Ferdinand III

King of Naples from 1504, also known as Ferdinand II.

Ferdinand III (1608–1657)

Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 when he succeeded his father Ferdinand II; king of Hungary from 1625. Although anxious to conclude the Thirty Years' War, he did not give religious liberty to Protestants.

Ferdinand III (1769–1824)

Grand Duke of Tuscany 1790–99 and 1814–24. Although he was the first sovereign to acknowledge the French republic, he quarrelled with France, and Florence was occupied by the French in 1799.

The younger son of the Emperor Leopold II, he was born and died in Florence. He succeeded his father as grand duke, and continued his father's reforming policy. After some months of the French occupation of Florence, he was restored to power, but in 1801, by the Treaty of Luneville, Tuscany was became the Kingdom of Etruria. Ferdinand was finally restored in 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, and his liberal rule contrasted with that of the majority of other restored monarchs. In the meantime he had been successively elector of Salzburg and Grand Duke of Würzburg.

Ferdinand III (1199–1252)

King of Castile from 1217 and King of Leon from 1230. With the kingdoms united, he successfully fought against the Moors, capturing Ubeda, Cordoba, Jaen, and then Seville, which became his capital.

He was responsible for the collection and codification of the Latin and Gothic laws known as the ‘Forum Judicum’. He was canonized in 1671 by Clement X.