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Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250; He was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of emperor Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and of Constance, heiress to the Norman kings (Roger II) of Sicily.
Struck circa 1209-1220. Crowned eagle facing, head left, with wings spread / IC | XC, each.with Ω above, and NI | KA in two lines across field flanking central cross. Spa 66/69, MIR-258. 3.21 grams. I also have one of these that looks the same except it is 1.45 grams, or half the weight. This one is 13 mm in diameter.
The tari was introduced in the 10th century by the Fatimids, who ruled Sicily at that time. When the Normans conquered Sicily in the 11th century, they resumed to issue the tari, as it was popular for its convenience in southern Italy and Sicily. Frederick II issued the tari as well.
Frederick II ruled a vast area, beginning with Sicily and stretching through Italy all the way north to Germany. As the Crusades progressed, he acquired control of Jerusalem and called himself its king. However, the Papacy became his enemy, and it eventually prevailed.
He viewed himself as a direct successor to the Roman emperors of antiquity. In title he was Emperor of the Romans from his papal coronation in 1220 until his death; he was also a claimant to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, and of Burgundy. At the age of three, he was crowned King of Sicily as a co-ruler with his mother, Constance of Hauteville, the daughter of Roger II of Sicily. His other royal title was King of Jerusalem by virtue of marriage and his connection with the Sixth Crusade. Frequently at war with the papacy, which was hemmed in between Frederick's lands in northern Italy and his Kingdom of Sicily (the Regno) to the south, he was excommunicated four times and often vilified in pro-papal chronicles of the time and after. Pope Gregory IX went so far as to call him an Antichrist.
He spoke six languages (Latin, Sicilian, Middle High German, Langues d'oïl, Greek and Arabic). He was a patron of science and the arts. He was the first king to formally outlaw trial by ordeal, which had come to be viewed as superstitious.
After his death his line did not survive, and the House of Hohenstaufen came to an end. Furthermore, the Holy Roman Empire entered a long period of decline from which it did not completely recover until the reign of Charles V, 250 years later.