Holy Roman Empire, political entity of lands in western and central Europe, founded by Charlemagne in ad 800 and dissolved by Emperor Francis II in 1806.
The Holy Roman Empire was an attempt to revive the Western Roman Empire, whose legal and political structure had deteriorated during the 5th and 6th centuries and had been replaced by independent kingdoms ruled by Germanic nobles.
During his fifth Italian expedition, however, he was defeated by the Lombard League at the Battle of Legnano in 1176 and was forced to recognize the cities’ political autonomy.
Frederick II, 11941250, Holy Roman emperor (122050) and German king (121220), king of Sicily (11971250), and king of Jerusalem (122950), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Constance, heiress of Sicily.
Charles V, 15001558, Holy Roman emperor (151958) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (151656); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and Mary of Burgundy.
Ferdinand III, 160857, Holy Roman emperor (163757), king of Hungary (162657) and of Bohemia (162757), son and successor of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.