Since the accession of Otto the Great, no German monarch had been crowned under such favorable auspices, and none had possessed so many of the qualities of a great ruler. He was shrewd, clear-sighted, intelligent, and of an iron will: he enjoyed the exercise of power, and the aim of his life was to extend and secure it. On the other hand he was despotic, merciless in his revenge, and sometimes led by the violence of his passions to commit deeds which darkened his name and interfered with his plans of empire. [Sidenote: 1154. BARBAROSSA'S CAMP IN ITALY.] Frederick first assured to the German princes the rights which they already possessed as the rulers of States, coupled with the declaration that he meant to exact the full and strict performance of their duties to him, as King. On his first royal journey, he arbitrated between Swen and Canute, rival claimants to the throne of Denmark, conferred on the Duke of Bohemia the title of king, and took measures to settle the quarrel between Henry the Lion of Saxony, and Henry of Austria, for the possession of Bavaria. In all these matters he showed the will, the decision and the imposing personal bearing of one who felt that he was born to rule; and had he remained in Germany, he might have consolidated the States into one Nation. But the phantom of a Roman Empire beckoned him to Italy. The invitation held out to Konrad was not renewed, for Pope Eugene III. was dead, and his successor, Adrian IV. (an Englishman, by the name of Breakspeare), rejected Arnold of Brescia's doctrines. It was in Frederick's power to secure the success of either side; but his first aim was the Imperial crown, and he could only gain it without delay by assisting the Pope. In 1154 Frederick, accompanied by Henry the Lion and many other princes, and a large army, crossed the Brenner Pass, in the Tyrol, and descended into Italy. According to old custom, the first camp was pitched on the Roncalian fields, near Piacenza, and the royal shield was set up as a sign that the chief ruler was present and ready to act as judge in all political troubles. Many complaints were brought to him against the City of Milan, which had become a haughty and despotic Republic, and began to oppress Lodi, Como, and other neighboring cities. Frederick saw plainly the trouble which this independent movement in Lombardy would give to him or his successors; but after losing two months and many troops in besieging and destroying Tortona, one of the towns friendly to Milan, he was not strong enough to attack the latter city: so, having been crowned King of Lombardy at Pavia, he marched, in 1155, towards Rome. [Sidenote: 1154.]