Henry II was King of Germany for more than two decades and Holy Roman Emperor for a decade, in the 11th Century.

He was born on May 6, 963, in Abbach, in the German duchy of Bavaria. His father was Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, and his mother was Gisela of Burgundy. The elder Henry was involved in two revolts against the Holy Roman Emperor, and so the younger Henry spent some years of his youth in exile, living in Hildesheim and studying religion. As a great-grandson of the German king Henry the Fowler, he was related to all three German kings and Holy Roman emperors named Otto.

Henry the elder died in 995, and his son became Duke of Bavaria. He offered help to his cousin, Emperor Otto III, to suppress a revolt in Italy in 1002. Otto died before help arrived, leaving no heir. Henry fended off a handful of challengers and then claimed the German throne, being crowned King of Germany on July 9, 1002. His early reign was punctuated by more challenges to his authority, all of which he refuted. Following what had become an imperial tradition, he two years later became King of Italy, having invaded at the head of an army to quell a revolt there.

He returned to Germany, however, to do damage control in the east. Poland, in the form of Boleslaus I, had been a friend to Otto III; he was not the same to Henry II. The new king reversed some of his predecessors policies, angering many in the kingdom and many outside, including the Polish leader. Finding allies within Germany, Boleslaus I launched a series of war that lasted 14 years, with stopgaps thrown in for peace agreements that neither side adhered to for long.

It was during a lull in the fighting with Poland that Henry found the time and opportunity to go to Rome and accept the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. He was so crowned on Feb. 14, 1014.

While Henry was away, Boleslaus struck. A third round of fighting ended in a decisive Germany victory, and the 1018 Peace of Bautzen resulted in Boleslaus's doing homage to Henry.

Four years later, the emperor set off again to Italy, this time to confront the Byzantine Empire. An attempt to besiege the Byzantine fortress of Troia failed, and Henry retreated.

He returned to Germany in 1024. He died there, in Bamberg, on July 13, 1024. He was 51. In 999, Henry had married Cunigunde of Luxembourg. They had no children together.