Battle of Birten

The Battle of Birten was a 10th century battle important to East Frankish (German) king Otto I's effort to secure his power in the early years of his reign. The battle took place in March 939 on the left bank of the Rhine at Birten, near the town of Xanten, which now lays in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. In this battle, Otto defeated the troops of his brother-in-law, Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, who had aligned with Otto's younger brother Henry in Henry's fight for control of the kingdom. Along with the Battle of Andernach, which Otto fought against Duke Eberhard of Franconia and Gilbert later that same year, the Battle of Birten paved the way for Otto to assert his royal power over his rivals in the kingdom.