Battle of Sanluri

The Battle of Sanluri was fought on 30 June 1409 between the armies of the Sardinian Judicate of

Arborea Arborea is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea). Hi ...

and the Aragonese-Sicilian army led by the King

Martin I of Sicily Martin I of Sicily (c. 1374/1376 – 25 July 1409), called "The Younger", was King of Sicily from his marriage to Queen Maria in 1390 until his death. Martin's father was the future King Martin I of Aragon, and his grandparents were King Peter ...

. The location was the fortified village of

Sanluri Sanluri ( sc, Seddori, la, Sullurium) is a comune in Sardinia, Italy. It became part of the Province of South Sardinia, following the creation of that local unit in 2016. The territory of Sanluri comprises an area of . In 1436, Sanluri was ...

, in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

. The Arborean army was led by Judge

William III of Narbonne William II was Viscount of Narbonne (1397-1424) and the nominal Judge of Arborea (1407-1420). He was the grandson of Beatrice, youngest daughter of Marianus IV of Arborea and Timbra de Rocabertí, and Aimery VI of Narbonne (married 1363). When ...

, and Martin commanded in person the Aragonese army. The Sardinian army was composed mostly of mercenaries, including the renowned Genoese crossbowmen and other units from France and northern Italy. There are a few details about the battle. The Aragonese were less numerous though much better trained, and managed to divide the Arborean army into two parts which were then destroyed separately. A contingent under William survived taking refuge in the castle of Monreale, in the near village of

Sardara Sardara, Sàrdara in the Sardinian language, is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northwest of Cagliari and about northwest of Sanluri. Located in the Campidano plain, ...

. Other Sardinian troops were captured in Sanluri, and much of the local Sardinian population was slaughtered in a plain which has taken the name of'' s'occidroxiu'' ("the slaughter") ever since. Martin died a few days later in

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, allegedly by

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

transmitted by a Sanlurese mistress. The battle did not directly conclude the war, but it paved the way to the Catalan conquest of the Arborean Judicate, which fell the following year. 1409 in Europe

Medieval Sardinia

15th century in the Kingdom of Sicily 15th century in Aragon {{Battle-stub