Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III
A miniature from the Chronica sancti Pantaleonis, c. 1240
King of Germany
(formally King of the Romans)
Reign7 March 1138 – 15 February 1152
Coronation13 March 1138, Aachen
PredecessorLothair III
SuccessorFrederick I
King of Italy
Reign1128–1135
Coronation29 June 1128, Milan
PredecessorHenry V
SuccessorFrederick I
Born1093 or 1094
Died15 February 1152 (aged 59–60)
Bamberg, Bavaria
Burial
Spouse
Issue
HouseHohenstaufen
FatherFrederick I, Duke of Swabia
MotherAgnes of Germany

Conrad III (German: Konrad; Italian: Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III, and from 1138 until his death in 1152 King of the Romans in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the son of Duke Frederick I of Swabia and Agnes,[1] a daughter of Emperor Henry IV.[2][3]

His reign saw the start of the conflicts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. He was involved in the failed Second Crusade with Louis VII, where he would fight and lose at Doryleum and would later fall ill and return to Constantinople. After recuperating, he went to Jerusalem but would experience a string of failed sieges. Later returning from the Crusade, he was entangled in some conflicts with Welf VI's claim to the Duchy of Bavaria. On his deathbed, he designated his nephew Frederick Barbarossa as his successor instead of his son, Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia.

  1. ^ Frederick I 2000, p. xii.
  2. ^ John Middleton (2015). World Monarchies and Dynasties. Routledge. pp. 403–. ISBN 978-1-317-45158-7.
  3. ^ Wilhelm Muschka (2012). Agnes von Waiblingen – Stammmutter der Staufer und Babenberger-Herzöge: Eine mittelalterliche Biografie. Tectum Wissenschaftsverlag. pp. 74–. ISBN 978-3-8288-5539-7.