Soběslav II (also Sobeslaus II), called ''Prince of the Peasants'' or ''King of the Peasants'' (c. 1128 – 9 or 29 January 1180), was the

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...

from 1173 to 1178. He was the second son of

Soběslav I Soběslav (; ) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,100 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, ur ...

. Supported by neither nobles nor emperor, he was backed solely by the lowest classes.

Life

In 1172,

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

, son of Vladislaus II, succeeded his abdicating father.

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, held a Diet at Hermsdorf in September 1173 and deposed Frederick, nominating Oldřich, son of Soběslav I. Oldřich immediately abdicated in favour of his elder brother Soběslav II, who had been imprisoned since 1161. Soběslav granted a charter to the town of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, but he entered into a fight with Henry II, Duke of Austria, in 1175. In summer 1176, an army led by Duke Conrad Otto of Znojmo devastated the country to the north of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. Churches and monasteries were attacked and

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

excommunicated the duke. Barbarossa intervened in 1177 and recognised Frederick as duke. By 1179, Soběslav was removed and he died in "some part of a foreign land" on 29 January 1180 without heirs from his union with Elisabeth (d.1209), daughter of

Mieszko III of Poland Mieszko III ( 1122/25 – 13 March 1202), sometimes called the Old, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław III Wry ...

References

1120s births 1180 deaths 12th-century monarchs of Bohemia Roman Catholic monarchs People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Dukes of Bohemia Year of birth uncertain {{CzechRepublic-bio-stub