The Commune of Rome ( it, Comune di Roma) was established in 1144 after a rebellion led by Giordano Pierleoni. Pierleoni led a people's revolt due to the increasing powers of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the entrenched powers of the nobility. The goal of the rebellion was to organize the government of Rome in a similar fashion to that of the previous

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

. Pierleoni was named the "first Patrician of the Roman Commune", but was deposed in 1145.

Papal relationship

In a pattern that was to become familiar in the communal struggles of

Guelfs and Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, r ...

, the commune declared allegiance to the more distant power, 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 ...

, and initiated negotiations with newly elected Pope Lucius II. The commune wanted him to renounce temporal power and take up an office with the duties of a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. Lucius gathered a force and assaulted Rome, but the republican defenders repulsed his army and Lucius died from injuries received from a stone that hit his head. Lucius's successor,

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He ...

, could not be consecrated in the city due to the resistance. However, he eventually came to an agreement with the civil authority that had deposed Pierleoni, and returned to Rome on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

1145. In March 1146 he again had to leave. He returned in 1148 and excommunicated

Arnold of Brescia Arnold of Brescia ( 1090 – June 1155), also known as Arnaldus ( it, Arnaldo da Brescia), an Italian canon regular from Lombardy, called on the Church to renounce property-ownership and participated in the failed Commune of Rome of 1144– ...

, a political theorist who had joined the commune and was its intellectual leader. The Pope lived in

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

beginning in 1149 and was not installed as pope in Rome until 1152. The existence of the Republic was precarious. Eugene's successor, Adrian IV, convinced Emperor

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 ...

to lead an army against the city. Arnold was arrested, tried, convicted, and hanged in 1155. His body was burnt and the ashes cast into the Tiber. In 1188, shortly after his accession,

Pope Clement III Pope Clement III ( la, Clemens III; 1130 – 20 March 1191), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 December 1187 to his death in 1191. He ended the conflict between the Papacy and the city of Rome, by all ...

succeeded in allaying the half-century-old conflict between the popes and the citizens of Rome with the ''Concord Pact.'' The Pact allowed citizens to elect

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

s with the power of war and peace. The Prefect was named by the Emperor and the Pope had sovereign rights over his territories. From 1191 to 1193, under a radical reduction of the number of senators to a single one, the city was ruled by a Benedetto called'' Carus homo'' (''carissimo'') as ''summus senator'', and Rome had the first municipal statute. After this, the city was again under papal control, although the civil government was never again directly in the hands of the higher nobles or the papacy.

Battles

*1145 – Battle against Tivoli, Italy. *1167 – Battle of Monte Porzio against Holy Roman Emperor, Tusculum and Albano Laziale. *1170 – Destruction of

Albano Laziale Albano Laziale (; it, label= Romanesco, Arbano; la, Albanum) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, on the Alban Hills, in Latium, central Italy. Rome is distant. It is bounded by other communes of Castel Gandolfo, Rocca di Papa, ...

. *1191 – Destruction of

References

Sources

* Gregorovius, Ferdinand
''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'', Vol IV, Part 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rome, Commune of States and territories established in 1144 States and territories disestablished in the 1190s Former republics Italian city-states Rebellions in Italy Medieval rebellions in Europe Commune of Rome 12th century in the Papal States 1144 establishments in Europe 1193 disestablishments in Europe Medieval communes

Papal relationship

Battles

See also

References

Sources