Conrad IV
Conrad IV was king of Germany and Sicily.
History
Conrad was the second son of Frederick II.
Conrad's elder brother, Henry, initially held the title of king of the Romans and heir apparent. After objecting to the inquisitions and crusades that Gregory IX authorized in Germany, he was excommunicated. Frederick declared Henry an outlaw and revoked his title in 1235. (He was imprisoned and ultimately died in 1242.)
In 1245 at the Council of Lyon, Innocent IV excommunicated Frederick and declared him deposed. He pushed Henry Raspe, landgrave of Thuringia, as a rival claimant. Conrad quickly suppressed the rebellion and Henry died from wounds in 1247. Next, Innocent pushed William II, duke of Holland and Zeeland, as a rival claimant. William proved more difficult to dislodge, and he established his court in the Binnenhof.
Frederick died suddenly in 1250. With Germany still divided and Sicily firmly in support of the Hohenstaufens, Conrad retreated south. As king of Sicily, he reigned as Conrad I. He and his half-brother, Manfred, were able to conquer most of peninsular Italy, but he died in 1254.