To these terms, Manfred and Berthold found themselves obliged to submit ; and the pope at the head of an army, and accompanied by the Guelph nobles, who had been exiled by Frederic, entered Apulia. His first act was to deprive Manfred of part of his domains, which he bestowed on Bo rello d'Anglone, his personal enemy, who immediately set out to take possession. In his way, however, he was acci dentally met by Manfred ; and a skirmish having ensued, Borello was slain. Innocent immediately cited him to ap pear and stand trial for this murder; and Manfred, finding that Berthold and his friends were unable or unwilling to protect him, after a long flight through a country entirely occupied by the troops of his enemies, at length was re ceived by the Saracen troops at Luceria, who, notwith standing the opposition of the governor, were determined to spew their respect and affection to the son of their de ceased commander. Putting himself at the head of these troops, he immediately attacked the army of the pope, com manded by Cardinal William Fiesco, his nephew; and, having been successful in a skirmish, inspired them with such a panic, that they fled with precipitation. But Man fred derived still greater advantages from the death of In nocent IV., which was followed by repeated defeats of his troops ; and, in less than two years, Manfred recovered the whole kingdom, which he continued to govern as regent for Conradin.
In the mean time, considerable changes had also taken place in the Tuscan states. At Florence, the people at tached to the Guelph party had revolted against the Ghi beline nobles, to whom Frederic II. had entrusted the go vernment, and recalled the exiles of the opposite faction. Not content with this domestic victory, they proceeded to at tack their Ghibeline neighbours, the Pisans, and their allies. Their endeavours were crowned with success: Pistoia first submitted, and received a Florentine garrison ; Sienna was :text compelled to join their league ; Volterra, one of the strongest cities in Tuscany, was taken, and the Pisans, after repeated defeats, obliged to beg a peace.
Innocent IV. was succeeded in the pontificate by Alex ander IV. who, although of a more moral and religious character than his predecessor, was by no means equal to him in talents. His first public act was to preach a crusade against Eccelino Romano; this was entrusted to Philip, archbishop of Ravenna, who proceeded to Venice, and there collected the Paduans and other exiles who had fled from the tyranny of Eccelino. He also received con siderable assistance from the Venetians, and was joined by the Marquess Azzo of Es.e, and the Fei rarcse, the re public of Bologna, Count Louis de San Bunifazio, lord of Mantua, and the citizens of Trent, who had revolted against Eccclino. On the other hand, that tyrant was master of Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Feltra, and Belluna ; had se cretly reconciled himself with his brother Alberico, who governed Treviso; and had made an alliance with the Marquess Oberto Pellavicino, and Buoso da Doara, the alternate podestas of Cremona. The crusaders were at
first victorious ; and having defeated the governor of Pa dua, they entered that city with the fugitives, took pos session of it, and laying open the dungeons, delivered nearly 1000 victims of the cruelty of Eccelino. But the unfortunate citizens of Padua, who were serving in his army, felt the weight of his vengeance, and of 11,000 men scarcely 200 escaped alive. In the mean time, Albe rico Ruinano arrived with an army, and, offering his aid, wished to be admitted into Padua ; but the legate, disco vering that he attempted to raise a mutiny among his troops, wisely rejected his assistance.
The troops of Eccelino, and his Cremonese allies, had now made themselves masters of Brescia; but the latter, indignant at being defrauded of their share of the con quest, deserted the former, and soon after joined them selves with the papal army. The last victory of Eccelino was the capture of the castle of Friola in the territory of Vicenza. The unfortunate garrison had their eyes torn out, and their noses and legs cut off ; nor were the women, the children, or the priests, exempted from this most dreadful mutilation. But the monster had now filled up the measure of his crimes, and the hour of vengeance, so long delayed, was at hand. Having marched into the Milanese, he was met at the bridge of Cassano, over the Adda, by Azzo of Este, with the troops of Ferrara, Man tua, and Cremona. Deserted during the battle by the Brescian cavalry, his army was thrown into confusion. His German soldiers, indeed, still made a desperate re sistance; but Eccclino, being severely wounded by a brother of one of his mutilated captives, was taken pri soner, and a total route ensued. The captive tyrant maintained a sullen silence, and, fixing his ferocious looks on the ground, seemed insensible to the shouts of joy of his conquerors. Refusing food and medical assistance, he tore open his wounds, and died at Soncino t t days after his defeat. Ile was in his 66th year, and his reign of blood had lasted 54 years.
The papal army was immediately admitted into the cities under his power ; Vicenza received a podcsta from Padua ; and Verona elected to that office Martino della Scala, who afterwards became their sovereign lord. Al berico Romano, expelled from Treviso, took refuge in the castle of San Zeno, among the Euganean mountains, but the Guelphs determined utterly to extirpate a family so justly detested, and commanded by the marquess of Este, besieged the fo•tiess. Albcrico was reduced by famine to surrender, imploring the compassion of Este for his six sons and two daughters, one of whom was the widow of Rinaldo of Este, his brother, but in vain; the whole family were put to death, and their mangled limbs sent to the cities which had endured the tyranny of Eccelino. The extinction of the family of Romano, and the fall of the tyrant, which occasioned universal exultation, were fol lowed by a general peace in Lombardy ; and the attention of the pope was turned solely to the affairs of the kingdom of Naples.