Soběslav II (also Sobeslaus II), called ''Prince of the Peasants'' or ''King of the Peasants'' (c. 1128 – 9 or 29 January 1180), was the

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

from 1173 to 1178. He was the second son of Soběslav I. Supported by neither nobles nor emperor, he was backed solely by the lowest classes.

Life

In 1172,

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, son of Vladislaus II, succeeded his abdicating father.

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

, the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, held a Diet at Hermsdorf in September 1173 and deposed Frederick, nominating Oldřich, son of Soběslav I. Oldřich immediately abdicated in favour of his elder brother Soběslav II, who had been imprisoned since 1161. Soběslav granted a charter to the town of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, but he entered into a fight with

Henry II, Duke of Austria Henry II (german: Heinrich; 1107 – 13 January 1177), called Jasomirgott, a member of the House of Babenberg,Lingelbach 1913, pp. 91–92. was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1140 to 1141, Duke of Bavaria (as ''Henry XI'') and Margrave of Austria ...

, in 1175. In summer 1176, an army led by Duke Conrad Otto of Znojmo devastated the country to the north of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. Churches and monasteries were attacked and

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

excommunicated the duke. Barbarossa intervened in 1177 and recognised Frederick as duke. By 1179, Soběslav was removed and he died in "some part of a foreign land" on 29 January 1180 without heirs from his union with Elisabeth (d.1209), daughter of

Mieszko III of Poland Mieszko III the Old (c. 1126/27 – 13 March 1202), of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław ...

References

Roman Catholic monarchs People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Dukes of Bohemia 1180 deaths Year of birth unknown {{CzechRepublic-bio-stub