Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III (1093-1152), the first German king of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia. As duke of Franconia, he supported the unsuccessful candidacy of his brother, Frederick II of Swabia, for the kingship of Germany on the death of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V (1125).

Related Topics:
1093 - 1152 - German - Hohenstaufen - Frederick I - Duke of Swabia - Franconia - Frederick II of Swabia - Holy Roman Emperor - Henry V

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Elected king of Italy in December 1127 in opposition to Lothair II, Conrad acknowledged Lothair as emperor only in 1135. After Lothar's death (December 1137), Conrad was elected King of the Germans and King of the Romans (the title customarily accorded preparatory to accession as emperor) at Coblenz in March 1138.

Related Topics:
Italy - 1127 - Lothair II - 1135 - 1137 - Coblenz - 1138

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In 1146, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the crusade at Speyer, and he agreed to join Louis VII on the Second Crusade. Conrad and his army went overland, via Hungary, causing disruptions throughout the Byzantine territories they crossed through. They arrived at Constantinople by December of 1146, ahead of the French army.

Related Topics:
1146 - Bernard of Clairvaux - Speyer - Louis VII - Second Crusade - Hungary - Byzantine - Constantinople

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Rather than taking the coastal road around Anatolia through Christian-held territory, by which he sent most of his noncombatants, Conrad took his army straight across Anatolia. On October 25, 1147, they were defeated by the Turks at the Battle of Dorylaeum. Conrad and most of the mounted knights escaped, but most of the foot soldiers were killed or captured. The remnants 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 French army of Louis VII. Conrad fell desperately ill at Ephesus, and was sent to recuperate at Constantinople, where his host the Byzantine emperor Manuel I acted as his personal physician. After recovering, Conrad sailed to Acre, and from there reached Jerusalem. He participated in the ill-fated Siege of Damascus and after that failure, grew disaffected with his allies. Another attempt to attack Ascalon failed when Conrad's allies failed to appear as promised and Conrad returned home to Germany.

Related Topics:
Anatolia - October 25 - 1147 - Battle of Dorylaeum - Nicaea - Louis VII - Ephesus - Byzantine emperor - Manuel I - Jerusalem - Siege of Damascus - Ascalon

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Conrad married twice:

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• c. 1115, Gertrud von Komburg (died c. 1130-31)
• 1136, Gertrud von Sulzbach (died 14 April, 1146), whose sister Bertha married Manuel I Comnenos.

He was never crowned emperor, and continued to style himself King of the Romans until his death. On his deathbed, in the presence of only two witnesses, his nephew Frederick Barbarossa and the bishop of Bamberg, he allegedly designated Frederick Barbarossa his successor, rather than his own six-year-old son Frederick, who instead succeeded Barbarossa as Duke of Swabia. 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.

Related Topics:
Frederick Barbarossa - Bamberg - Frederick - Cologne

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