From Rocznik Sędziwoja, annals written in the mid-fifteenth century, the entry for the year 1192: "Cracovia civitas devastata est a Mescone loripede dicto Platonogy nepote ducis Kazimiriensis filio Wladislai exulis" (en: "The city of Kraków was devastated by Mieszko the bandy-legged, called Platonogy, nephew of Duke Casimir, son of Władysław the Exile").

From 1146, after the deposition of his father, Mieszko and his family mainly lived in the town of Altenburg in Saxony, which was granted as a temporary possession to Władysław II by Agnes's half-brother King Conrad III of Germany.

His sons continued the fight to recover their inheritance, and finally three years later, in 1163, and thanks to the intervention of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, Mieszko and his older brother Bolesław I the Tall returned to Silesia.

At first, their rule did not extend over the major Silesian cities, which remained under the control of Bolesław IV the Curly, then the high duke of Poland.

On the other hand, Bolesław the Tall suffered a further diminution of his authority when he was compelled to give Głogów to his youngest brother Konrad, who had recently returned from Germany and claimed his part over the Silesian inheritance.

However, Kraków and the nobility of Sandomierz, led by the voivode Nicholas, had other plans and decided to support Casimir II's eldest son, Leszek the White.

Both sides clashed in the bloody Battle of Mozgawa (Mozgawą) near Jędrzejów (13 September 1195), where Mieszko III was seriously injured and his son Bolesław of Kuyavia died.

Thanks to the intervention of Henryk Kietlicz, Archbishop of Gniezno, and Cyprian, Bishop of Wroclaw, Henry I maintained his frontiers, but he had to pay 1000 pieces of silver to his supporters.

On 9 June 1210, a papal bull was decreed by Pope Innocent III, under which all of the seniorate rulers (included High Duke Leszek the White) were deposed and excommunicated.

Mieszko, however, was not present in Borzykowa;[note 3] with the support of the Gryfici family, he decided to lead his army and march into Kraków, where the confusion among the citizens left him in total control over the capital without fighting.