# Konrad of Masovia invites the Teutonic Knights (1226)

URL: https://poland-history.com/timeline/1226-konrad-of-masovia-invites-the-teutonic-knights
Location: Masovia
Categories: main-event

Unable to stop Prussian raids, Duke Konrad of Masovia offered Chełmno Land to the Teutonic Order. The knights founded a powerful crusader state that would become Poland's main rival. Within the broader Fragmentation period: After 1138 Poland split into duchies ruled by rival Piast princes. Mongol invasions, German settlement, the growth of towns and the arrival of the Teutonic Knights reshaped the land before it was reunited. At this point in the timeline (1226), the governing authority was Leszek I the White (High Duke of Poland). Senior duke murdered at the Gąsawa assembly in 1227; his death deepened the fragmentation of Poland. Konrad of Masovia invites the Teutonic Knights mattered because diplomacy defined Poland's relations with its neighbours and the wider world. The event is placed here so readers can follow it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion and culture across Polish history.

## Why it matters
Konrad of Masovia invites the Teutonic Knights mattered because diplomacy defined Poland's relations with its neighbours and the wider world.

Ruler at the time: [Władysław III Spindleshanks](https://poland-history.com/rulers/wladyslaw-iii-spindleshanks)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Teutonic Order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Order)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Konrad of Masovia invites the Teutonic Knights](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Konrad+of+Masovia+invites+the+Teutonic+Knights)
- [Wikipedia — History of Poland during the Piast dynasty (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_during_the_Piast_dynasty#Fragmentation_of_the_realm_(1138%E2%80%931320))