Charles united the dynasty of a powerful Central European country with the dynasty that had previously attained the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. Beginning in the late tenth century, the Bohemian lands – traditionally including Bohemia and Moravia – extended to other surrounding territories. These lands were ruled by the Přemyslids dynasty and formed a part of the Holy Roman Empire. When the dynasty died out in 1306, John of Luxembourg, the son of the Holy Roman King Henry VII, ascended to the Bohemian throne. Thus began the reign of the Luxembourg dynasty, which ruled for three generations until 1437. John married Elisabeth, daughter of the Přemyslid King Wenceslaus II (1271–1305), and their union yielded one of Europe's preeminent medieval monarchs.
John of Luxembourg was celebrated as an excellent warrior, but he was not much of a monarch. He often competed with the local nobility (and his wife) with partial success, and eventually had to cede much influence in Bohemia. However, as a ruler skilled at negotiating on the European political chessboard and as a renowned knight, John prepared a different career for his son Wencelaus (later known as Charles IV).
