The County of Empúries (, ), also known as the County of Ampurias (), was a medieval county centred on the town of Empúries and enclosing the Catalan region of Peralada. It corresponds to the historic ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' of Empordà. After the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

conquered the regions in 785, Empúries and Peralada came under the authority of the County of Girona. Around 813, Empúries, with Peralada, became a separate county under Ermenguer. He and the other early counts were probably of

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

origin. In 817, Empúries was merged with the County of Roussillon, a union which lasted until 989. One of the ninth-century counts of Empúries assembled a fleet powerful enough to conquer the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

, but only for a brief time. From 835 to 844, Sunyer I ruled Empúries and Peralada while

Alaric I Alaric I (; , 'ruler of all'; ; – 411 AD) was the first Germanic kingship, king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combine ...

ruled Roussillon and Vallespir. At the death of Gausfred I in 989, Roussillon and Empúries were separated. Gausfred's elder son Hugh I received Empúries while Giselbert I received Roussillon. Hugh's comital dynasty lasted until 1322, when Empúries passed to a collateral branch of his family.
The last count, Hugh VI, sold the county to Peter IV of Ribagorza in 1325 in exchange for the barony of Pego and the towns of Xaló and Laguar, all located within the

Kingdom of Valencia The Kingdom of Valencia (; ; ), located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. The Kingdom of Valencia was formally created in 1238 when the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken in ...

. Peter later traded it with his brother Ramon Berenguer for the county of Prades in 1341. From that point on, Empúries was an apanage of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

. In a letter of December 1002,

Pope Sylvester II Pope Sylvester II (; – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Science in the medieva ...

confirmed the county of Empúries and the "county of Pedralbes" as a part of the diocese of Girona. The latter is probably to be identified with the Peralada region in the north of Empúries. A portion of the "taxes of the port", consisting of dues and anchorage, were passed on to the diocese.Letter 260 in Lattin (1961), 356–58.

List of counts

* Ermenguer 813–817 * Gaucelm 817–832 (united to Roussillon) * Berengar the Wise 832–835 * Sunyer I 835–841 (united to Roussillon) * 841–844 * Sunyer I 844–848, again *

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

848–850 (united to Roussillon) * Odalric 852–858 (united to Roussillon) * Humfrid 858–862 (united to Roussillon) * Sunyer II 862–915 (united to Roussillon) * Dela 862–894, associated * Gausbert 915–931 (united to Roussillon and Perelada as a county) * Bencion 915–916, associated * Gausfred I 931–989 * Hugh I 989/91–1040 * 1040–1078 (transferred Perelada, as a viscountcy, to his son ) * Hugh II 1078–1116 * 1116–1154, also as Ponç Hug I * 1154–1173 * 1173–1200 * 1173–1175, associated, also known as Ponç Hug d'Entença * 1200–1230 * 1230–1269, also as Ponç Hug III * 1269–1277 * Ponç V 1277–1313, also as Ponç Hug IV (also

viscount of Bas The Viscounty of Besalú, or Bas (from the Latin ''Basso''), was the sub-comital authority in the county of Besalú during the Middle Ages. It was ruled by the House of Cervera (also called ''Cerveró(n)'' or ''Cervelló(n)'', from the Latin ''Ce ...

) * 1313–1322, also as Ponç Hug V ''Malgauli'' (also viscount of Bas) * 1322–1327 * 1322–1325 :''Empúries sold to a son of King

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...

and becomes an apanage of the Crown of Aragon.'' * Peter I 1325–1341 * 1341–1364 * 1364–1386, 1387–1398 * Peter II 1386–1387, also king of Aragon * 1398–1401 * 1401–1402, no issue * 1402, his wife *

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

1402, 1407–1410, also king of Aragon * Maria de Luna 1402–1407, queen consort of Aragon :''Empúries escheated to the crown between 1410 and 1436. Subsequently the title is mostly honorific, and carried by the Dukes of Segorbe.'' * Henry I 1436–1445 *

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

Notes

References

*Lattin, Harriet Pratt (ed.) ''The Letters of Gerbert, with his Papal Privileges as Sylvester II''. Columbia University Press, 1961. * Lewis, A. R., and Runyan, Timothy J. ''European Naval and Maritime History, 300–1500''. Indiana University Press, 1985. *Lewis, A. R. ''The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050''. University of Texas Press, 1965. *Riera Fortiana, Enrique
"Etapa barcelonesa del condado de Ampurias (1409–1456)"
''Annals de l'Institut d'Estudis Empordanesos'' 11 (1976), 260–85.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:County Of Empuries Empúries Empúries Empúries