1 child king
1.1 regency of henry ii
1.2 regency of theophanu
1.3 independent reign
1.4 war against slavs
child king
regency of henry ii
henry ii, duke of bavaria, served otto iii s regent 983 984. following failed rebellion claim throne himself, henry ii forced pass regency otto iii s mother theophanu.
otto iii s cousin henry ii had been deposed duke of bavaria otto ii in 976 following failed rebellion , imprisoned under bishopric of utrecht. following otto ii s death, henry released prison. otto iii s nearest male ottonian relative, henry ii claimed regency on infant cousin. archbishop of cologne warin granted henry ii regency without substantial opposition. otto iii s mother theophanu objected, along grandmother, dowager empress adelaide of italy, , aunt, abbess matilda of quedlinburg. adelaide , matilda, however, both in italy , unable press objections.
as regent, henry ii took actions aimed less @ guardianship of infant cousin , more @ claiming throne himself. according gerbert of aurillac, henry ii adopted byzantine-style joint-kingship. towards end of 984, henry ii sought form alliances between himself , other important figure in ottonian world, chief among them cousin king lothar of france. in exchange agreeing make henry ii king of germany, henry ii agreed relinquish lotharingia lothar. 2 agreed join armies on 1 february 985, in order take city of breisach, @ last minute, henry’s resolve weakened. nevertheless, lothair continued campaign german lands , succeeded in overrunning verdun march 985.
henry ii took young otto iii , traveled saxony. there, henry ii invited great nobles of kingdom celebrate palm sunday @ magdeburg 985. campaigned openly claim german throne, limited success. among supported claims duke mieszko of poland , duke boleslaus ii of bohemia. henry ii supported archbishop egbert of trier, archbishop gisilher of magdeburg, , bishop dietrich of metz.
those opposed henry ii s claims fled quedlinburg in saxony conspire against him. when became aware of conspiracy, moved army towards quedlingburg in hopes of crushing opposition. henry ii sent folcmar, bishop of utrecht, ahead of him in order attempt peace negotiation between him , conspirators. negotiations failed when conspirators refused swear allegiance other otto iii, bernard i, duke of saxony, maintaining allegiance child king. in response failure gain control on saxony, henry ii promised hold future peace negotiations , headed duchy of bavaria. long-standing familial ties in region, many bishops , counts recognized him rightful heir throne. henry iii, duke of bavaria, had been installed duke otto ii, refused recognize henry ii , remained loyal otto iii.
with successes , failures in saxony , bavaria, henry ii s claims depended on gaining support in duchy of franconia, direct possession of german kings. franconian nobles, led archbishop willigis of mainz (the primate of germany) , conrad i, duke of swabia, refused abandon otto iii. fearing outright civil war, henry ii relinquished otto iii joint-regency of mother , grandmother on 29 june 985. in return submission, henry ii restored duke of bavaria, replacing henry iii became new duke of carinthia.
regency of theophanu
otto iii s mother theophanu served regent 984 until death in 991.
the regency of theophanu, 984 until death in 991, largely spared internal revolt. struggled throughout reinstate diocese of merseburg, husband otto ii had absorbed archdiocese of magdeburg in 981. theophanu retained otto ii s court chaplains, in particular count bernward of hildesheim , archbishop willigis, who, archbishop of mainz, ex officio secular archchancellor of germany. though theophanu regent, willigis given considerable leeway in administering kingdom. 1 of empress s greatest achievements success in maintaining german supremacy on bohemia, boleslaus ii, duke of bohemia, forced accept authority of otto iii.
in 986 five-year-old otto iii celebrated easter @ quedlinburg. 4 major dukes of germany (henry ii of bavaria, conrad of swabia, henry iii of carinthia, , bernard of saxony) paid tribute child king. imitating similar ceremonies carried out under otto in 936 , otto ii in 961, dukes served otto iii ceremonial steward, chamberlain, cupbearer, , marshal, respectively. service symbolized loyalty of dukes otto iii , willingness serve him. significant submission of henry ii, demonstrated loyalty cousin despite failed rebellion 2 years earlier. next year, age of 6 onward, otto iii receive education , training bernward of hildesheim , gerbert d aurillac.
during regency of theophanu, great gandersheim conflict broke out, concerning control of gandersheim abbey , estates. both archbishop of mainz , bishop of hildesheim claimed authority on abbey, including authority anoint abbey s nuns. conflict began in 989 when otto iii s older sister sophia became nun in abbey. sophia refused accept authority of bishop of hildesheim, instead recognizing of archbishop of mainz. conflict escalated until brought before royal court of otto iii , theophanu. royal intervention eased tensions between parties providing both bishops anoint sophie, while anointing remaining nuns of abbey left bishop of hildesheim alone.
in 989 theophano , otto iii made royal expedition italy visit grave of otto ii in rome. after crossing alps , reaching pavia in northern italy, empress had longtime confidant john philagathos appointed archbishop of piacenza. after year in italy, royal court returned germany, theophanu died in nijmegen on 15 june 991, @ age of 31. buried in church of st. pantaleon in cologne.
because otto iii still child (only eleven when mother died), grandmother, dowager empress adelaide of italy, became regent, archbishop willigis of mainz, until became old enough rule on own in 994.
independent reign
as otto iii grew in age, authority of grandmother gradually waned until 994 when otto iii reached age of 14. @ assembly of imperial diet held in solingen in september 994, otto iii granted ability govern kingdom without need of regent. grandson no longer in need of regent, adelaide retired nunnery had founded @ selz in alsace. although never became nun, spent rest of days there in service of church , in acts of charity. otto iii still unmarried, 995 until 997 older sister sophia accompanied him , acted consort.
one of otto iii s first actions independent ruler appoint heribert of cologne chancellor on italy, position hold until otto s death in 1002. otto iii followed in grandfather, otto i, footsteps in beginning of reign. otto i, otto iii appointed new pope, gregory v, , left rome. gregory v expelled , otto iii returned rome in 998 stayed permanently until death . in summer of 995, otto sent archbishop of piacenza, john philagathos, constantinople representative arrange marriage between himself , byzantine princess.
war against slavs
the northern march (outlined in red) , billung march abandoned empire following great slav rising of 983.
the lutici federation of west slavic polabian tribes had remained quiet during years of otto iii s reign, during henry ii s failed rebellion. in 983, following otto ii s defeat @ battle of stilo, slavs revolted against imperial control, forcing empire abandon territories east of elbe rivier in northern march , billung march. process of christianization halted, slavs left empire in peace, , henry ii s rebellion put down, theophanu launched multiple campaigns re-conquer lost eastern territories, beginning in 985. though 6 @ time, otto iii participated in these campaigns. during expedition of 986 against slavs, otto iii received homage of duke mieszko of poland, provided imperial army military assistance , gave otto iii camel. although lutici subdued time in 987, continued occupy young king’s attention.
in september 991, when otto iii eleven, slavonic raiders captured city of brandenburg. in 992 invasion, incursion of viking raiders, forced otto iii lead army against invaders, , suffered crushing defeat in campaign. next year, germany suffered outbreak of famine , pestilence. in 994 , 995, otto iii led fruitless campaigns against northern slavs , vikings, did re-conquer brandenburg in 993, , in 995 subdued obotrite slavs.
in fall of 995, after otto iii reached majority, again took field against lutici, time aided polish duke bolesław brave. in 997 had deal new lutician attack on arneburg on elbe, managed retake short while.
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