Battle of Tagliacozzo

Timeline

1. 1267–1268Italian Peninsula · ItalyAfter the Battle of Benevento in 1266, Charles of Anjou defeated Manfred, King of Sicily, and seized the Kingdom of Sicily. Conradin, the last Hohenstaufen descendant, crossed the Alps southward, winning the support of Ghibelline cities along the way and gaining the response of the Roman populace, intending to reclaim the Hohenstaufen ancestral heritage; military confrontation between the two sides was imminent.
2. 1268Sarto Valley near Tagliacozzo · AbruzzoThe two armies met in a decisive battle in the Sarto Valley. In the early stages, Conradin's forces attacked fiercely and the Anjou vanguard retreated; the Hohenstaufen army, believing the outcome was settled, pursued in disorder and plundered. The elite reserve Charles had hidden, commanded by Ecard de Valéry, suddenly emerged at the moment of greatest disorder in Conradin's formation, utterly routing the Hohenstaufen army; the Anjou forces won a decisive victory through the reserve's surprise attack.
3. c. 1268Naples · CampaniaAfter the defeat, Conradin and his friend Frederick of Baden attempted to flee by ship to Sicily but were captured near the coast of Astura. Charles had him brought to Naples and tried by court-martial for treason. On 29 October 1268, Conradin was publicly beheaded in the marketplace square of Naples at only about 16 years of age, one of the youngest royal members executed in the Middle Ages; the male line of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was thereby extinguished.