Pope Innocent III, born Lotario dei Conti di Segni in 1160, became one of history's most powerful popes when elected in 1198 at age 37. Trained in theology and law at the universities of Paris and Bologna, he brought exceptional intellectual rigor and political skill to the papacy. His reign from 1198 to 1216 marked the apex of medieval papal authority, when the Church wielded unprecedented influence over European monarchs and territories. Innocent III transformed the papacy from a spiritual off