Northern March

[1] It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends.

A Lutician rebellion in 983 reversed German control over the region[2] until the establishment of the March of Brandenburg by Albert the Bear in the 12th century.

By 948 his son Otto I had established German control over the many remaining pagans, who were collectively referred to as Slavs or Wends by contemporaries.

[citation needed] The main function of the margravial office was to defend and protect the marches (frontier districts) of the Kingdom of Germany.

After the death of the margrave Gero the Great in 965, the vast collection of marches (a "super-march") was divided by Otto into five smaller commands.

The rebellion of 983, initiated by the Lutici, led to a factual disestablishment of the Northern and Billung marches as well as the corresponding bishoprics, though titular margraves and bishops were still appointed.

[6][7][8][5] In the beginning of the 12th century, the German kings re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands on the eastern borders of the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1134, in the wake of the Wendish Crusade of 1147, the German magnate Albert the Bear was granted the Northern March by Emperor Lothair III.