszko II never saw Poland again. Along with this, his brothers Bezprym and Otto started a rebellion against Mieszko, forcing him to leave the kingdom. He stayed in exile in the lands of the Czechs. He returned to Poland after the death of Bezpryma with the aid of Konrad II but under the condition that he renounced his title as king and divided his kingdom to his close relatives. He tried to unify the kingdom once more, but his power was too weak at this point.

Mieszko II died in the year 1034 and after his death the country was thrown into confusion. The Polish chronicler Gall Anonim wrote that slaves were raised to noblemen, the Catholic religion was rebelled against, and rebellions were set against Bishops and priests. The Hungarians benefitted by gaining Slovakia, the Czechs got Moravia and Silesia and for a brief while Gniezno, while the Danes acquired Pomerania.