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 E ...

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, 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 ...

, the Holy Roman Emperor, 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, 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 , ...

. Churches and monasteries were attacked and Pope Alexander III 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 Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sc ...

(d.1209), daughter of Mieszko III of Poland.

References

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