OTTAKAR I (d. 1230)  ,

king of Bohemia, was a younger son of King Vladislav II . (d . 1174) and a member of the Premyslide family, hence he is often referred to as Premysl Ottakar I . His early years were passed amid the anarchy which prevailed everywhere in his native land; after several struggles, in which he took part, he was recognized as ruler of Bohemia by the emperor Henry VI. in 1192 . He was, however, soon overthrown, but renewing the fight in 1196 he forced his brother, King Vladislav III., to abandon Bohemia to him and to content himself with Moravia . Although confirmed in the posses"sion of his kingdom by the German king, Philip, duke of Swabia, Ottakar soon deserted Philip, who thereupon declared him deposed . He then joined the rival German king, Otto of Brunswick, afterwards the emperor Otto IV., being recognized as king of Bohemia both by Otto and by his ally, Pope Innocent III . Philip's consequent invasion of Bohemia was a great success . Ottakar, having been compelled to pay a fine, again ranged himself among Philip's partisans and still later was among the supporters of the young king, Frederick II . He united Moravia with Bohemia in 1222, and when he died in December 1230 he left to his son, Wenceslaus I., a kingdom united and comparatively peaceable .