Pope Innocent III (1161-16 July 1216), born Lotario di Conti, was Pope from 1198 to 1216, succeeding Pope Celestine III and preceding Pope Honorius III.
Biography[]
Lotario di Conti was made a cardinal in September 1190 by Pope Clement III, and in 1198 he was elected as pope after the death of Pope Celestine III. During his tenure as Pope he called for the Fourth Crusade against the Saracens (it ended up in the 1203 Sack of Constantinople by the crusaders and the temporary fall of the Byzantine Empire), a crusade against the Moors that ended in the 1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, and the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars of southern France which ended in defeat. Innocent also banned the use of crossbow against Christians.