Adolf of Nassau
Adolf of Nassau was elected King of the Romans in 1292 and was deposed and killed six years later — the only German king to die fighting his own successor. He was a minor count of a small Rhineland territory with almost no lands and less money, and that is why the electors chose him. Rudolf of Habsburg had died in 1291 having spent his reign acquiring Austria and Styria for his family, and the princes had no intention of letting his son Albert inherit an office that was supposed to be elective. They wanted a king weak enough to be manageable. Adolf's election was purchased with extensive promises, chiefly to Archbishop Gerhard of Mainz, who extracted written undertakings and money. He then tried to build a territorial base, which was the only way any king could actually govern. He took English subsidies from Edward I in 1294 in exchange for a declaration of war on France that he never seriously prosecuted, and used the money instead to buy the claim to Thuringia and Meissen from a landgrave who had quarrelled with his sons. The campaign to take it alienated the Saxon princes and Bohemia, and the failure to fight France alienated everyone else. Mainz turned on him. A diet at Mainz in June 1298 declared him deposed and elected Albert of Habsburg. The two armies met at Göllheim near Worms on 2 July. Adolf was unhorsed and killed, possibly by Albert in person. Albert was murdered by his own nephew ten years later.
- Lived: 1255 CE – 1298 CE
- Nationality: German
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state, military_leader
