Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

From Freepedia

Otto IV of Brunswick (died 1218) was King of Germany (1208-1215) and Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 - 1215.

The son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, and Matilda Plantagenet, Otto was elected king when his rival for the throne, Philip of Swabia (Hohenstaufen), was murdered. Otto had been supported by the Pope Innocent III, but Innocent withdrew his support after Otto's military adventures in Italy. In 1211 the Diet of Nuremberg ordered Otto deposed and Frederick II Hohenstaufen elected in his place, but nothing came of this decree until Otto decisively lost the battle of Bouvines (July, 1214) to the forces of Philip II of France. He was deposed in 1215 and died in 1218.

Preceded by: Philip	King of Germany 1208–1215	Succeeded by: Frederick II/Frederick VI of Swabia
	Holy Roman Emperor 1209–1215
	Duke of Swabia 1208–1212