Alexander IV. was now dead, and Urban IV. his suc cessor, a roan of talents, began, with zeal, to carry into effect the designs of Innocent IV. against Manfred and the house of Suabia. He first attempted, but without success, to put a stop to the marriage of Constance, daughter of Manfred, with Peter, son of James, king of Arragon. Having then persuaded Edmund, son of Henry III. of England, to renounce the investiture of Naples, formerly bestowed on him by Innocent, he immediately offered the crown to Charles count of Anjou and Provence, brother to St. Louis. This prince, whose talents and courage eminently qualified him for such an undertaking, accepted the gift, and prepared to collect an army to at. tack Manfred. His power was greatly increased by the alliance of Philip della Torre, and an army of Tuscan exiles of the Guelph party, who kept in check the Ghibe lines in Lombardy. During these warlike preparations Urban IV. died, and his successor, Clement IV. who was a Frenchman, was even now devoted to the interests of the court of Anjou, and gave immediate proof of his attachment, by appointing him senator of Rome. Charles immediately proceeded by sea, and escaping the fleet of Manfred with difficulty arrived at Rome; and, taking an oath to obey the conditions, and pay the tribute imposed by the pontiff, was solemnly invested with the crown of the two Sicilies. In the mean time, his army, under the command of his wife Beatrice of Provence, his nephew Robert de Bethune, and Count Guy de Montfort, son of the famous Simon Earl of Leicester, crossed Mount Cenis, and passing through the Milanese, conducted by Napoleon della Torre, was received into the territories of Mantua and Ferrara by the Count San Bonifazio and Obizzo, grandson of the last Azzo of Este ; having defeated the troops of the Marquess Pellavicino at Capriolo. At Fer rara they were joined by 400 Fiorentine exiles and 4000 Bolognese; and Charles putting himself at their head, entered Apulia by the way of Ferentino. He was met near Benevento by the army of Manfred ; but the dege nerate Apulians were unable to stand the repeated and impetuous charges of tne French, and even the Germans having given way, a t 1 route ensued, and Manfred him self was slain while 1., vain cnd.tavouring to rally his troops. Thc conqueror refused to allow to his body the Christian rites of sepulture ; but the French soldiers, more generous than their leader, having buried him near the bridge of Benevento, raised a rude pile over his glare, to which each soldier carried a stone, a monument equally honourable to the dead and the living. But the cruelty of Charles was not confined to this insult ; on his entry into Benevento, he put to death Count Giordano Lancia, Peter Uberti, and many other adherents of the late king : and, a few days after, having seized Queen Sybilla, and the two children of Manfred, with his sister, while attempting to escape into Greece, they, too, became victims to his barbarity, and were murdered in prison. Such was the commencement of the reign of Charles of Anjou. Every corner of the kingdom was subjected to the rapine and cruelty of the French, and the extortions of the king, and even the papal party regretted the exchange they had mane of the mild and paternal sceptre of Manfred, for the bloody sword of Charles.
The French victories in the south of Italy, proved of essential advantage to the Guelph party in Tuscany. Count Guido Novello, who commanded the troops of Manfred in Florence, was at last obliged to evacuate that city ; and the Guelphs having chosen Charles of Anjou as their lord, and having received from him a troop of 800 French horse, under the command ol Guy de Montfort, once more expelled the Ghibelines, who were forced to take refuge at Pisa and Sienna. Florence immediately declared war against these two republics ; and, joined by the army of the king of Naples, commanded by himself, laid siege to the castle of Poggibonzi near Sienna, which, after holding out for four months, was at length com pelled to surrender. Charles then marched into the terri
tory of Pisa, and made himself master of several fortresses belonging to that state. In the mean time, the Neapolitans and Sicilians, longing for deliverance from the yoke of the French, had sent a deputation into Germany to solicit Conradin to reclaim the inheritance of his ancestors. The ambassadors of Pisa and Sienna seconded these solicita tions; and Martino della Scalia at Verona, and Oberto Pellavicino at Pavia, promising to assist him with their troops, the young prince entered Italy, accompanied by Frederic duke of Austria, and attended as far as Verona by the duke of Bavaria, his uncle, and the count of Tyrol, his step-father, with their troops. From Verona he pro ceeded to Pavia, and at time head of 3500 cavalry, passed through Lombardy without opposition. Lucina had now revolted from Charles ; Henry of Castile, senator of Rome, had declared in favour of Conradin ; and the pope, beginning to be alarmed, recalled Charles from Tuscany to defend his own kingdom. While that prince laid siege to Luceria, Conradin repaired to Pisa, and having there received considerable reinforcements, attacked and defeat ed William de Belselve, Charles's lieutenant in Tuscany. From thence he proceeded to Rome, and, regardless of the anathemas of Clement, who had retired to Viterbo, converted to his own use such of the treasures of the church as he could get possession of. His army now amounted to 5000 cavalry, at the head of which he en tered Abruzzo, and encamped in the plain of Tagliacozzo. He was there attacked by the arm) of Charles, which only consisted of 3000 men, 800 of w hom he placed in ambuscade under the command of Akird de St. Valery. The first charge of Conradin was successful, and the French were put to flight ; but the Germans having found the body of prince Henry of Cosenza, and taking it for that of the king of Naples, imagined that their victory was complete, and leaving their ranks, proceeded to plunder. In this state of disorder, they were charged by St. Valery's reserve with complete success, and Conradin and his barons, after a short resistance, obliged to betake themselves to flight. Having arrived at Astura, 45 miles from the field of battle, he embarked in a boat, with the intention of landing in Sicily ; but being pursued by Fran gipani, lord of Astura, was by him taken prisoner and de. livered up to Charles. The king, determined to get rid of his unfortunate competitor, summoned him before him as a traitor. The result of this mock trial was, (as might be expected,) the condemnation of Conradin ; and the last male representative of the house of Suabia perished on the scaffold. This execution took place in the presence of chtqcs, 29th October, 1268, and was followed by that of the duke ol Austiia, the two Lancias, the counts Do noratico of Pisa, anti many others of the adherents of Conradin. The innabitahts of Augusta in Sicily were put to the sword, and in every city of the kingdom the unfortunate Ghibelines were inhumanly massacred.
Two months after the execution of Conradin, the pope, Clement IV. died ; and as for nearly three years the con clave could not agree in electing a successor, the states of the church remained, during the interval, under the power of Charles. That ambitious prince now aimed at making himself master ol all Italy. His attempts had at first every prospect ol success. The power of the Ghibeline lords in Lombardy was now much weakened ; and at a general diet of the Geuiph cities at Cremona, the king of Naples was declared head of their confederation, and was, by many of them, acknowledged as their lord. His attention, however, was now for a time diverted from the affairs of Italy by the last crusade of his brother St. Louis.