Soon he fled from Rome never to return, and tried to raise an army in Germany but failed. The Germans refused to sacrifice their blood and wealth for a useless chimera and even threatened to elect a new king. Then he appealed to Italy for assistance, but Venice alone promised aid and that was small. Otto III.'s universal rule dwindled to the little mountain of Paterno--like Napoleon's St. Helena--and there he died in 1002 in the arms of the faithful Sylvester II. at the age of 22, childless and deserted, and his body was carried over the Alps to rest by the side of Charles the Great. And the youthful Pope survived the young Emperor just a twelvemonth. The direct line of Otto the Great was at an end. Henry II., the Saint, who was in Otto III.'s service in Rome (1001) and received the royal and imperial insignia at the young Emperor's death pending a new election, claimed the German throne as the next in descent.[406:2] By satisfactory promises to the lay and secular princes he defeated his rivals and was crowned German King at Mainz (1002). In his political policy Henry II. followed in the path already formed. He subdued the strong internal foes in Germany, pacified the neighbouring peoples, provided for the union of Burgundy with Germany, assumed the iron crown of Lombardy, and accepted the imperial crown at Rome in 1014. His ecclesiastical policy was very pronounced. He was a devout and ascetic champion of the Papacy and stood stoutly for reforms such as the abolition of simony, the denunciation of the marriage of priests and the correction of monastic abuses. He urged the enforcement of these necessary changes through a general council and laboured for peace. In all these endeavours he had the sincere co-operation of Pope Benedict VIII. The bishopric of Bamberg was created during this rule. Conrad II. (1024-1039) aimed to build up a powerful centralised Germany and through it to rule the Empire. Though compelled to fight formidable internal conspiracies all his life, yet he succeeded in making the crown the recognised and respected authority in Germany. Like Otto I. he used the lesser nobles to curb the power of the greater nobles. He forced obedience to his royal laws everywhere. To perpetuate his rule and to establish the principle of kingly heredity he had his son and heir, Henry III., crowned and coronated at Aachen (1028). Since political power depended largely upon landed wealth Henry III. received both the Duchy of Bavaria (1029) and the Duchy of Swabia (1038).