Otto, Count of Ballenstedt


Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, called Otto the Rich , was the first Ascanian prince to call himself count of Anhalt, and was also briefly named duke of Saxony. He was the father of Albert the Bear, who later conquered Brandenburg from the Slavs and called himself its first margrave. Otto was the eldest son of Adalbert II, Count of Ballenstedt and Adelheid, daughter of Otto I, Margrave of Meissen. After the death of his fatherinlaw, Magnus, Duke of Saxony, in 1106, Otto inherited a significant part of Magnus properties, and hoped to succeed him as duke. However, Lothar of Supplinburg was named duke in his stead. In 1112, after Lothar had been banned, Otto was appointed duke of Saxony by Emperor Henry V but in the same year, he came into a dispute with the emperor and was stripped of his ducal title. He now allied himself with Lothar, and helped Lothar defeat Hoyer I, Count of Mansfeld, who had been named duke of Saxony by the Emperor, in 1115.

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Source: Wikipedia