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| Conrad IV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King of Germany (formallyKing of the Romans) King of Italy | |
| Reign | May 1237 – 21 May 1254 |
| Predecessor | Henry (VII) |
| Successor | William |
| King of Sicily | |
| Reign | 13 December 1250 – 21 May 1254 |
| Predecessor | Frederick I |
| Successor | Conrad II |
| King of Jerusalem | |
| Reign | 4 May 1228 – 21 May 1254 (withFrederick I until 1243)[a] |
| Predecessor | Isabella II andFrederick I |
| Successor | Conrad III |
| Regents |
|
| Duke of Swabia | |
| Reign | 12 February 1235 – 21 May 1254 |
| Predecessor | Henry |
| Successor | Conrad IV |
| Born | 25 April 1228 Andria,Kingdom of Sicily |
| Died | 21 May 1254(1254-05-21) (aged 26) Lavello, Kingdom of Sicily |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Elisabeth of Bavaria |
| Issue | Conradin |
| House | Hohenstaufen |
| Father | Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Isabella II of Jerusalem |
Conrad (25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254), a member of theHohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of EmperorFrederick II from his second marriage with QueenIsabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title ofKing of Jerusalem (asConrad II) upon the death of his mother in childbirth. AppointedDuke of Swabia in 1235, his father had him electedKing of Germany (King of the Romans) and crownedKing of Italy (asConrad IV) in 1237. After the emperor was deposed and died in 1250, he ruled asKing of Sicily (Conrad I) until his death.
He was the second child, but only surviving son of EmperorFrederick II andIsabella II (Yolanda), thequeen regnant ofJerusalem. Born inAndria, in the South ItalianKingdom of Sicily, his mother died shortly after giving birth to him and he succeeded her as monarch of theCrusader state of Jerusalem. By his father, Conrad was the grandson of the Hohenstaufen emperorHenry VI and great-grandson of EmperorFrederick Barbarossa. He lived in Southern Italy until 1235, when he first visited theKingdom of Germany. During this period his kingdom of Jerusalem, ruled by his father as regent through proxies, wasracked by civil war until Conrad declared his majority and his father's regency lost its validity.
In 1235, Conrad was betrothed to a daughter of DukeOtto II of Bavaria. She died before the marriage could take place, but Conrad later married her sister.[2]
When Emperor Frederick II deposed his eldest son, Conrad's rebellious half-brother KingHenry (VII), Conrad succeeded him as duke ofSwabia in 1235. However, the emperor was not able to have him electedKing of the Romans until the 1237Imperial Diet inVienna. The electors were "the archbishopsof Mentz [Mainz],of Treves [Trier], andof Cologne, the bishops ofBamberg, ofRatisbon [Regensburg], ofFrisingen [Freising], and ofPadua,the count palatine of the Rhine,the duke of Bavaria,the king of Bohemia, thelandgrave of Thuringia, and theduke of Carinthia".[3] This title, though not acknowledged byPope Gregory IX, presumed his future as aHoly Roman emperor. Prince-ArchbishopSiegfried III of Mainz, in his capacity as Germanarchchancellor, acted asregent for the minor until 1242, when Frederick chose LandgraveHenry Raspe ofThuringia, and KingWenceslaus I of Bohemia to assume this function. Conrad intervened directly in German politics from around 1240. He led the short-livedanti-Mongol crusade of 1241.
However, whenPope Innocent IV excommunicated Frederick in 1245 and declared Conrad deposed, Henry Raspe supported the pope and was in turn elected as a rival king of Germany on 22 May 1246. Henry Raspe defeated Conrad in thebattle on the Nidda in August 1246. Nevertheless, Henry Raspe’s wider support in Germany was weak and he died several months later. He was succeeded as a rival king byWilliam of Holland.
Also in 1246, Conrad marriedElisabeth, a daughter of Otto II of Bavaria. They had a sonConradin, in 1252. In 1250 Conrad temporarily settled the situation in Germany by defeatingWilliam of Holland and his Rhenish allies.
When Frederick II died in 1250, he passed Sicily and Germany, as well as the title ofKing of Jerusalem, to Conrad, but the struggle with the pope continued. After reverses in Germany in 1251, Conrad decided to invadeItaly, hoping to regain the rich dominions of his father, and wherehis half-brother Manfred was acting as regent. In January 1252 he invadedApulia with aVenetian fleet, successfully managing to restrain Manfred and exercise control of the country. That same year Conrad issued constitutions during thehoftag inFoggia, which were based on the well-known examples from Norman and early Staufer times. After the death of Frederick II, riots began in parts of the kingdom of Sicily and several cities attempted to escape the royal control, forcing Conrad to take military action in order to suppress the revolts. In October 1253 his troops conqueredNaples. Steadily, Conrad consolidated his position in the kingdom and the formidable centralized government fashioned by his father continued to function effectively. New historical sources have shown,[citation needed] Conrad tried to reconcile with the pope, but no agreement was reached.
The pope offered Sicily toEdmund Crouchback, son ofHenry III of England, in 1253. Conrad wasexcommunicated on 9 April 1254. Nevertheless, Innocent’s support in central Italy was waning. Conrad mustered an army for a decisive assault on Rome but he died ofmalaria on 21 May 1254 at his army camp inLavello,Basilicata.[4] Manfred continued the struggle with the Papacy, but after achieving success, he was killed at theBattle of Benevento byCharles I of Anjou. Conrad’s son, Conradin, attempted to reclaim the kingdom of Sicily but was also defeated by Charles of Anjou at theBattle of Tagliocozzo and executed soon after.
Conrad's widow Elisabeth remarried toMeinhard II, Count of Tirol, who in 1286 becameDuke of Carinthia.
Conrad's death in 1254 began theInterregnum, during which no single ruler managed to gain undisputed control of Germany. Notably, many princes took this opportunity to gain more influence with their vast wealth and relative stability as opposed to the fractured monarchy which had proven to be somewhat unreliable. Similarly, many nobles accumulated greater autonomy without the guidance of a king.[5] The Interregnum ended in 1273, with the election ofRudolph of Habsburg as King of the Romans.[6]
Conrad IV of Germany Born: 1228 Died: 1254 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Jerusalem 1228–1254 withFrederick II (1228-1243) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Duke of Swabia 1235–1254 | |
| King of Germany 1237–1254 withFrederick II (1237-1250) | Succeeded byas anti-king since 1247 | |
| King of Italy 1237–1254 withFrederick II (1237-1250) | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | King of Sicily 1250–1254 | Succeeded by |
Monarchs of theKingdom of Jerusalem | ||
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