Editing Conrad III of Germany (section)

==Biography==
In 1105, Henry IV, [[Holy Roman Emperor]] since 1084, was overthrown by his son [[Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry V]], Conrad's uncle. Emperor since 1111, Henry V prepared for his second campaign to [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Italy]] upon the death of Margravine [[Matilda of Tuscany]], and in 1116 he appointed Conrad as [[Duchy of Franconia|Duke of Franconia]].{{sfn|Barber|2004|p=193}} Conrad was marked out to act as regent for Germany, together with his elder brother, Duke Frederick&nbsp;II of Swabia. At the death of Henry V in 1125, Conrad unsuccessfully supported Frederick II for the kingship of Germany. Frederick was placed under a ban and Conrad was deprived of Franconia and the [[Kingdom of Burgundy]], of which he was [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]]. With the support of the [[Free imperial city|imperial cities]], Swabia, and the [[Margraviate of Austria]], Conrad was elected [[anti-king]] at [[Nuremberg]] in December&nbsp;1127.<ref name="Mikulla1997">{{cite book|author=Lothar Mikulla|title=Fürstenopposition gegen die Reichsgewalt im 12. Jahrhundert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUd-AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|date=1997|publisher=diplom.de|isbn=978-3-8324-0032-3|pages=41–}}</ref>

Conrad quickly crossed the [[Alps]] to be crowned [[King of Italy]] by [[Anselmo della Pusterla]], Archbishop of Milan, in the village of Monza.{{sfn|Marina|2013|p=395}} Over the next two years, he failed to achieve anything in Italy, however, and returned to Germany in 1130, after [[Nuremberg]] and [[Speyer]], two strong cities that supported him, fell to [[Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor|Lothair]] in&nbsp;1129. Conrad continued in Lothair's opposition, but he and Frederick were forced to acknowledge Lothair as emperor in&nbsp;1135, during which time Conrad relinquished his title as King of Italy. After this they were pardoned and could take again possession of their lands.<ref name="Görich2006">{{cite book|author=Knut Görich|title=Die Staufer: Herrscher und Reich|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k_GMmBGANnsC&pg=PA28|year=2006|publisher=C.H. Beck|isbn=978-3-406-53593-2|pages=28–}}</ref>

[[File:III Konrad atvonul Magyarorszagon.jpg|180px|thumb|left|Conrad III and his armies in Hungary. Image from the [[Chronicon Pictum]]]]

After Lothair's death (December 1137), Conrad was elected king at [[Koblenz|Coblenz]] on 7 March 1138, in the presence of the papal legate [[Theodwin of Santa Rufina|Theodwin]]. Conrad was crowned at [[Aachen]] six days later (13 March) and was acknowledged in [[Bamberg]] by several princes of southern Germany.<ref name="Quitz2014">{{cite book|author=Daniel Quitz|title=Die Königswahl Konrad III. 1138 und seine Politik gegenüber den Welfen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ra6aAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|date=2014|publisher=GRIN Verlag|isbn=978-3-656-65725-5|pages=1–}}</ref> As [[Henry the Proud]], son-in-law and heir of Lothair and the most powerful prince in Germany, who had been passed over in the election, refused to do the same, Conrad deprived him of all his territories, giving the [[Duchy of Saxony]] to [[Albert the Bear]] and that of [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] to [[Leopold&nbsp;IV, Margrave of Austria]]. Henry, however, retained the loyalty of his subjects. The civil war that broke out is considered the first act of the struggle between [[Guelphs and Ghibellines]], which later extended southwards to Italy. After Henry's death (October&nbsp;1139), the war was continued by his son [[Henry the Lion]], supported by the Saxons, and by his brother [[Welf&nbsp;VI]]. Conrad, after a [[Siege of Weinsberg|long siege]], defeated the latter at [[Weinsberg]] in December 1140, and in May 1142 a peace agreement was reached in [[Frankfurt]].<ref name="Görich2006"/>

In the same year, Conrad entered [[Bohemia]] to reinstate his brother-in-law [[Vladislaus II, Duke and King of Bohemia|Vladislav&nbsp;II]] as Duke. The attempt to do the same with another brother-in-law, the Polish prince [[Władysław II the Exile|Ladislaus the Exile]], failed. Bavaria, Saxony, and the other regions of Germany were in revolt.

In 1146, Conrad heard [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] preach the [[Second Crusade]] at [[Speyer]], and he agreed to join [[Louis VII of France|Louis&nbsp;VII]] in a great expedition to the [[Holy Land]]. At the imperial diet in [[Frankfurt]] in March 1147 Conrad and the assembled princes entrusted [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] with the recruitment for the [[Wendish crusade]].<ref name="Jotischky2018">{{cite book|author=Andrew Jotischky|title=Pope Eugenius III (1145–1153): the First Cistercian Pope|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WuxlDwAAQBAJ|date=2018|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-485-3720-4}}</ref>

Before leaving, he had the nobles elect and crown his son [[Henry Berengar]] king. The succession secured in the event of his death, Conrad set out. His army of 20,000 men went overland, via [[Hungary]], causing disruptions in the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] territories through which they passed. They arrived at [[Constantinople]] by September 1147, ahead of the French army.<ref name="Phillips2008">{{cite book|author=Jonathan Phillips|title=The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xMNfrbxQLCgC&pg=PP104|date= 2008|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-16836-5|pages=104–}}</ref><ref name="Throop2013">{{cite book|author=Asst Prof Susanna A Throop|title=Crusading as an Act of Vengeance, 1095–1216|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JKJOn9j2NToC&pg=PA73|date=2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-8211-6|pages=73–}}</ref>

Rather than taking the coastal road around [[Anatolia]] through Christian-held territory, by which he sent most of his noncombatants, Conrad took his army across Anatolia. On 25 October 1147, they were defeated by the [[Seljuk Turks]] at the [[Battle of Dorylaeum (1147)|Battle of Dorylaeum]].{{sfn|Tyerman|2006|p=303}} Conrad and most of the knights escaped, but most of the foot soldiers were killed or captured. The remaining 2,000 men of the German army limped on to [[Nicaea]], where many of the survivors deserted and tried to return home. Conrad and his adherents had to be escorted to [[Lopadium]] by the French, where they joined the main French army under Louis. Conrad fell seriously ill at [[Ephesus]] and was sent to recuperate in Constantinople,{{sfn|Suger|2018|p=169}} where his host the [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Manuel I Comnenus]] acted as his personal physician. After recovering, Conrad sailed to [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], and from there reached [[Jerusalem]]. He participated in the ill-fated [[Siege of Damascus (1148)|Siege of Damascus]] and after that failure, grew disaffected with his allies. Another attempt to attack [[Ascalon]] failed when Conrad's allies did not appear as promised, then Conrad returned to Germany,<ref name="Throop2013"/> through Constantinople, where he met again with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I to discuss the [[problem of two emperors]],{{sfn|Petersohn|2010|p=126}} and to renew their alliance against [[Roger II of Sicily]].<ref>P. Magdalino, ''The Byzantine Empire'', 621</ref>

In 1150, Conrad and Henry Berengar defeated Welf&nbsp;VI and his son [[Welf&nbsp;VII]] at the [[Battle of Flochberg]]. Henry Berengar died later that year and the succession was thrown open. The Welfs and Hohenstaufen made peace in 1152 and the peaceful succession of one of Conrad's family was secured.

Conrad was never crowned emperor and continued to style himself "[[King of the Romans]]" until his death.<ref>The medieval sources on Conrad's death are discussed in: Manuel Kamenzin: ''Die Tode der römisch-deutschen Könige und Kaiser (1150–1349).'' Ostfildern 2020, S. 91–99. ([https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/mf64/0092/image,info online])</ref> On his deathbed, in the presence of only two witnesses, his nephew [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]] and the [[Bishop of Bamberg]], he allegedly designated Frederick his successor, rather than his own surviving six-year-old son [[Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia|Frederick]]. Frederick Barbarossa, who had accompanied his uncle on the unfortunate crusade, forcefully pursued his advantage and was duly elected king in [[Cologne]] a few weeks later. The young son of the late king was given the Duchy of Swabia.

[[File:Bamberg-steinsarg-konrad.png|thumb|Tomb of King Conrad III in the [[Bamberg Cathedral]]<ref>On the funeral see: Manuel Kamenzin: ''Die Tode der römisch-deutschen Könige und Kaiser (1150–1349).'' Ostfildern 2020, S. 412–414. ([https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/mf64/0414/image,info#col_info online])</ref>]]
Conrad left no male heirs by his first wife, [[Gertrude of Comburg|Gertrude von Komburg]]. In&nbsp;1136, he married [[Gertrude of Sulzbach]], who was a daughter of [[Berengar&nbsp;II of Sulzbach]],{{sfn|Otto I of Freising|1953|p=54}} and whose sister [[Bertha of Sulzbach|Bertha]] was married to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I. Gertrude was the mother of Conrad's children and the link which cemented his alliance with Byzantium.<ref name="Bühler2012">{{cite book|author=Johannes Bühler|title=Die Hohenstaufen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvhnJjOsQZUC&pg=PA518|year=2012|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-3-8460-0849-2|page=78}}</ref>