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Philip of Swabia

Type Figure Region Holy Roman Empire Time 1177–1208 Also known as Philipp von Hohenstaufen

Philip of Swabia (1177–1208), of the Hohenstaufen family and brother of Emperor Henry VI, was elected King of Germany in 1198 and fought a decade-lon…

Timeline

  1. 1177–1197Swabia · SwabiaBorn in Swabia, grandson of Emperor Frederick I and brother of Henry VI. After Henry VI's death in 1197 the empire fell into a succession crisis and the Hohenstaufen family needed a new leader to counter Welf power.
  2. 1198–1200Mainz · Rhineland-PalatinateElected King of Germany at Mainz in March 1198, forming a dual-kingship rivalry with Otto IV, elected the same day. Received diplomatic support from Philip II of France, and his early relations with Pope Innocent III were complex.
  3. 1201–1205central Germany · GermanyBetween 1201 and 1205 he consolidated his power in central Germany and the Rhineland, controlling Swabia, Baden, and other regions, and contracted a marriage alliance with France to counter Otto IV and his English allies. The civil war left imperial administration nearly paralyzed.
  4. 1208Bamberg · BavariaAssassinated by Duke Otto I of Bavaria at a wedding celebration in Bamberg on 21 June 1208. This sudden event ended the dual-kingship civil war, clearing the greatest obstacle to Otto IV's unification of the imperial title, and shook the political order of all Western Europe.

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