Henry II Jasomirgott

Timeline

1. c. 1112–1143Margraviate of Austria · Margraviate of AustriaHenry II was the son of Margrave Leopold III of Austria and Agnes of Waiblingen (daughter of Emperor Henry IV). His brother Leopold IV first served as Duke of Bavaria; Henry grew up at court and accumulated political capital. He was appointed Count Palatine of the Rhine in 1140 and succeeded as Margrave of Austria after his brother's death in 1141, becoming a key heir of the family's power.
2. 1143–1156Regensburg · BavariaIn 1143 his half-brother Conrad III granted Henry the title of Duke of Bavaria in reward for his loyalty to the Hohenstaufen regime. Henry governed Bavaria from Regensburg while also attending to affairs of the Margraviate of Austria. In 1150 he married Theodora, daughter of Byzantine Emperor John II, further raising his family's international prestige.
3. 1156–1177Vienna · AustriaIn September 1156 Frederick I (Barbarossa) issued the Privilegium Minus at the Imperial Diet in Regensburg, stipulating that Henry return Bavaria to the Welf duke Henry the Lion in exchange for Austria's elevation from a margraviate to a hereditary duchy owing only limited military obligations to the empire. Henry promptly made Vienna his political center, vigorously advancing urban development and religious and cultural undertakings until his death in Vienna on 13 January 1177, at about 65 years of age.