 As allies to Frankish King Charlemagne, Witzlaus II marched against the Saxons in Magdeburg in 782 and devastated their army (see Saxon wars, middle phase).The Franks issued a blood court, and massacred 4,500 Saxon captives at Verden.This provoked the nearby Slavic tribe of Veleti, which hated the Franks, to assemble under their leader Dragovit, including the Linonen Slavs and the Danes.