Roman instability Prior to his sudden death in December 983, Otto II had installed Pietro Canepanova as pope. Calling himself
Pope John XIV, Canepanova was a non-Roman from Lombardy who had served as Otto II's chancellor in Italy. After Otto II's death, John XIV intervened in the dispute between Henry II of Bavaria and Theophanu over the regency, issuing an edict ordering Henry to turn Otto over to his mother. During that turmoil, the Roman aristocracy saw an opportunity to remove the non-Roman John XIV and install a pope from among themselves. The
Antipope Boniface VII, who had spent nine years in exile in the
Byzantine Empire, joined forces with Byzantine nobles in southern Italy and marched on Rome in April 984 in order to claim the papal throne for himself. With the aid of the sons of
Crescentius the Elder —
Crescentius II and
John Crescentius — Boniface VII was able to imprison John XIV in the
Tomb of Hadrian. Four months later, on 20 August 984, John XIV died in his prison, either starved or poisoned, probably on the orders of Boniface. With Otto's regency seated in Germany, Crescentius II took the title of
Patricius Romanorum (
Patrician of the Romans) and became the effective ruler of Rome, although he did not act entirely independently of central authority, presenting himself as a lieutenant of the king. When Boniface VII died in 985,
Pope John XV was
chosen to succeed him. Although the details of the election are unknown, it is likely that Crescentius II played a key role in the process. For a number of years, Crescentius II exercised authority over the city, severely limiting the autonomy of the pope in the process. When the Empress Theophanu was in Rome between 989 and 991, Crescentius II nominally subordinated himself to her, though he maintained his position as ruler of the city.
First expedition into Italy . Otto III was crowned as emperor in 994 by
Pope Gregory V. After taking the crown in 994, Otto III faced first a Slavic rebellion, which he put down, and then an attempt by Crescentius II to seize power in Italy. When Otto III turned his attention to Italy, he not only intended to be crowned
Emperor but also to come to the aid of
Pope John XV, who had been forced to flee Rome. Otto set out for Italy from
Ratisbon in March 996. In
Verona, he became the
patron of
Otto Orseolo, the son of
Venetian Doge Pietro II Orseolo. He then pledged to support Otto Orseolo as the next Doge of Venice, leading to a period of good relations between the
Holy Roman Empire and the
Republic of Venice after years of conflict under Otto II. Reaching
Pavia for
Easter, 996, Otto III was declared
King of Italy and crowned with the
Iron Crown of the Lombards. The king failed, however, to reach Rome before Pope John XV died of
fever. While Otto III was in Pavia, Crescentius II, fearing the king's march on Rome, reconciled with Otto III and agreed to accept his nominee as pope. While in
Ravenna, Otto III nominated his cousin and court chaplain Bruno, who was then only twenty-three years old, and sent him to Rome with Archbishop Willigis to secure the city. In early May 996, Bruno was
consecrated as
Gregory V, the first pope of German nationality. Despite submitting to Otto III, Crescentius shut himself in his family's stronghold, the
Tomb of Hadrian, out of fear of retribution. The new supreme pontiff crowned Otto III as emperor on 21 May 996, in Rome at
St. Peter's Basilica. The Emperor and Pope then held a
synod at St. Peter's on 25 May to serve as the Empire's
highest judicial court. The Roman nobles who had rebelled against Pope John XV were summoned before the synod to give an account of their actions. A number of the rebels, including Crescentius II, were
banished for their crimes. Pope Gregory V, however, wished to inaugurate his papal reign with acts of mercy and pleaded for clemency from the Emperor, who issued
pardons to those he convicted. In particular, while Crescentius II was pardoned by Otto III, he was deprived of his title of
Patricius but was permitted to live out his life in retirement at Rome. Following the synod, Otto III appointed Gerbert of Aurillac, the
Archbishop of Reims, to be his tutor. Counseled by Gerbert and Bishop
Adalbert of Prague, Otto III set out to reorganize the Empire. Influenced by the ruin of
ancient Rome and perhaps by his Byzantine mother, Otto III dreamed of restoring the glory and power of the
Roman Empire, with himself at the head of a
theocratic state. He also introduced some Byzantine court customs. To shore up his power in Italy, Otto III sought the support of existing Italian religious communities. For instance, he granted royal immunity to the Abbey of San Salvatore, a rich monastery along the shores of the
Lago di Bientina in Tuscany. Through the election of Gregory V, Otto III exercised greater control over the Church than his grandfather
Otto I had decades earlier. The Emperor quickly demonstrated his intention to withdraw Imperial support for the privileges of the
Holy See laid out by Otto I. Under the
Diploma Ottonianum issued by Otto I, the Emperor could only veto papal candidates. Otto III, however, had nominated and successfully installed his own candidate. The Emperor also refused to acknowledge the
Donation of Constantine, which Otto III declared a forgery. Under a decree supposedly issued by
Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, the Pope was granted
secular authority over
western Europe. These actions resulted in increased tensions between the Roman nobility and the Church, who had traditionally reserved the right to name the pope from among their own members. After his coronation, Otto III returned to Germany in December 996, staying along the
Lower Rhine (especially in
Aachen) until April 997. His specific activities during this time are not known. In summer 997, Otto III campaigned against the Elbe Slavs in order to secure Saxony's eastern border.
Second expedition into Italy , stronghold of the
Crescentii family, was besieged by Otto III in 998. Otto III's soldiers breached the stronghold and executed the rebellious
Crescentius II. When Otto III left Italy for Germany, the situation in Rome remained uncertain. In September 996, a few months after receiving a pardon from Otto III, Crescentius II met with the Archbishop of Piacenza, John Philagathos, a former adviser to the late Empress Theophanu, to devise a plan to depose the newly installed Pope Gregory V. In 997, with the active support of Byzantine Emperor
Basil II, Crescentius II led a revolt against Gregory V, deposed him, and installed John Philagathos as
Pope John XVI, an
antipope, in April 997. Gregory fled to Pavia in northern Italy, held a synod, and
excommunicated John. The new bishop of Piacenza,
Siegfried, came north to meet Otto at
Eschwege in July. Otto detached the city from the
county of Piacenza and granted it to the bishop in perpetuity. Putting down the Slavic forces in eastern Saxony, Otto III began his second expedition into Italy in December 997. Accompanied by his sister Sophia into Italy, Otto III named his aunt
Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg, as his regent in Germany, becoming the first non-duke or bishop to serve in that capacity. Otto III peacefully retook Rome in February 998 when the Roman aristocracy agreed to a peace settlement. With Otto III in control of the city, Gregory V was reinstated as pope. John XVI fled, but the Emperor's troops pursued and captured him, cut off his nose and ears, cut out his tongue, broke his fingers, blinded him, and then brought him before Otto III and Gregory V for judgement. At the intercession of
Saint Nilus the Younger, one of his countrymen, Otto III spared John XVI's life and sent him to a monastery in Germany, where he would die in 1001. Crescentius II retreated again to the Tomb of Hadrian, the traditional stronghold of the
Crescentii, and was then besieged by Otto III's imperial army. Towards the end of April, the stronghold was breached, and Crescentius II was taken prisoner and executed by
decapitation. His body was put on public display at
Monte Mario.
Reign from Rome Otto III made Rome the administrative capital of his Empire and revived elaborate Roman customs and Byzantine court ceremonies. During his time in Italy, the Emperor and the Pope attempted to reform the Church, and confiscated church property was returned to the respective religious institutions. Additionally, after the death of the
Bishop of Halberstadt in November 996, who had been one of the masterminds behind the abolition of the
bishopric of Merseburg, Otto III and Pope Gregory V began the process of reviving the Diocese. Otto I had established the Diocese in 968 following his
victory over the Hungarians in order to Christianize the Polabian Slavs but it had been effectively destroyed in 983 with the
Great Slav Rising following the death of Otto II that year. Otto III arranged for his imperial palace to be built on the
Palatine Hill and planned to restore the ancient
Roman Senate to its position of prominence. He revived the city's ancient governmental system, including appointing a
City Patrician, a
City Prefect, and a body of judges whom he commanded to recognize only
Roman law. In order to strengthen his title to the Roman Empire and to announce his position as the protector of
Christendom, Otto III took for himself the titles "the Servant of
Jesus Christ", "the Servant of the
Apostles", "Consul of the Senate and People of Rome", and "Emperor of the World". Between 998 and 1000, Otto III made several
pilgrimages. In 999, he made a pilgrimage from
Gargano to
Benevento, where he met with the hermit monk
Romuald and the Abbot
Nilus the Younger (at that time a highly venerated religious figure) in order to
atone for executing Crescentius II after promising his safety. During this particular pilgrimage, his cousin Pope Gregory V died in Rome after a brief illness. Upon learning of Gregory V's death, Otto III installed his long-time tutor Gerbert of Aurillac as
Pope Sylvester II. The use of this papal name was not without cause: it recalled the first
pope of this name, who had allegedly created the "Christian Empire" together with Emperor Constantine the Great. This was part of Otto III's campaign to further link himself with both the Roman Empire and the Church. Like his grandfather before him, Otto III strongly aspired to be the successor of
Charlemagne. In 1000, he visited Charlemagne's tomb in
Aachen, removing
relics from it and transporting them to Rome. Otto III also carried back parts of the body of Bishop Adalbert of Prague, which he placed in the church of
San Bartolomeo all'Isola he had built on the
Tiber Island in Rome. Otto III also added the skin of
Saint Bartholomew to the relics housed there. ==Affairs in Central Europe==