The next year Henry was married to the Italian princess, Bertha, to whom his father had betrothed him as a child. Before three years had elapsed, he demanded to be divorced from her; but, although the Archbishop of Mayence and the Imperial Diet were persuaded to consent, the Pope, Alexander II., following the advice of his Chancellor, Hildebrand of Savona, refused his sanction. Henry finally decided to take back his wife, whose beauty, patience and forgiving nature compelled him to love her at last. About the same time, his father's enemy and his own, Godfrey of Lorraine and Tuscany, died; another enemy, Otto, Duke of Bavaria, fell into his hands, and was deposed; and there only remained Magnus, Duke of the Saxons, who seemed hostile to his authority. The events of Henry's youth and the character of his education made him impatient and mistrustful: he inherited the pride and arbitrary will of his father and grandfather, without their prudence: he surrounded himself with wild and reckless princes of his own age, whose counsels too often influenced his policy. No Frank Emperor could be popular with the fierce, independent Saxons; but when it was rumored that Henry IV. had sought an alliance with the Danish king, Swen, against them,--when he called upon them, at the same time, to march against Poland,--their suspicions were aroused, and the whole population rose in opposition. To the number of 60,000, headed by Otto, the deposed Duke of Bavaria (who was a Saxon noble), they marched to the Harzburg, the Imperial castle near Goslar. Henry rejected their conditions: the castle was besieged, and he escaped with difficulty, accompanied only by a few followers. He endeavored to persuade the other German princes to support him, but they refused. They even entered into a conspiracy to dethrone him; the Bishops favored the plan, and his cause seemed nearly hopeless. In this emergency the cities along the Rhine, which were very weary of priestly rule, and now saw a chance to strengthen themselves by assisting the Emperor, openly befriended him. They were able, however, to give him but little military support, and in February, 1074, he was compelled to conclude a treaty with the Saxons, which granted them almost everything they demanded, even to the demolition of the fortresses he had built on their territory. But, in the flush of victory, they also tore down the Imperial palace at Goslar, the Church, and the sepulchre wherein Henry III. was buried. This placed them in the wrong, and Henry IV. marched into Saxony with an immense army which he had called together for the purpose of invading Hungary. The Saxons armed themselves to resist, but they were attacked when unprepared, defeated after a terrible battle, and their land laid waste with fire and sword. Thus were again verified, a thousand years later, the words of Tiberius--that it was not necessary to attempt the conquest of the Germans, for, if let alone, they would destroy themselves.