Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
(swā`bēə), 1176?–1208, German king (1198–1208), son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick IFrederick Ior Frederick Barbarossa
[Ital.,=red beard], c.1125–90, Holy Roman emperor (1155–90) and German king (1152–90), son of Frederick of Hohenstaufen, duke of Swabia, nephew and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III.
..... Click the link for more information. . After the death (1197) of his brother, German King and Holy Roman Emperor Henry VIHenry VI,
1165–97, Holy Roman emperor (1191–97) and German king (1190–97), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa). He was crowned German king at Aachen in 1169 and king of Italy at Milan in 1186 after his marriage to
..... Click the link for more information. , he unsuccessfully attempted to secure the succession in Germany of his infant nephew, the later Holy Roman Emperor Frederick IIFrederick II,
1194–1250, Holy Roman emperor (1220–50) and German king (1212–20), king of Sicily (1197–1250), and king of Jerusalem (1229–50), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Constance, heiress of Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. ; for the sake of the house of HohenstaufenHohenstaufen
, German princely family, whose name is derived from the castle of Staufen built in 1077 by a Swabian count, Frederick. In 1079, Frederick married Agnes, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and was created duke of Swabia.
..... Click the link for more information. , he finally consented to his own election as German king. A small, anti-Hohenstaufen group led by the archbishop of Cologne elected (1198) Otto IVOtto IV,
1175?–1218, Holy Roman emperor (1209–15) and German king, son of Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony. He was brought up at the court of his uncle King Richard I of England, who secured his election (1198) as antiking to Philip of Swabia after the death of Holy
..... Click the link for more information. antiking. In the ensuing war Philip was supported by Philip II of France, while Otto had the support of his uncle Richard I of England. Though successful at first, Philip's cause was weakened when Pope Innocent IIIInnocent III,
b. 1160 or 1161, d. 1216, pope (1198–1216), an Italian, b. Anagni, named Lotario di Segni; successor of Celestine III. Innocent III was succeeded by Honorius III.
..... Click the link for more information. declared (1201) for Otto. However, the year 1204 marked a turn in Philip's favor; with his capture (1206) of Cologne, the war was virtually ended. Negotiations with the pope had resulted in a satisfactory settlement when Philip was murdered by a personal enemy. Otto IV was elected his successor as German king. Philip became involved in the Fourth Crusade (1202–4; see CrusadesCrusades
, series of wars undertaken by European Christians between the 11th and 14th cent. to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. First Crusade
Origins
In the 7th cent., Jerusalem was taken by the caliph Umar.
..... Click the link for more information. ) partly through his marriage to the Byzantine princess Irene, daughter of Emperor Isaac IIIsaac II
(Isaac Angelus) , d. 1204, Byzantine emperor (1185–95, 1203–4). The great-grandson of Alexius I, he was proclaimed emperor by the mob that had killed the unpopular Andronicus I.
..... Click the link for more information. . The extent of Philip's influence in diverting the crusade to Constantinople is still debated.