European Kingdoms

Kingdom of Aragon
AD 1035 -1516

Formerly part of the kingdom of Navarre, Aragon, on the Mediterranean east coast of Spain, comprised the Catalan-speaking portion of Iberia.

1035 - 1063

Ramiro I

1063 - 1094

Sancho Ramirez

Also king of Navarre.

1094 - 1104

Pedro I

Also king of Navarre.

1104 - 1134

Alfonso I the Battler

Also king of Navarre. Co-ruled Leon & Castile (1109-1126).

1134 - 1137

Ramiro II the Monk

(d.1147)

1137 - 1162

Queen Petronilla

(d.1173)

1146

The kingdom captures Saragossa. The new capital is established at Aragon.

1162

Aragon achieves union with the County of Barcelona, expanding the kingdom of Aragon to encompass it.

1162 - 1196

Alfonso II the Chaste

1174

The younger sister of Alfonso II, Dulce Berenguer, marries Sancho I of Portugal, thereby securing an alliance between the two kingdoms and recognition of Portugal's right to exist as a kingdom.

1196 - 1213

Pedro II

1212

Caliph Muhammad suffers a devastating defeat by the Christian Iberians of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and Portugal at Los Navos de Tolosa. Humiliated, they are forced to give way, and their army never fully recovers from the disaster. In the east, the empire fades as local tribes begin to rebel against Almohad rule and control over more territory is gradually lost, along with domination of the western Mediterranean Sea.

Ongoing battles between the Almohads and the Iberian Christians would end up in North African defeat at the Battle of Los Navos de Tolosa in 1212

1213 - 1276

Jaime / James I the Conqueror

1276 - 1285

Pedro III the Great

King of Sicily (1282-1285).

1285 - 1291

Alfonso III the Do-Gooder

1291 - 1327

Jaime / James II the Just

King of Sicily (1285-1296). Joint king of Sardinia & Corsica (1323).

1297

Shortly after taking office, Pope Boniface VIII sweeps all existing agreements and treaties aside with his proclamation of a 'Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica' that will, naturally, be a fief of the papacy itself. Boniface offers the fief to James II along with papal support should he wish to abandon his territory on Sicily in exchange for invading Pisan-supported Sardinia. James does not immediately take up the offer.

1323

James II forms an alliance with Giudice Hugh II of Arborea to conduct a campaign to take the Pisan-occupied territories of Cagliari and Gallura. This they do, also capturing the city of Sassari, which lies immediately south-east of Porto Torres on Sardinia. The territory is claimed as the 'Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica', with Hugh and James ruling jointly, although Hugh still commands Arborea under his own authority while a viceroy governs the captured territories for Aragon. It takes until 1326 for Pisa to officially cede Sardinia in its entirety.

1327 - 1336

Alfonso IV the Good

Joint 'King of Sardinia & Corsica' with Arborea.

1336 - 1387

Peter IV the Ceremonious

Joint 'King of Sardinia & Corsica' with Arborea.

1353

Peter IV invades Sardinia in the continuance of Aragon's claim to rule all of Sardinia. He attacks Arborea, intending to remove the independence of Giudice Marianus, or destroy him entirely and claim the whole island. Marianus ends the alliance with Aragon and instead sides with Aragon's enemy, Genoa, which also infuriates the Pisans, but Marianus remains undefeated. The so-called 'Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica' retains its status as a crown territory, rather than being incorporated directly within the kingdom of Aragon, although Corsica has not even been conquered.

1369

The death of Pedro of Castile triggers a fight for the throne. Peter IV is among the competitors, as are the kings of Navarre and Portugal, and John of Gaunt, English duke of Lancaster. In the end it is Pedro's illegitimate brother who gains the throne, and all parties seek peace talks from Pope Gregory XI.

1372 - 1378

An opportunity for Peter to press his claims to overlordship of Corsica arises thanks to Genoese rule of the island still being resisted by the barons of the south and the hereditary caporali in the north. He sends a force to conquer the island, which it does under the leadership of Arrigo della Rocca in 1372. In a sudden about face after years of opposition, Cape Corso's barons appeal for help to Genoa, which is distracted by other problems.

1383 - 1387

Aragon continues to fight Arborea for control of the island of Sardinia, but Giudice Eleanor's effective governance of the war sees Aragon lose almost all of its Sardinian holdings. Arborea now controls much of the island and Eleanor is able to negotiate a treaty that is very favourable. She also continues her father's alliance with Genoa, which secures the independence of Arborea for the time being.

1387 - 1395

John I

1388

Eleanor of Arborea signs a pact with Aragon which finally delivers peace to the island of Sardinia.

1395 - 1410

Martin I the Humane

Martin the Older of Aragon & Sicily (1409-1410).

1396

Aragon holds full control of the principality of Andorra.

1408 - 1409

William III of Narbonne lands on Sardinia on 8 December 1408 to be crowned king, but Martin the Younger has already landed a force of his own from Sicily (on 6 October), and the two meet at the Battle of Sanluri in 1409. The battle is a disaster for William, and he is forced to flee to France for assistance, but Martin of Sicily dies of malaria a few days after the battle.

1410 - 1412

The death of the Aragonese heir, Martin the Younger in 1409 is quickly followed by that of his father, causing an interregnum in the rule of Aragon. As there is no direct heir to the throne, it passes to another dynasty, that of the Trastámaras. Its representative, Ferdinand, becomes the new king of Aragon through the terms of the Compromise of Caspe of 1412.

1412 - 1416

Ferdinand I the Just

King of Sicily (1412-1416).

1416 - 1458

Alfonso V the Magnanimous

King of Sicily (1416-1458), & Naples (1442-1458).

1418

Alfonso appoints Luis de Pontos as the first Aragonese viceroy of the island of Sardinia, although at this stage he only controls sections of it, with the native Arborea stubbornly holding onto the majority of territory.

1420 - 1421

The titular giudice of Arborea, William II of Narbonne, sells his title to Alfonso V, although differing sources also claim that Regent Brancaleone Doria sells the position of giudice to Aragon in 1409. Either way, the remaining giudici of Arborea on the island of Sardinia are titular only, with little real power. Alfonso is also attempting to gain control over Corsica. With his own general now in charge of most of the island, he arrives in 1421 to take personal possession. Calvi falls to his fresh forces, but while Bonifacio refuses to surrender, a general revolt is triggered by his heavy taxes. Alfonso agrees terms with Bonifacio, which remains an independent Genoese city state, and he withdraws from the island.

1438

Ferdinand's daughter, Eleanor, the widow of King Edward of Portugal, becomes regent to her six year-old son, Alfonso V.

1458 - 1479

John II

John I of Navarre (1425-1479), & Sicily (1458-1479).

1479 - 1516

Ferdinand II

Ferdinand II of Navarre, & Sicily, & later Ferdinand V of Castile.

1469

The marriage of Isabella, soon-to-be queen of Castile and Leon, to Ferdinand II, heir to the throne of Aragon, Navarre, and Sicily, on 19 October lays the foundation for the political unification of all of Spain under their grandson, Charles.

1494

The Treaty of Tordesillas of 7 June divides the New World between the joint kingdom of Castile and Aragon and Portugal, giving the latter the opportunity to exploit Brazil.

1501 - 1509

The daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand, Katherine, marries Arthur Tudor, elder son of Henry VII of England. Arthur dies in 1502, and in 1509 Catherine marries his brother, the soon-to-be-crowned Henry VIII.

1507 - 1516

Ferdinand waits patiently for matters regarding his daughter, Joanna, to reach a head in Castile. In 1507, with the regency council there clearly unable to solve the kingdom's problems, he returns to take control as Ferdinand V of Castile, ruling as regent in his grandson's name.

1512 - 1513

Aragon holds full control of the principality of Andorra.

1516 - 1517

With Ferdinand's death, his kingdom is inherited by Charles I of Castile and Aragon is merged permanently with it, unifying Spain. Aragon itself is administered by a viceroy well into the seventeenth century.