 Louis may be called the founder of the German kingdom, though his attempts to maintain the unity of the Empire proved futile.Having in 842 crushed the "Stellinga" rising in Saxony, in 844 he compelled the Obotrites to accept his authority and put their prince, Gozzmovil, to death.Thachulf, Duke of Thuringia, then undertook campaigns against the Bohemians, Moravians, and other tribes, but was not very successful in resisting the ravaging Vikings.