From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medieval territory in Europe
Circipania
(
German
:
Circipanien, Zirzipanien
) was a medieval territory in what is now northeastern
Germany
. The name derives from Latin
circum
(around) and
Pane
(the
Peene
River). The region was enclosed roughly by the upper
Recknitz
,
Trebel
and
Peene
rivers, the western border ran east of
Gustrow
. The region developed in the 10th and 11th centuries, when it was the tribal territory of the
Circipanes
(
German
:
Circipanen, Zirzipanen
), a
West Slavic tribe
which along with the neighboring tribes was a part of the
Lutici federation
. The main
burghs
were
Teterow
,
Malchin
, and
Demmin
.
In 936, the Circipania was incorporated into the
Billung March
of the
Holy Roman Empire
. The Circipanes were one of the four constituent tribes of the Lutici federation centered on
Rethra
, which started a successful uprising in 983. Rid of the empire's overlordship, the Circipanes stayed with the Liutizians until the federation broke apart due to internal struggles in the 1050s, culminating dissolution in 1057. The
Redarians
and
Tollensians
opposed the Circipanes and
Kessinians
struggling for more influence within the federative administration, and allied with the
Obodrites
. The Obodrites successfully invaded Circipania and made it a province of their realm. The internal struggles had weakened the area, such that in the following year it became the target of numerous expeditions of an expansive
Holy Roman Empire
during their
Wendish Crusade
in 1147), then by
Denmark
in the raid of 1170, and finally by the
Duchy of Pomerania
which subdued and incorporated the area into
Pomerania-Demmin
in the late 12th century. The last of the territory was invaded by
Mecklenburg
and subdued in the early 1230s.
The 1230s marked the end of Circipania as a distinct territory as well as the end of the Circipanes. Pomerania-Demmin was in a miserable position and lost most of the territory to the
Margrave of Brandenburg
in the
Treaty of Kremmen
in 1236. Thus, Pomerania-Demmin could not counter the Mecklenburgian advance led by
Borwin III of Rostock
. Circipania would stay divided with Mecklenburg controlling the western bulk with Gustrow and Teterow, and
Pomerania
controlling the eastern smaller part around Demmin. Later the Mecklenburg part divided into Mecklenburg-
Rostock
and Mecklenburg-
Werle
, and the name Circipania dropped out of use.
Though Circipania vanished as a name from political maps, it was still visible on
Roman Catholic
ecclesiastic maps as the Pomeranian province of the
Diocese of Cammin
, because the borders of this province did not differ from that of Circipania and remained as they were before the conquest.
The Circipanes, whose numbers already dwindled due to the previous warfare, were assimilated by the German settlers called in by
Wartislaw III, Duke of Pomerania
before the Mecklenburg conquest, and by Mecklenburg knights during the
Ostsiedlung
.
See also
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Werner Buchholz,
Pommern
, Siedler, 1999, pp. 23ff,
ISBN
3-88680-272-8
- Joachim Herrmann et al.,
Die Slawen in Deutschland
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Regions
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Administration
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Cities and towns
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Inhabited islands
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Peninsulae and
headlands
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Rivers
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Lakes
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Bays, lagoons
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National parks
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Archaeological cultures
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Peoples
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Major demographic events
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Languages and dialects
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Treaties
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1200–1500
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1500–1700
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1700–present
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East Slavs
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West Slavs
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South Slavs
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- Notes
(ethnicity is undefined):
1
= supposedly Eastern Slavic tribes
- 2
= supposedly
Finno-Ugric
tribes
- 3
= some of the Silesian tribes are Germanic, for example
Silings
- 5
= generally considered synonym for early medieval Slovaks
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