House of Ascania

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The House of Ascania (German: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. One of its oldest known members was Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, who died in 1123. It is named after the City of Aschersleben. By Otto's marriage to Eilika, daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony, the Ascanians became heirs to half of the property of the great House of Billung.

Otto's son, Albert the Bear, was the first Ascanian Margrave of Brandenburg; he inherited the territory from its last Wendish ruler, Pribislav, in 1150. Albert, and his descendants of the House of Ascania, then made considerable progress in Christianizing and Germanizing the lands. As a borderland between German and Slavic cultures, the country was known as the Margravate of Brandenburg at this time. In 1320 the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end.