Opinions vary on whether Władysław played an active role in the plot to depose his brother or whether he was handed the authority simply because he was the best candidate to replace Bolesław.

After this, Władysław's foreign policy gravitated strongly towards appeasing the Holy Roman Empire, and he accepted the overlordship of Emperor Henry IV.

Władysław was forced to accept the terms of his nephew, because his eldest and only son at that time, Zbigniew, was born from a union not recognized by the church.

[citation needed] Although Władysław was formally duke of Poland, in reality the barons who banished his brother used this victory to strengthen their position.

It is not surprising, therefore, that within a short time Władysław was forced to give up the government to his count palatine (Polish: wojewoda), a nobleman named Sieciech.

[citation needed] In 1090 Sieciech, with help of Polish forces under his command, managed to gain control of Gdańsk Pomerania, albeit for a short time.

In 1093 Silesia rebelled, and the comes Magnus, with the assistance of the Bohemian and Polish knights, welcomed Zbigniew after he escaped from Germany; however, soon Sieciech captured the prince and imprisoned him.

Immediately after this Władysław (after an unsuccessful retaliatory expedition against Silesia and being forced to recognize Zbigniew as the legitimate heir) appointed his sons as commanders of the army which was formed in order to recapture Gdańsk Pomerania.

[citation needed] Simultaneously a great migration of Jews from Western Europe to Poland began circa 1096, around the time of the First Crusade.

This is attributed to the fact that while his first wife was finally pregnant after six years of childless marriage, the Duke sent rich gifts to the Benedictine monastery of Saint Gilles in southern France, begging for a healthy child.

[2][3][4][5] Before Władysław became duke of Poland, probably during the 1070s, he had a relationship with a woman named Przecława, whose exact origins are unknown, although some sources stated that she belonged to the Prawdzic clan.

[6] Her status is also a matter of dispute among the historians: some believed that she was only Władysław's mistress and others asserted that she was his wife, but this union was performed under pagan rituals and in consequence not recognized by the Church as a valid marriage.