TheUkrani orUkrians[1] (German:Ukranen, Ukrer, Vukraner,Polish:Wkrzanie) were aWest SlavicPolabian tribe in theUckermark (terra U(c)kera,Uckerland) from the 6th–12th centuries.[2] Their settlement area was centered on the lakesOberuckersee andUnteruckersee at the spring of theUecker River. In this region,burghs with a proto-townsuburbium were set up atDrense and on an isle in Lake Oberuckersee (near modernPrenzlau).
In 954,MargraveGero of theSaxon Eastern March (themarca Geronis), aided byHoly Roman EmperorOtto I's son-in-law,Conrad of Lorraine, launched a successful campaign to subdue the Ukrians, who had come within reach of theHoly Roman Empire'sNorthern March after the 929Battle of Lenzen. After the 983 revolt of theObodrites andLutici, the area became independent again, yet remained under permanent military pressure, especially fromPoland and the Holy Roman Empire.
