After the death of emperor Otto III, Bavarian duke Henry IV and Meissen margrave Eckard (Ekkehard) I competed for succession. When Eckard I was murdered on 30 April 1002 in Pöhlde, Polish duke Bolesław I Chrobry, who had supported Eckard's candidature, took over the Margraviate of Meissen and March Lusatia (Lower Lusatia), lands only recently conquered by Germans and still inhabited mostly by Slavs, probably with approval from Eckard's family. He took control of both Bautzen and Meissen, after the inhabitants themselves had forced the German troops to leave the city, while other German knights voluntarily recognized Bolesław's rule in the region. Meanwhile, Henry IV had consolidated his rule against rival candidates, and, as Henry II, was crowned king of Germany in June.