Conrad III (; ; 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
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. He was the son of Duke
Frederick I of Swabia and
Agnes, a daughter of
Emperor Henry IV.
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
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. After recuperating, he went to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
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.
Descent
The origin of the House of Hohenstaufen in the
Duchy of Swabia has not been conclusively established. As the name came from the
Hohenstaufen Castle (built in 1105) Conrad's great-grandfather Frederick of Staufen was a count in the
Riesgau and in 1053 became Swabian
Count palatine. His son Frederick of Buren probably resided near present-day
Wäschenbeuren and about 1050 married Countess Hildegard of
Egisheim-
Dagsburg from
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
.
Conrad's father took advantage of the conflict between King Henry IV of Germany and the Swabian duke
Rudolf of Rheinfelden during the
Investiture Controversy. When Rudolf had himself elected German
anti-king at
Forchheim in 1077, Frederick of Hohenstaufen remained loyal to the royal crown and in 1079 was vested with the Duchy of Swabia by Henry IV, including an engagement with the king's daughter
Agnes. He died in 1105, leaving two sons, Conrad and his elder brother
Frederick II, who inherited the Swabian ducal title. Their mother entered into a second marriage with
Babenberg margrave
Leopold III of Austria.
Biography
In 1105, Henry IV,
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
since 1084, was overthrown by his son
Henry V, Conrad's uncle. Emperor since 1111, Henry V prepared for his second campaign to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
upon the death of Margravine
Matilda of Tuscany, and in 1116 he appointed Conrad as
Duke of Franconia. Conrad was marked out to act as regent for Germany, together with his elder brother, Duke Frederick II of Swabia. At the death of Henry V in 1125, Conrad unsuccessfully supported Frederick II for the kingship of Germany. Frederick was placed under a ban and Conrad was deprived of Franconia and the
Kingdom of Burgundy, of which he was
rector. With the support of the
imperial cities, Swabia, and the
Margraviate of Austria, Conrad was elected
anti-king at
Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
in December 1127.
Conrad quickly crossed the
Alps to be crowned
King of Italy by
Anselmo della Pusterla, Archbishop of Milan, in the village of Monza. Over the next two years, he failed to achieve anything in Italy, however, and returned to Germany in 1130, after
Nuremberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
and
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
, two strong cities that supported him, fell to
Lothair in 1129. Conrad continued in Lothair's opposition, but he and Frederick were forced to acknowledge Lothair as emperor in 1135, during which time Conrad relinquished his title as King of Italy. After this they were pardoned and could take again possession of their lands.

After Lothair's death (December 1137), Conrad was elected king at
Coblenz on 7 March 1138, in the presence of the papal legate
Theodwin. Conrad was crowned at
Aachen
Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants.
Aachen is locat ...
six days later (13 March) and was acknowledged in
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...
by several princes of southern Germany.
As
Henry the Proud, son-in-law and heir of Lothair and the most powerful prince in Germany, who had been passed over in the election, refused to do the same, Conrad deprived him of all his territories, giving the
Duchy of Saxony to
Albert the Bear and that of
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
to
Leopold IV, Margrave of Austria. Henry, however, retained the loyalty of his subjects. The civil war that broke out is considered the first act of the struggle between
Guelphs and Ghibellines, which later extended southwards to Italy. After Henry's death (October 1139), the war was continued by his son
Henry the Lion, supported by the Saxons, and by his brother
Welf VI. Conrad, after a
long siege, defeated the latter at
Weinsberg in December 1140, and in May 1142 a peace agreement was reached in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
.
In the same year, Conrad entered
Bohemia to reinstate his brother-in-law
Vladislav II as Duke. The attempt to do the same with another brother-in-law, the Polish prince
Ladislaus the Exile, failed. Bavaria, Saxony, and the other regions of Germany were in revolt.
In 1146, Conrad heard
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...
preach the
Second Crusade at
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
, and he agreed to join
Louis VII in a great expedition to the
Holy Land. At the imperial diet in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
in March 1147 Conrad and the assembled princes entrusted
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...
with the recruitment for the
Wendish crusade.
Before leaving, he had the nobles elect and crown his son
Henry Berengar king. The succession secured in the event of his death, Conrad set out. His army of 20,000 men went overland, via
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, causing disruptions in the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
territories through which they passed. They arrived at
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
by September 1147, ahead of the French army.
Rather than taking the coastal road around
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
through Christian-held territory, by which he sent most of his noncombatants, Conrad took his army across Anatolia. On 25 October 1147, they were defeated by the
Seljuk Turks at the
Battle of Dorylaeum. Conrad and most of the knights escaped, but most of the foot soldiers were killed or captured. The remaining 2,000 men 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 main French army under Louis. Conrad fell seriously ill at
Ephesus
Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...
and was sent to recuperate in Constantinople, where his host the
Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus acted as his personal physician. After recovering, Conrad sailed to
Acre, and from there reached
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
. 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 did not appear as promised, then Conrad returned to Germany,
through Constantinople, where he met again with the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I to discuss the
problem of two emperors, and to renew their alliance against
Roger II of Sicily.
In 1150, Conrad and Henry Berengar defeated Welf VI and his son
Welf VII at the
Battle of Flochberg. Henry Berengar died later that year and the succession was thrown open. The Welfs and Hohenstaufen made peace in 1152 and the peaceful succession of one of Conrad's family was secured.
Conrad was never crowned emperor and continued to style himself "
King of the Romans" until his death.
[The medieval sources on Conrad's death are discussed in: Manuel Kamenzin: ''Die Tode der römisch-deutschen Könige und Kaiser (1150–1349).'' Ostfildern 2020, S. 91–99.]
online
On his deathbed, in the presence of only two witnesses, his nephew
Frederick Barbarossa and the
Bishop of Bamberg, he allegedly designated Frederick his successor, rather than his own surviving six-year-old son
Frederick. Frederick Barbarossa, who had accompanied his uncle on the unfortunate crusade, forcefully pursued his advantage and was duly elected king in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
a few weeks later. The young son of the late king was given the Duchy of Swabia.

Conrad left no male heirs by his first wife,
Gertrude von Komburg. In 1136, he married
Gertrude of Sulzbach, who was a daughter of
Berengar II of Sulzbach, and whose sister
Bertha was married to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I. Gertrude was the mother of Conrad's children and the link which cemented his alliance with Byzantium.
See also
*
Kings of Germany family tree
References
Sources
* Baldwin, M. W. ''A History of the Crusades: the first hundred years'', 1969.
*
* Bernhardi, Wilhelm (1883)
''Konrad III'' Jahrbücher der Deutschen Geschichte. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Ziegler, W. ''König Konrad III. (1138–1152). Hof, Urkunden und Politik (= Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters. Band 26)'' Böhlau, Wien u. a. 2008
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad 03 of Germany
1090s births
1152 deaths
12th-century Kings of the Romans
12th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire
Anti-kings
Burials at Bamberg Cathedral
Christians of the Second Crusade
Dukes of Franconia
Hohenstaufen family
People from Bamberg
Year of birth uncertain