Alternative Titles: Constantine, Frederick Roger
Frederick II, (born December 26, 1194, Jesi, Ancona, Papal States [Italy] died December 13, 1250, Castel Fiorentino, Apulia, Kingdom of Sicily), king of Sicily (1197–1250), duke of Swabia (as Frederick VI, 1228–35), German king (1212–50), and Holy Romanemperor (1220–50). A Hohenstaufen and grandson of Frederick I Barbarossa, he pursued his dynasty’s imperial policies against the papacy and the Italian city-states. He also joined in the Sixth Crusade (1228–29), conquering several areas of the Holy Land and crowning himself king of Jerusalem (reigning 1229–43).
Early years
In 1196, Frederick, at the age of two, was elected king by the German princes at Frankfort. His father, however, failed in his attempt to gain the princes’ support to make Frederick’s succession hereditary. Just before embarking on a Crusade to the Holy Land, Emperor Henry died in September 1197 after a brief illness, only 32 years old. Thoug