Seniorate Province
Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state. Its ruler held the title of the High Duke, ruling all duchies within Poland. In 1227, following the abolition of the High Duke title, the province was transformed into the Duchy of Kraków. Senioral principle The senioral principle established in the testament stated that at all times the eldest member of the dynasty was to have supreme power over the rest (Dux, the Dukes) and was also to control an indivisible "Seniorate Province". In 1138 Bolesław's III eldest son Władysław II, took up the rule over a vast strip of land running north–south down the middle of Poland, composed of: Lesser Poland, except for the eastern Duchy of Sandomierz allocated to Bolesław's III minor son Henry; eastern parts of Greater Poland around Gniezno, the Polish ecclesiastical center, and Kalisz; western Kuyavia; the lands of Łęczyca, held by Bolesław's III widow Salomea of Berg for life. The High Duke resided at Kraków, Poland's capital since 1038. The Senior's prerogatives also included control over the Duchy of Silesia and his Pomerelian vassals at Gdańsk