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Lombard League

Type Object Region Europe Time 1167–1250

In 1167 the communes of northern Italy allied near Pontida for mutual military defense against Frederick Barbarossa's imperial centralization;…

Timeline

  1. 1164–1167Pontida · LombardyVerona, Padua, Vicenza, and Venice first formed the Verona League; in 1167 Milan, Brescia, Bergamo, Mantua, and others joined, forming the Lombard League against the emperor's recovery of the Italian royal title.
  2. 1174–1176Legnano · LombardyFrederick returned to besiege Alessandria, the new city named after the pope, but failed to take it; on May 29, 1176 he was defeated by the league's militia at Legnano, frustrating direct imperial rule in Lombardy.
  3. 1177–1183Constance · SwabiaThe Peace of Venice in 1177 stipulated a six-year truce; the Peace of Constance in 1183 confirmed by imperial charter the communes' rights of legislation, taxation, and self-defense, while the cities still swore loyalty to the empire and accepted investiture of their podestàs.
  4. 1226–1250Lombard plain · LombardyIn 1226 the cities re-formed the league to resist Frederick II's recovery of the Italian royal title; the war continued until the emperor's death in 1250; thereafter the league no longer possessed unified military command, and city politics turned to separate alliances.

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