Rudolph II of Burgundy

Rudolph II (c. 11 July 880 – 11 July 937), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 912 until his death. He initially succeeded in Upper Burgundy and also ruled as King of Italy from 922 to 926. In 933 Rudolph acquired the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy (Provence) from King Hugh of Italy in exchange for the waiver of his claims to the Italian crown, thereby establishing the united Kingdom of Burgundy. Life He was the son of the Upper Burgundian king Rudolph I and Guilla. Following his ascent to the throne in 912, Rudolph II entered into a border conflict with the neighbouring dukes of Swabia and campaigned the Thurgau and Zurich estates. Duke Burchard II of Swabia finally defeated him in the 919 Battle of Winterthur; both rulers made peace and Rudolph married Burchard's daughter Bertha in 922. At the same time, Rudolph was asked by several Italian nobles led by Margrave Adalbert I of Ivrea to intervene in Italy on their behalf against Emperor Berengar. Having entered Italy, he was crowned king at Pavia in the Basilica of San Michele Maggiore. In 923, he defeated Berengar at the Battle of Firenzuola; Berengar was murdered the following year, possibly at the instigation of Rudolph. The king then ruled Upper Burgundy and Italy together, residing alternately in both kingdoms.