← Explore on the interactive map

Struggle for Papal Power

Type Event Region Western Europe Time 1091–1099

In the 1090s, the Roman papacy under Urban II clashed fiercely with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.…

Timeline

  1. 1091–1093Rome · LazioUrban II consolidated papal rule in Rome, pursued the Cluniac reform program, reaffirmed papal authority over episcopal appointments, and continued to support the German princely factions opposed to Henry IV.
  2. 1093–1095Germany · GermanyPope Urban II supported Henry IV's eldest son Conrad (Konrad) in rebelling against his father in 1093 and being crowned King of Italy, and again excommunicated Henry IV at the Council of Piacenza in 1095, directly tying the papal power struggle to imperial internal politics and weakening the emperor's rule in Germany.
  3. 1095Piacenza · Emilia-RomagnaIn March 1095 Urban II convened a church council at Piacenza, where he received a Byzantine delegation requesting aid. That November, at the Council of Clermont, he formally called for the First Crusade, using the occasion to raise the papacy's international prestige and shift the focus of its conflict with the empire.

Sources