Siege of Viterbo

Siege in 1243 in Italy

42°25′7.00″N 12°6′15.01″E / 42.4186111°N 12.1041694°E / 42.4186111; 12.1041694Result Guelph victoryBelligerents Holy Roman Empire and Ghibellines GuelphsCommanders and leaders Frederick II

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Location within Italy

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Siege of Viterbo (Mediterranean)

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Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines

Pre-Frederick II

Tortona
Spoleto
Crema
Carcano
Milan
Monte Porzio
Alessandria
Legnano
Calcinato

Reign of Frederick II

Cortenuova
Brescia
Faenza
Giglio
Viterbo
Parma
Fossalta
Cingoli

Post-Frederick II

Cassano
Montaperti
Benevento
Tagliacozzo
Colle Val d'Elsa
Roccavione
Desio
Sicilian Vespers
Forli
Pieve al Toppo
Campaldino
Lastra
Henry VII campaign
- Milan uprising
- Brescia
Soncino
War of the Bucket
- Zappolino
Gamenario

The siege of Viterbo was fought in 1243 between the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and the rebellious city of Viterbo, 50 km north of Rome.^[1]

History

Frederick intervened when the Guelph party in the city expelled his garrison from the city, forcing the men, led by the imperial vicar Simeon, count of Chieti, to withdraw into the rocca of San Lorenzo. Frederick was reached by the news at Melfi, and immediately raised an army to set the matter, while the rebel citizens of Viterbo requested help from Frederick's traditional enemy, the pope. The emperor led the siege personally, but the maneuvers of his troops were unsuccessful, and the defenders were able to set on fire the imperial siege towers. The siege thus resulted in a humiliation for Frederick.^[2]

Pope Innocent IV, fearing that the event could start a war with the emperor, intervened; his legate, Cardinal Otto of San Nicola in Carcere, convinced the rebels to sign a treaty of peace. However, after the signature, they treacherously attacked and massacred the imperial garrison. The pope punished the citizens of Viterbo only with a pecuniary mulct, and retained control of the city in the person of his legate, Ranieri of Viterbo.

References

^ Multiple Authors (17 September 2012). Medieval Wars 500–1500. Amber Books Ltd. pp. 77–. ISBN 978-1-78274-119-0.
^ Jim Bradbury (1992). The Medieval Siege. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 151–. ISBN 978-0-85115-357-5.