Conrad II of Bohemia

Konrád Ota II (died 9 September 1191) was a member of Přemyslid dynasty, son of Duke Conrad II of Znojmo. Originally the ruler of Moravia-Znojmo (Mähren-Znojmo) Konrád Ota unified Moravia under his rule in the 1170s by conquering Brno (Brünn) in 1176 and then Olomouc (Olmütz) in 1179. When Frederick of Bohemia|Bedřich]] (Frederick), the son of Vladislav II, ruler of Bohemia, was expelled from Bohemia by his barons, Konrád Ota tried to take control of Bohemia too. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, to whom Bedřich had fled, summoned both Přemyslids to appear before his tribunal at Ratisbon, and decided on September 29, 1182 to keep Bedřich as the ruler of Bohemia, but compensated Konrád Ota with the margraviate of Moravia, independent of Bohemia.

With the death of the Bedřich he became the ruler of Bohemia too, but was forced to allow important concessions to his baron supporters. Those priviledges, known as the iura conradi (1189) allowed some protection for freedman against abuse and confiscation of property without a long legal procedures, and the extension of the right of inheritance to the daughters and brothers of deceased lords, thus preventing those from defaulting to the ruler.

Released from the obligation of participating in the Third Crusade, Konrád Ota accompanied Heinrich VI, the emperor's son, to Southern Italy as part of his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Sicily from Tancred in right of his wife, Constance but died in the plague in Naples. He was succeeded by . Conrad died of the plague in Naples. He was succeeded by Václav II, son of Sobeslav I, who died shortly afterwards in the inheritance war that soon broke out.

Sources

• World Atlas
• Catholic Encyclopedia