Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was
King of Sicily
The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816.
The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which oc ...
from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal
Capetian dynasty and the founder of the
House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 and 1285, he was
Count of Provence
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
and
Forcalquier in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
and
Count of Anjou
The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald, Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the t ...
and
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
in France. In 1272 he was proclaimed
King of Albania
The King of Albania ( Albanian: ''Mbreti i Shqipërisë'') was a title styled by the official ruler of Albania. While the medieval Angevin Kingdom of Albania was a monarchy, it did not encompass the entirety of modern Albania. Although disconten ...
, in 1277 he purchased a claim to the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...
, and in 1278 he became
Prince of Achaea after the previous ruler,
William of Villehardouin, died without heirs.
The youngest son of
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII (5 September 1187 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As a prince, he invaded Kingdom of England, England on 21 May 1216 and was Excommunication in the Catholic Church, excommunicated by a ...
and
Blanche of Castile, Charles was destined for a Church career until the early 1240s. He acquired Provence and Forcalquier through his marriage to their heiress,
Beatrice. His attempts to restore central authority brought him into conflict with his mother-in-law,
Beatrice of Savoy, and the nobility. He relinquished control of Forcalquier to his mother-in-law in 1248, although she returned it to him in 1256. Charles received Anjou and Maine from his brother,
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...
, in
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...
. He accompanied Louis during the
Seventh Crusade
The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...
to
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Shortly after he returned to Provence in 1250, Charles forced three wealthy autonomous cities—
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
Arles
Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
and
Avignon
Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
—to acknowledge his
suzerainty
A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
.
Charles supported
Margaret II, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, against her eldest son,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
, in exchange for
Hainaut in 1253. Two years later, Louis IX persuaded him to renounce the county, but compensated him by instructing Margaret to pay him 160,000
marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks
A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
. Charles forced the rebellious
Provençal nobles and towns into submission and expanded his suzerainty over a dozen towns and lordships in the
Kingdom of Arles
The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, was a realm established in 933 by the merger of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy under King Rudolf II. It was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033 ...
. In 1263, after years of negotiations, he accepted the offer of the
Holy See
The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
to seize the
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...
from the
Hohenstaufens. This kingdom included, in addition to the island of
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, southern Italy to well north of Naples and was known as the Regno.
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...
declared
a crusade against the incumbent
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred (; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the Kingdom of Sicily on b ...
and assisted Charles in raising funds for the military campaign.
Charles was crowned king in Rome on 5 January 1266. He
annihilated Manfred's army and occupied the Regno almost without resistance. His victory over Manfred's young nephew,
Conradin
Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (, ), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke of Swabia (1254–1268) and nominal King ...
, at the
Battle of Tagliacozzo in 1268 strengthened his rule. In 1270, he took part in the
Eighth Crusade organised by Louis IX and forced the
Hafsid Caliph
Muhammad I to pay a yearly tribute to him. Charles's victories secured his undisputed leadership among the Papacy's Italian partisans (known as
Guelphs
The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were Political faction, factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th ...
), but his influence on
papal election
A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
Concerns around po ...
s and his strong military presence in Italy disturbed the popes. They tried to channel his ambitions towards other territories and assisted him in acquiring claims to Achaea, Jerusalem and Arles through treaties. In 1281,
Pope Martin IV
Pope Martin IV (; born Simon de Brion; 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 until his death in 1285. He was the last French pope to hold his court in Rome before ...
authorised Charles to launch a crusade against the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
. Charles's ships were gathering at
Messina
Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
, ready to begin the campaign when the
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers (; ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou. Since taking control of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266, the Capetian House ...
rebellion broke out on 30March 1282 which put an end to Charles's rule on the island of Sicily. He was able to defend the mainland territories (or the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
) with the support of France and the Holy See. Charles died while making preparations for an invasion of Sicily.
Early life
Childhood
Charles was the youngest child of King
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII (5 September 1187 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As a prince, he invaded Kingdom of England, England on 21 May 1216 and was Excommunication in the Catholic Church, excommunicated by a ...
and
Blanche of Castile. The date of his birth has not survived, but he was probably born
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death
* Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
in early 1227. Charles was Louis' only surviving son to be "
born in the purple" (after his father's coronation), a fact he often emphasised in his youth, as the contemporaneous chronicler
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (; 1200 – 1259), was an English people, English Benedictine monk, English historians in the Middle Ages, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St A ...
noted in his . He was the first
Capetian to be named for
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
.
Louis VIII died in November 1226 and his eldest son,
Louis IX, succeeded him. The late King willed that his youngest sons were to be prepared for a career in the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. The details of Charles's tuition are unknown, but he received a good education. He understood the principal Catholic doctrines and could identify errors in Latin texts. His passion for poetry, medical sciences, and law is well documented.
Charles later said that his mother had a strong impact on her children's education; in reality, Blanche was fully engaged in state administration, and could likely spare little time for her youngest children. Charles lived at the court of a brother,
Robert I, Count of Artois, from 1237. About four years later he was put into the care of his youngest brother,
Alphonse, Count of Poitiers. His participation in his brothers' military campaign against
Hugh X of Lusignan, Count of La Marche, in 1242 showed that he was no longer destined for a Church career.
Provence and Anjou
Raymond Berengar V of Provence died in August 1245, bequeathing
Provence
Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
and
Forcalquier to his youngest daughter,
Beatrice, allegedly because he had given generous
dowries
A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage.
Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
to her three sisters. The dowries were actually not fully discharged, causing two of her sisters,
Margaret
Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
(Louis IX's wife) and
Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...
(the wife of
Henry III of England
Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...
), to believe that they had been unlawfully disinherited. Their mother,
Beatrice of Savoy, claimed that Raymond Berengar had willed the
usufruct
Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'':
* ''Usus'' (''use'', as in usage of or access to) is the right to use or en ...
of Provence to her.
The Hohenstaufen
Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Ho ...
(whom
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...
had recently
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...
for his alleged "crimes against the Church"),
Count Raymond VII of Toulouse and other neighbouring rulers proposed themselves or their sons as husbands for the young Countess. Her mother put her under the protection of the Holy See. Louis IX and Margaret suggested that Beatrice should be given in marriage to Charles. To secure the support of France against Frederick II, Pope Innocent IV accepted their proposal. Charles hurried to
Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
at the head of an army to prevent other suitors from invading Provence, and married Beatrice on 31January 1246. Provence was a part of the
Kingdom of Arles
The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, was a realm established in 933 by the merger of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy under King Rudolf II. It was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033 ...
and so of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, but Charles never swore fealty to the emperor. He ordered a survey of the counts' rights and revenues, outraging both his subjects and his mother-in-law, who regarded this action as an attack against her rights.
Being a younger child, destined for a church career, Charles had not received an
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...
(a hereditary county or duchy) from his father. Louis VIII had willed that his fourth son, John, should receive
Anjou and
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
upon reaching the age of majority, but John died in 1232. Louis IX knighted Charles at
Melun
Melun () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, ...
in May 1246 and three months later bestowed Anjou and Maine on him. Charles rarely visited his two counties and appointed
bailli
A bailiff (, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his bailiwick ...
es (or regents) to administer them.
While Charles was absent from Provence,
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
Arles
Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...
and
Avignon
Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
—three wealthy cities, directly subject to the emperor—formed a league and appointed a Provençal nobleman,
Barral of Baux, as the commander of their combined armies. Charles's mother-in-law put the disobedient Provençals under her protection. Charles could not deal with the rebels as he was about to join
his brother's crusade. To pacify his mother-in-law he acknowledged her right to rule Forcalquier and granted a third of his revenues from Provence to her.
Seventh Crusade

In December 1244 Louis IX took a vow to lead a crusade. Ignoring their mother's strong opposition, his three brothers—Robert, Alphonse and Charles—also took the cross. Preparations for the crusade lasted for years, with the crusaders embarking at
Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region of southern France. The medieval Ramparts of Aigues-Mortes, city walls surrounding th ...
on 25August 1248. After spending several months in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
they invaded
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
on 5June 1249. They captured
Damietta
Damietta ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...
and decided to attack
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
in November. During their advance Louis's biographer
Jean de Joinville
Jean de Joinville (, 1 May 1224 – 24 December 1317) was one of the great chroniclers of medieval France. He is most famous for writing the ''Life of Saint Louis'', a biography of Louis IX of France that chronicled the Seventh Crusade.'
Biog ...
noted Charles's personal courage which saved dozens of crusaders' lives. Robert of Artois died
fighting against the Egyptians at Al Mansurah. His three brothers survived, but they had to abandon the campaign. While withdrawing from Egypt, they fell into captivity on 6April 1250. The Egyptians released Louis, Charles and Alphonse in exchange for 800,000
bezant
In the Middle Ages, the term bezant (, from Latin ) was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman . The word itself comes from the Greek Byzantion, the ancient name of Constantinop ...
s and the surrender of Damietta on 6May. During their voyage to
Acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
, Charles outraged Louis by gambling while the king was mourning Robert's death. Louis remained in the
Holy Land
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
, but Charles returned to France in October 1250.
Wider ambitions
Conflicts and consolidation
Charles's officers continued the survey of the counts' rights and revenues in Provence, provoking a new rebellion during his absence. On his return he applied both diplomacy and military force to deal with them. The
Archbishop of Arles and the
Bishop of Digne ceded their secular rights in the two towns to Charles in 1250. He received military assistance from his brother, Alphonse. Arles was the first town to surrender to them in April 1251. In May they forced Avignon to acknowledge their joint rule. A month later Barral of Baux also capitulated. Marseilles was the only town to resist for several months, but it also sought peace in July 1252. Its
burghers acknowledged Charles as their lord, but retained their self-governing bodies.
Charles's officials continued to ascertain his rights, visiting each town and holding public enquiries to obtain information about all claims. The count's salt monopoly (or ) was introduced in the whole county. Income from the salt trade made up about 50% of state revenues by the late 1250s. Charles abolished local tolls and promoted shipbuilding and
grain trade
The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals such as wheat, barley, maize, rice, and other food grains. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other agri ...
. He ordered the issue of new coins, called , to enable the use of the local currency in smaller transactions.
Emperor Frederick II, who was also the ruler of Sicily, died in 1250. The
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...
, also known as the Regno, included the island of Sicily and southern Italy nearly as far as Rome. Pope Innocent IV claimed that the Regno had reverted to the Holy See. The Pope first offered it to
Richard of Cornwall
Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of ...
, but Richard did not want to fight against Frederick's son,
Conrad IV of Germany
Conrad (25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of Emperor Frederick II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) u ...
. Then the Pope proposed to
enfeoff Charles with the kingdom. Charles sought instructions from Louis IX, who forbade him to accept the offer, because he regarded Conrad as the lawful ruler. After Charles informed the Holy See on 30October 1253 that he would not accept the Regno, the Pope offered it to
Edmund of Lancaster.
Queen Blanche, who had administered France during Louis' crusade, died on 1December 1252. Louis made Alphonse and Charles co-regents, so that he could remain in the Holy Land.
Margaret II, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, had come into
conflict with her son by her first marriage,
John of Avesnes. After her sons by her second marriage were captured in July 1253, she needed foreign assistance to secure their release. Ignoring Louis IX's 1246 ruling that Hainaut should pass to John, she promised the county to Charles. He accepted the offer and invaded Hainaut, forcing most local noblemen to swear fealty to him. After his return to France, Louis IX insisted that his ruling was to be respected. In November 1255 he ordered Charles to restore Hainaut to Margaret, but her sons were obliged to swear fealty to Charles. Louis also ruled that she was to pay 160,000 marks to Charles over the following 13 years.
Charles returned to Provence, which had again become restive. His mother-in-law continued to support the rebellious
Boniface of Castellane and his allies, but Louis IX persuaded her to return Forcalquier to Charles and relinquish her claims for a lump sum payment from Charles and a pension from Louis in November 1256. A coup by Charles's supporters in Marseilles resulted in the surrender of all political powers there to his officials. Charles continued to expand his power along the borders of Provence in the next four years. He received territories in the Lower Alps from the
Dauphin of Vienne.
Raymond I of Baux, Count of Orange, ceded the title of regent of the Kingdom of Arles to him. The burghers of
Cuneo
Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area.
It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...
—a town strategically located on the routes from Provence to Lombardy—sought Charles's protection against
Asti
Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...
in July 1259.
Alba
''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...
,
Cherasco,
Savigliano and other nearby towns acknowledged his rule. The rulers of
Mondovì,
Ceva,
Biandrate and
Saluzzo
Saluzzo (; ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy.
The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are found in the su ...
did homage to him.
Emperor Frederick II's illegitimate son,
Manfred
''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction.
Byr ...
, had been crowned king of Sicily in 1258. After the English barons had announced that they opposed a war against Manfred,
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV (1199 or 1185 – 25 May 1261) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 December 1254 to his death.
Early career
He was born as Rinaldo di Jenne in Jenne, Italy, Jenne (now in the Province of Rome ...
annulled the 1253 grant of Sicily to Edmund of Lancaster. Alexander's successor,
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV (; c. 1195 – 2 October 1264), born Jacques Pantaléon, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1261 to his death three years later. He was elected pope without being a cardinal; he was the fi ...
, was determined to put an end to the Emperor's rule in Italy. He sent his notary, Albert of Parma, to Paris to negotiate with Louis IX for Charles to be placed on the Sicilian throne. Charles met with the Pope's envoy in early 1262.
Taking advantage of Charles's absence, Boniface of Castellane stirred up a new revolt in Provence. The burghers of Marseilles expelled Charles's officials, but Barral of Baux stopped the spread of the rebellion before Charles's return. Charles renounced
Ventimiglia
Ventimiglia (; , ; ; ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located west of Genoa, and from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia river, w ...
in favour of the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...
to secure her neutrality. He defeated the rebels and forced Castellane into exile. The mediation of
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...
brought about a settlement with Marseilles: its fortifications were dismantled and the townspeople surrendered their arms, but the town retained its autonomy.
Conquest of the Regno

Louis IX decided to support Charles's military campaign in Italy in May 1263. Pope Urban IV promised to proclaim a crusade against Manfred, while Charles pledged that he would not accept any offices in the Italian towns. Manfred staged a coup in Rome, but the
Guelphs
The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were Political faction, factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th ...
elected Charles
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
(or the head of the civil government of Rome). He accepted the office, at which a group of
cardinals requested that the Pope revoke the agreement with him, but the Pope, being otherwise defenceless against Manfred, could not break with Charles.
In the spring of 1264 Cardinals
Simon of Brie and
Guy Foulquois were sent to France to reach a compromise and start raising support for the crusade. Charles sent troops to Rome to protect the Pope against Manfred's allies. At Foulquois' request, Charles's sister-in-law Margaret (who had not abandoned her claims to her dowry) pledged that she would not take actions against Charles during his absence. Foulquois also persuaded the French and Provençal prelates to offer financial support for the crusade. Pope Urban died before the final agreement was concluded. Charles made arrangements for his campaign against Sicily during the interregnum; he concluded agreements to secure his army's route across Lombardy and had the leaders of the Provençal rebels executed.
Foulquois was elected pope in February 1265; he soon confirmed Charles's senatorship and urged him to come to Rome. Charles agreed that he would hold the Kingdom of Sicily as the popes' vassal for an annual tribute of 8,000 ounces of gold. He also promised that he would never seek the imperial title. He embarked at Marseilles on 10May and landed at
Ostia ten days later. He was installed as senator on 21June and four cardinals invested him with the Regno a week later. To finance further military actions he borrowed money from Italian bankers with the Pope's assistance, who had authorised him to pledge Church property. Five cardinals crowned him king of Sicily on 5January 1266. The crusaders from France and Provence—reportedly 6,000 fully equipped mounted warriors, 600 mounted bowmen and 20,000 foot-soldiers—arrived in Rome ten days later.

Charles decided to invade southern Italy without delay, because he was unable to finance a lengthy campaign. He left Rome on 20January 1266. He marched towards
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, but changed his strategy after learning of a muster of Manfred's forces near
Capua
Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...
. He led his troops across the
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...
towards
Benevento
Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...
. Manfred also hurried to the town and reached it before Charles. Worried that further delays might endanger his subjects' loyalty, Manfred attacked Charles's army, then in disarray from the crossing of the hills, on 26February 1266. In the
ensuing battle, Manfred's army was defeated and he was killed.
Resistance throughout the Regno collapsed and towns surrendered even before Charles's troops reached them. The
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...
s of
Lucera
Lucera (Neapolitan language, Lucerino: ) is an Italian city of 34,243 inhabitants in the province of Foggia in the region of Apulia, and the seat of the Diocese of Lucera-Troia.
Located upon a flat knoll in the Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere ...
—a
Muslim colony established during Frederick II's reign—paid homage to him. His commander,
Philip of Montfort, took control of the island of
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. Manfred's widow,
Helena of Epirus, and their children were captured. Charles laid claim to her dowry—the island of
Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
and the region of Durazzo (now
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...
in Albania)—by right of conquest. His troops seized Corfu before the end of the year.
Conradin
Charles was lenient with Manfred's supporters, but they did not believe that this conciliatory policy could last. They knew that he had promised to return estates to the Guelph lords expelled from the Regno. Neither could Charles gain the commoners' loyalty, partly because he continued enforcing the despite the popes declaring it an illegal charge. He introduced a ban on the use of foreign currency in large transactions and made a profit of the compulsory exchange of foreign coinage for locally minted currency. He also traded in grain, spices and sugar, through a joint venture with Pisan merchants.
Pope Clement censured Charles for his methods of state administration, describing him as an arrogant and obstinate monarch. The consolidation of Charles's power in northern Italy also alarmed Clement. To appease the Pope, Charles resigned his senatorship in May 1267. His successors,
Conrad Monaldeschi and
Luca Savelli, demanded the re-payment of the money that Charles and the Pope had borrowed from the Romans.
Victories by the
Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centurie ...
, the imperial family's supporters, forced the Pope to ask Charles to send his troops to
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
. Charles's troops ousted the Ghibellines from
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
in April 1267. After being elected the (ruler) of Florence and
Lucca
Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
for seven years, Charles hurried to Tuscany. Charles's expansionism along the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...
' borders alarmed Pope Clement and he decided to change the direction of Charles's ambitions. The Pope summoned him to
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...
, forcing him to promise that he would abandon all claims to Tuscany in three years. He persuaded Charles to
conclude agreements with
William of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and the titular
Latin emperor Baldwin II in late May. According to the first treaty, Villehardouin acknowledged Charles's suzerainty and made Charles's younger son,
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
, his heir, also stipulating that Charles would inherit Achaea if Philip died childless. Baldwin confirmed the first agreement and renounced his claims to suzerainty over his vassals in favour of Charles. Charles pledged that he would assist Baldwin in recapturing Constantinople from the Byzantine emperor,
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261. Michael VIII was the founder of th ...
, in exchange for one third of the conquered lands.

Charles returned to Tuscany and laid siege to the fortress of Poggibonsi, but it did not fall until the end of November. Manfred's staunchest supporters had meanwhile fled to Bavaria to attempt to persuade Conrad IV's 15-year-old son
Conradin
Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (, ), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke of Swabia (1254–1268) and nominal King ...
to assert his hereditary right to the Kingdom of Sicily. After Conradin accepted their proposal, Manfred's former vicar in Sicily,
Conrad Capece, returned to the island and stirred up a revolt. At Capece's request
Muhammad I al-Mustansir, the
Hafsid caliph of Tunis, allowed Manfred's former ally,
Frederick of Castile, to invade Sicily from North Africa. Frederick's brother,
Henry—who had been elected senator of Rome—also offered support to Conradin. Henry had been Charles's friend, but Charles had failed to repay a loan to him.
Conradin left Bavaria in September 1267. His supporters' revolt was spreading from Sicily to Calabria; the Saracens of Lucera also rose up. Pope Clement urged Charles to return to the Regno, but he continued his campaign in Tuscany until March 1268, when he met with the Pope. In April, the Pope made Charles
imperial vicar
An imperial vicar () was a prince charged with administering all or part of the Holy Roman Empire on behalf of the emperor. Later, an imperial vicar was invariably one of two princes charged by the Golden Bull with administering the Holy Roman E ...
of Tuscany "during the vacancy of the empire", a move of dubious legality. Charles marched to southern Italy and laid siege to Lucera, but he then had to hurry north to prevent Conradin's invasion of
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
in late August. At the
Battle of Tagliacozzo, on 23August 1268, it appeared that Conradin had won the day, but a sudden charge by Charles's reserve routed Conradin's army.
The burghers of
Potenza,
Aversa
Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical dome ...
and other towns in
Basilicata
Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...
and Apulia massacred their fellows who had agitated on Conradin's behalf, but the Sicilians and the Saracens of Lucera did not surrender. Charles marched to Rome where he was again elected senator in September. He appointed new officials to administer justice and collect state revenues. New coins bearing his name were struck. During the following decade, Rome was ruled by Charles's vicars, each appointed for one year.
Conradin was captured at
Torre Astura. Most of his retainers were summarily executed, but Conradin and his friend,
Frederick I, Margrave of Baden
Frederick I of Baden (1249 – October 29, 1268), a member of the House of Zähringen, was List of rulers of Baden, Margrave of Baden and of March of Verona, Verona, as well as claimant List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria from 1250 until h ...
, were brought to trial for robbery and treason in Naples. They were sentenced to death and beheaded on 29October.
Conrad of Antioch was Conradin's only partisan to be released, but only after his wife threatened to execute the Guelph lords she held captive in her castle. The Ghibelline noblemen of the Regno fled to the court of
Peter III of Aragon, who had married Manfred's daughter
Constance.
Mediterranean empire
Italy
Charles's wife, Beatrice of Provence, had died in July 1267. The widowed Charles married
Margaret of Nevers in November 1268. She was co-heiress to her father,
Odo, the eldest son of
Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy. Pope Clement died on 29November 1268. The papal vacancy lasted for three years, which strengthened Charles's authority in Italy, but it also deprived him of the ecclesiastic support that only a pope could provide.
Charles returned to Lucera to personally direct its siege in April 1269. The Saracens and the Ghibellines who had escaped to the town resisted until starvation forced them to surrender in August 1269. Charles sent Philip and
Guy of Montfort to Sicily to force the rebels there into submission, but they could only capture
Augusta. Charles made
William l'Estandart the commander of the army in Sicily in August 1269. L'Estandart captured
Agrigento, forcing Frederick of Castile and Frederick Lancia to seek refuge in Tunis. After L'Estandart's subsequent victory at
Sciacca, only Capece resisted, but he also had to surrender in early 1270.
Charles's troops forced Siena and Pisa—the last towns to resist him in Tuscany—to sue for peace in August 1270. He granted privileges to the Tuscan merchants and bankers which strengthened their position in the Regno. His influence was declining in Lombardy, because the Lombard towns no longer feared an invasion from Germany after Conradin's death. In May 1269 Charles sent Walter of La Roche to represent him in the province, but this failed to strengthen his authority. In October Charles's officials convoked an assembly at Cremona, and invited the Lombard towns to attend. The Lombard towns accepted the invitation, but some towns—Milan, Bologna, Alessandria and Tortona—only confirmed their alliance with Charles, without acknowledging his rule.
Eighth Crusade
Louis IX never abandoned the idea of the liberation of Jerusalem, but he decided to begin his new crusade with a military campaign against Tunis. According to his confessor,
Geoffrey of Beaulieu, Louis was convinced that al-Mustansir of Tunis was ready to convert to Christianity. The 13th-century historian
Saba Malaspina
Saba Malaspina (died 1297 or 1298) was an Italian historian, writer, and clergyman. Born around the mid-13th century in southern Italy, he was from a "Roman family with a strong tradition of support for the papal cause" and was the deacon (later b ...
stated that Charles persuaded Louis to attack Tunis, because he wanted to secure the payment of the tribute that the rulers of Tunis had paid to the former Sicilian monarchs.
The French crusaders embarked at Aigues-Mortes on 2July 1270; Charles departed from Naples six days later. He spent more than a month in Sicily, waiting for his fleet. By the time he landed at Tunis on 25August,
dysentery
Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
and
typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...
had decimated the French army. Louis died the day Charles arrived.
The crusaders twice defeated Al-Mustansir's army, forcing him to sue for peace. According to the peace treaty, signed on 1November, Al-Mustansir agreed to fully compensate Louis' son and successor,
Philip III of France
Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...
, and Charles for the expenses of the military campaign and to release his Christian prisoners. He also promised to pay a yearly tribute to Charles and to expel Charles's opponents from Tunis. The gold from Tunis, along with silver from the newly opened mine at
Longobucco, enabled Charles to mint new coins, known as , in the Regno.
Charles and Philip departed Tunis on 10November. A storm dispersed their fleet at
Trapani
Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...
and most of Charles's galleys were lost or damaged. Genoese ships returning from the crusade were also sunk or forced to land in Sicily. Charles seized the damaged ships and their cargo, ignoring all protests from the Ghibelline authorities of Genoa. Before leaving Sicily he granted temporary tax concessions to the Sicilians, because he realised that the conquest of the island had caused much destruction.
Attempts to expand
Charles accompanied Philip III as far as Viterbo in March 1271. Here they failed to convince the cardinals to elect a new pope. Charles's brother, Alphonse of Poitiers, fell ill. Charles sent his best doctors to cure him, but Alphonse died. He claimed the major part of Alphonse's inheritance, including the
Marquisate of Provence and the
County of Poitiers, because he was Alphonse's
nearest kin. After Philip III objected, he took the case to the
Parlement
Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...
of Paris. In 1284 the court ruled that appanages
escheat
Escheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied t ...
ed to the French crown if their rulers died without descendants.

An earthquake destroyed the walls of Durazzo in the late 1260s or early 1270s. Charles's troops took possession of the town with the assistance of the leaders of the nearby Albanian communities. Charles concluded an agreement with the Albanian chiefs, promising to protect them and their ancient liberties in February 1272. He adopted the title of
King of Albania
The King of Albania ( Albanian: ''Mbreti i Shqipërisë'') was a title styled by the official ruler of Albania. While the medieval Angevin Kingdom of Albania was a monarchy, it did not encompass the entirety of modern Albania. Although disconten ...
and appointed
Gazzo Chinardo as his vicar-general. He also sent his fleet to Achaea to defend the principality against Byzantine attacks.
Charles hurried to Rome to attend the enthronement of
Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X (; – 10 January 1276), born Teobaldo Visconti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1 September 1271 to his death and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. He was elected at the ...
on 27March 1272. The new pope was determined to put an end to the conflicts between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. While in Rome Charles met with the Guelph leaders who had been exiled from Genoa. After they offered him the office of
captain of the people, Charles promised military assistance to them. In November 1272 Charles commanded his officials to take prisoner all Genoese within his territories, except for the Guelphs, and to seize their property. His fleet occupied
Ajaccio
Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...
in Corsica. Pope Gregory condemned his aggressive policy, but proposed that the Genoese should elect Guelph officials. Ignoring the Pope's proposal, the Genoese made alliance with Alfonso X of Castile,
William VII of Montferrat
William VII (c. 1240 – 6 February 1292), called the Great Marquis (), was the twelfth Marquis of Montferrat from 1253 to his death. He was also the titular King of Thessalonica.
Biography Youth
William was born in Trino, the eldest son ...
and the Ghibelline towns of Lombardy in October 1273.
The conflict with Genoa prevented Charles from invading the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, but he continued to forge alliances in the Balkan Peninsula. The Bulgarian ruler,
Konstantin Tih, was the first to conclude a treaty with him in 1272 or 1273.
John I Doukas of Thessaly and
Stefan Uroš I
Stefan Uroš I ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош I; 1223 – 1 May 1277), known as Uroš the Great () was the King of Serbia from 1243 to 1276, succeeding his brother Stefan Vladislav. He was one of the most important rulers in Serbian history ...
, King of Serbia, joined the coalition in 1273. However, Pope Gregory forbade Charles to attack, because he hoped to unify the
Orthodox and Catholic churches with the assistance of Emperor Michael VIII.
The renowned theologian
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
died unexpectedly near Naples on 7March 1274, before departing to attend the
Second Council of Lyon
The Second Council of Lyon was the fourteenth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convoked on 31 March 1272 and convened in Lyon, Kingdom of Arles (in modern France), in 1274. Pope Gregory X presided over the council, called to ...
. According to a popular legend, immortalised by
Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
, Charles had him poisoned, because he feared that Aquinas would make complaint against him. The historian
Steven Runciman
Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...
emphasises that "there is no evidence for supposing that the great doctor's death was not natural". Southern Italian churchmen at the council accused Charles of tyrannical acts. Their report reinforced the Pope's attempt to reach a compromise with
Rudolf of Habsburg, who had been elected king of Germany by the
prince-elector
The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops.
From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...
s of the Holy Roman Empire. In June, the Pope acknowledged Rudolf as the lawful ruler of both Germany and Italy. Charles's sisters-in-law, Margaret and Eleanor, approached Rudolf, claiming that they had been unlawfully disinherited in favour of Charles's late wife.
Michael VIII's personal envoy announced at the Council of Lyon on 6July that he had accepted the
Catholic creed and
papal primacy
Papal primacy, also known as the primacy of the bishop of Rome, is an ecclesiological doctrine in the Catholic Church concerning the respect and authority that is due to the pope from other bishops and their episcopal sees. While the doctri ...
. About three weeks later, Pope Gregory again prohibited Charles from launching military actions against the Byzantine Empire. The Pope also tried to mediate a truce between Charles and Michael, but the latter chose to attack several smaller states in the Balkans, including Charles's vassals. The Byzantine fleet took control of the maritime routes between Albania and southern Italy in the late 1270s. Gregory only allowed Charles to send reinforcements to Achaea. The organisation of a new crusade to the Holy Land remained the Pope's principal object. He persuaded Charles to start negotiations with
Maria of Antioch
Maria of Antioch (; 1145–1182) was a Byzantine empress by marriage to Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and regent during the minority of her son porphyrogennetos Alexios II Komnenos from 1180 until 1182.
Early life
Maria of Antioch wa ...
about purchasing her claim to the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...
. The
High Court of Jerusalem
The Haute Cour ({{langx, en, High Court) was the feudal council of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was sometimes also called the ''curia generalis'', the ''curia regis'', or, rarely, the ''parlement''.
Composition of the court
The Haute Cour was a ...
had already rejected her in favour of
Hugh III of Cyprus, but the Pope had a low opinion of Hugh.
The war with Genoa and the Lombard towns increasingly occupied Charles's attention. He appointed his nephew
Robert II of Artois
Robert II (September 1250 – 11 July 1302) was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant. He was a nephew of two kings; Louis IX of France and Charles I of Sicily.
A capable military commander and ad ...
as his deputy in Piedmont in October 1274, but Artois could not prevent
Vercelli
Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC.
...
and Alessandria from joining the Ghibelline League. The following summer, a Genoese fleet plundered Trapani and the island of
Gozo
Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...
. Convinced that only Rudolf I could achieve a compromise between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Pope urged the Lombard towns to send envoys to him. He also urged Charles to renounce Tuscany. In the autumn of 1275 the Ghibellines offered to make peace with Charles, but he did not accept their terms. Early the next year the Ghibellines defeated his troops at
Col de Tende, forcing them to withdraw to Provence.
Papal elections
Pope Gregory X died on 10January 1276. After the hostility he experienced during Gregory's pontificate, Charles was determined to secure the election of a pope willing to support his plans. Gregory's successor,
Pope Innocent V, had always been Charles's partisan and he rapidly confirmed Charles as senator of Rome and imperial vicar of Tuscany. He also mediated a peace treaty between Charles and Genoa, which was signed in Rome on 22June 1276. Charles restored the privileges of the Genoese merchants and renounced his conquests, and the Genoese acknowledged his rule in Ventimiglia.
Pope Innocent died on 30June 1276. After the cardinals assembled in the
Lateran Palace
The Apostolic Palace of the Lateran (; ), informally the Lateran Palace (), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main pope, papal residence in Rome.
Located on Saint John's Square in Lateran on the Caelian Hill, the palace is ...
, Charles's troops surrounded it, enabling only his allies to communicate with other cardinals and with outsiders. On 11July the cardinals elected Charles's old friend,
Ottobuono de' Fieschi, pope, but he died on 18August. The cardinals met again, this time at Viterbo. Although Charles was staying in the nearby Vetralla, he could not directly influence the election, because his vehement opponent, Cardinal
Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, dominated the
papal conclave
A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church.
Concerns around ...
.
Pope John XXI
Pope John XXI (, , ; – 20 May 1277), born Pedro Julião (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 September 1276 to his death in May 1277. He is the only ethnically Portuguese pope in history.Richard P. McBrien, ...
, who was elected on 20September, excommunicated Charles's opponents in Piedmont and prohibited Rudolf from coming to Lombardy, but did not forbid the Lombardian Guelph leaders swearing fealty to Rudolf. The Pope also confirmed the treaty concluded by Charles and Maria of Antioch on 18March which transferred her claims to Jerusalem to Charles for 1,000 bezants and a pension of 4,000 .
Charles appointed
Roger of San Severino to administer the Kingdom of Jerusalem as his
bailiff
A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary.
Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
. San Severino landed at Acre on 7June 1277. Hugh III's bailiff,
Balian of Arsuf, surrendered the town without resistance. Although initially only the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
and the Venetians acknowledged Charles as the lawful ruler, the barons of the realm also paid homage to San Severino in January 1278, after he had threatened to confiscate their estates. The
Mamluks of Egypt
The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...
had already confined the kingdom to a coastal strip covering and Charles had ordered San Severino to avoid conflicts with Egypt.
Pope John died on 20May 1277. Charles was ill and could not prevent the election of Giovanni Gaetano Orsini as Pope Nicholas III on 25November. The Pope soon declared that no foreign prince could rule in Rome and reminded Charles that he had been elected senator for ten years. Charles swore fealty to the new pope on 24May 1278 after lengthy negotiations. He had to pledge that he would renounce both the senatorship of Rome and the vicariate of Tuscany in four months. On the other hand, Nicholas III confirmed the excommunication of Charles's enemies in Piedmont and started negotiations with Rudolf to prevent him from making an alliance against Charles with Margaret of Provence and her nephew,
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
. The negotiations with Rudolf lay behind Nicholas' refusal to renew Charles's vicariate in Tuscany, to which Rudolf had appointed his own vicar.
Charles announced his resignation from the senatorship and the vicariate on 30August 1278. He was succeeded by the Pope's brother,
Matteo Orsini, in Rome, and by the Pope's nephew, Cardinal Latino Malabranca, in Tuscany. To ensure that Charles fully abandoned his ambitions in central Italy the Pope started negotiations with Rudolf about the restoration of the Kingdom of Arles for Charles's grandson,
Charles Martel
Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...
. Margaret of Provence sharply opposed the plan, but Philip III of France did not stand by his mother. After lengthy negotiations, in the summer of 1279 Rudolf recognised Charles as the lawful ruler of Provence without demanding his oath of fealty. An agreement about Charles Martel's rule in Arles and his marriage to Rudolf's daughter,
Clemence, was signed in May 1280. The plan disturbed the rulers of the lands along the Upper Rhone, especially
Duke Robert II and
Count Otto IV of Burgundy.
Charles had meanwhile inherited the
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thes ...
from William II of Villehardouin, who had died on 1May 1278. He appointed the unpopular of Sicily,
Galeran of Ivry, as his baillif in Achaea. Galeran could not pay his troops who started to pillage the peasants' homes.
John I de la Roche John I de la Roche (died 1280) succeeded his father, Guy I, as Duke of Athens in 1263. He was cultured and chivalrous, spoke fluent Greek, and read Herodotus.
In 1275, John, with 300 knights, relieved Neopatras, which had been blockaded by a Byz ...
, Duke of Athens, had to lend money to him to finance their salaries.
Nicephoros I of Epirus acknowledged Charles's suzerainty on 14March 1279 to secure his assistance against the Byzantines. Nicephoros also ceded three towns—
Butrinto,
Sopotos and
Panormos—to Charles.
Pope Nicholas died on 22August 1280. Charles sent agents to Viterbo to promote the election of one of his supporters, taking advantage of the rift between the late Pope's relatives and other Italian cardinals. When a riot broke out in Viterbo, after the cardinals had not reached a decision for months, Charles's troops took control of the town. On 22February 1281 his staunchest supporter, Simon of Brie, was elected pope. Pope Martin IV dismissed his predecessor's relatives and made Charles the senator of Rome again.
Guido I da Montefeltro rose up against the Pope, but Charles's troops under
Jean d'Eppe stopped the spread of the rebellion at
Forlì
Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...
. Charles also sent an army to
Piedmont
Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
, but
Thomas I, Marquess of Saluzzo, annihilated it at
Borgo San Dalmazzo
Borgo San Dalmazzo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southwest of Cuneo.
Borgo San Dalmazzo takes its name from Saint Dalmatius of Pavia. Sights ...
in May.
Crusade against Byzantium
Pope Martin excommunicated Emperor Michael VIII on 10April 1281 because the Emperor had not imposed the Church union in his empire. The Pope soon authorised Charles to invade the empire. Charles's vicar in Albania,
Hugh of Sully, had already
laid siege to the Byzantine fortress of Berat. A Byzantine army of relief under
Michael Tarchaneiotes and
John Synadenos arrived in March 1281. Sully was ambushed and captured, his army put to flight and the interior of Albania was lost to the Byzantines. On 3July 1281 Charles and his son-in-law,
Philip of Courtenay, the titular Latin emperor, made an alliance with
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
"for the restoration of the Roman Empire". They decided to start a full-scale campaign early the next year.
Margaret of Provence called Robert and Otto of Burgundy and other lords who held fiefs in the Kingdom of Arles to a meeting at
Troyes
Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...
in the autumn of 1281. They were willing to unite their troops to prevent Charles's army from taking possession of the kingdom, but Philip III of France strongly opposed his mother's plan and Edward I of England would not promise any assistance to them. Charles acknowledged that his wife held the
County of Tonnerre
The county of Tonnerre (Latin ''pagus Tornodorensis'') was east of Auxerre and south of Troyes, centred on the town of Tonnerre in the Yonne region of France. It was set up in the 8th century as a fiefdom of the bishops of Langres, and first be ...
and her other inherited estates as a Burgundian fief, which appeased Robert of Burgundy. Charles's ships started to assemble at Marseilles to sail up the Rhone in the spring of 1282. Another fleet was gathering at Messina to start the crusade against the Byzantine Empire.
The empire's collapse
Sicilian Vespers

Always in need of funds, Charles could not cancel the , although it was the most unpopular tax in the Regno. Instead he granted exemptions to individuals and communities, especially to the French and Provençal colonists, which increased the burden on those who did not enjoy such privileges. The yearly, or occasionally more frequent, obligatory exchange of the —the coins almost exclusively used in local transactions—was also an important, and unpopular, source of revenue for the royal treasury. Charles took out forced loans whenever he needed "immediately a large sum of money for certain arduous and pressing business", as he explained in one of his decrees.
Purveyance
Purveyance, a greatly expanded form of the ancient customary right of prise, was a mediaeval prerogative right of the English Crown to purchase provisions and other necessaries, at an appraised price, and to requisition horses and vehicles for ...
s, the requisitioning of goods, increased the unpopularity of Charles's government in southern Italy and Sicily. His subjects were also liable to be forced to guard prisoners or lodge soldiers in their homes. The restoration of old fortresses, bridges and aqueducts and the building of new castles required the employment of craftsmen, although most of them were unwilling to participate in such lengthy projects. Thousands of people were forced to serve in the army in foreign lands, especially after 1279. Trading in salt was declared a royal monopoly. In December 1281, Charles again ordered the collection of the , requiring the payment of 150 per cent of the customary amount.
Charles did not pay attention to the island of Sicily, although it had been the centre of resistance against him in 1268. He transferred the capital from Palermo to Naples. He did not visit the island after 1271, preventing Sicilians from directly informing him of their grievances. Sicilian noblemen were seldom employed as royal officials, although he often appointed their southern Italian peers to represent him in his other realms. Furthermore, having seized large estates on the island in the late 1260s Charles almost exclusively employed French and Provençal clerics to administer them.
Popular stories credited
John of Procida—Manfred of Sicily's former chancellor—with staging an international plot against Charles. Rumour has it that he visited in disguise Constantinople, Sicily and Viterbo between 1279 and 1280 where he convinced the emperor
Michael VIII
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261. Michael VIII was the founder of th ...
, the Sicilian barons and
Pope Nicholas III
Pope Nicholas III (; Wiktionary:circa, c. 1225 – 22 August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 November 1277 to his death on 22 August 1280.
He was a Roman nobleman who h ...
to support a revolt. Michael VIII's own autobiographical memoirs make a claim that it was he who became "God's instrument in bringing freedom to the Sicilians" and not a plot orchestrated by John of Procida. At that time, still Byzantium's wealth could indeed have enabled him to set in motion a trans-national enterprise by bribing the discontented Sicilian barons. Peter III of Aragon decided to lay claim to the Kingdom of Sicily in late 1280: he did not hide his disdain for the Angevin even when he met with Charles's son,
Charles, Duke of Salerno, in Toulouse in December 1280, even though it was the papacy that had sold the title of the kingdom of Naples to Charles I Anjou. Peter began to assemble a fleet on the pretext of a crusade against Tunis.
Rioting broke out in Sicily after a burgher of Palermo killed a drunken French soldier who had insulted his wife before the
Church of the Holy Spirit on Easter Monday (30March) of 1282. When the soldier's comrades attacked the murderer, the mob turned against them and started to massacre all the French in the town. The riot, known since the 16th century as the
Sicilian Vespers
The Sicilian Vespers (; ) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou. Since taking control of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1266, the Capetian House ...
, developed into an uprising and most of Charles's officials were killed or forced to flee the island. Charles ordered the transfer of soldiers and ships from Achaea to Sicily, but could not stop the spread of the revolt to
Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
. San Severino also had to return to Italy, accompanied by the major part of the garrison at Acre.
Odo Poilechien, who succeeded him in Acre, had limited authority.
The burghers of the major Sicilian towns established
communes which sent delegates to Pope Martin, asking him to take them under the protection of the Holy See. Instead of accepting their offer, the Pope excommunicated the rebels on 7May. Charles issued an edict on 10June, accusing his officials of having ignored his instructions on good administration, but he failed to promise fundamental changes. In July he sailed to Sicily and laid siege to Messina.
War with Aragon
Peter III of Aragon's envoy, William of Castelnou, started negotiations with the rebels' leaders in Palermo. Realizing that they could not resist without foreign support, they acknowledged Peter and Constance as their king and queen. They appointed envoys to accompany Castelnou to
Collo where the Aragonese fleet was assembling. After a short hesitation, Peter decided to intervene on the rebels' behalf and sailed to Sicily. He was declared king of Sicily at Palermo on 4September. Thereafter two realms, each ruled by a monarch styled king (or queen) of Sicily, coexisted for more than a century, with Charles and his successors ruling in southern Italy (known as the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
) while Peter and his descendants ruled the island of Sicily.
In the face of the Aragonese landing, Charles was compelled to withdraw from the island, but the Aragonese moved swiftly and destroyed part of his army and most of his baggage. Peter took control of the whole island and sent troops to Calabria, but they could not prevent Charles of Salerno from leading an army of 600 French knights to join his father at
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...
. Further French troops arrived under the command of Charles's nephews, Robert II of Artois and
Peter of Alençon, in November. In the same month, the Pope excommunicated Peter.
Neither Peter nor Charles could afford to wage a lengthy war. Charles made an astonishing proposal in late December 1282, challenging Peter to a
judicial duel
Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...
. Peter insisted that the war should be continued, but agreed that a battle between the two kings, each accompanied by 100 knights, should decide the possession of Sicily. The duel was set to take place at
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
on 1June 1283, but they did not fix the hour. Charles appointed Charles of Salerno to administer the Regno during his absence. To secure the loyalty of the local lords in Achaea, he made one of their peers,
Guy of Dramelay
Guy (II) of Dramelay (; died 1285/86) was the third Baron of Chalandritsa in the Principality of Achaea in Frankish Greece, and also ''Bailli of the Principality of Achaea, bailli'' of the Principality in 1282–85.
Life
Guy was a scion of the ...
, baillif. Pope Martin declared the war against the Sicilians a crusade on 13January 1283. Charles met with the Pope in Viterbo on 9 March, but he ignored the Pope's ban on his duel with Peter of Aragon. After visiting Provence and Paris in April, he left for Bordeaux to meet with Peter. The duel turned into a farce; the two kings each arriving at different times on the same day, declaring a victory over their absent opponent, and departing.
Skirmishes and raids continued to occur in southern Italy. Aragonese guerrillas attacked
Catona and killed Peter of Alençon in January 1283; the Aragonese seized Reggio Calabria in February; and the Sicilian admiral,
Roger of Lauria
Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305), was a Calabrian knight who served the Crown of Aragon as admiral of the Aragonese navy during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talented naval tacticia ...
,
defeated a newly raised Provençal fleet at Malta in April. However, tensions arose between the Aragonese and the Sicilians and in May 1283 one of the leaders of the anti-Angevin rebellion, Walter of Caltagirone, was executed for his secret correspondence with Charles's agents. Pope Martin declared the
war against Aragon a crusade and conferred the kingdom upon Philip III of France's son,
Charles of Valois
Charles, Count of Valois (12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, which ruled over France from 1328. He was the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella o ...
, on 2February 1284.
Charles started to raise new troops and a fleet in Provence, and instructed his son, Charles of Salerno, to maintain a defensive posture until his return. Roger of Lauria based a small squadron on the island of
Nisida
Nisida is a volcano, volcanic islet of the Flegrean Islands archipelago, in southern Italy. It lies at a very short distance from Cape Posillipo, just north of Naples; it is connected to the mainland by a camera-enforced 1km-long pedestrian zone. ...
to blockade Naples in May 1284. Charles of Salerno attempted to destroy the squadron, but most of his fleet was captured, and he himself was taken prisoner after
a short, sharp fight on 5June. News of the reverse caused a riot in Naples, but the papal legate, Gerard of Parma, crushed it with the assistance of local noblemen. Charles learnt of the disaster when he landed at
Gaeta
Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples.
The city has played ...
on 6June. He was furious at Charles of Salerno and his disobedience. He allegedly stated that "Who loses a fool loses nothing", referring to his son's capture.
Charles left Naples for Calabria on 24June 1284. A large army—reportedly 10,000 mounted warriors and 40,000 foot-soldiers—accompanied him as far as Reggio Calabria. He laid siege to the town by sea and land in late July. His fleet approached the coast of Sicily, but his troops could not land in the island. After Lauria landed troops near Reggio Calabria, Charles had to lift the siege and retreat from Calabria on 3August.
Death

Charles went to
Brindisi
Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
and made preparations for a campaign against Sicily in the new year. He dispatched orders to his officials for the collection of the . However, he fell seriously ill before travelling to
Foggia
Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...
on 30December. He made his last will on 6January 1285, appointing Robert II of Artois regent for his grandson, Charles Martel, who was to rule his realms until Charles of Salerno was released. He died in the morning of 7January. He was buried in a marble sepulchre in Naples, but his heart was placed at the
Couvent Saint-Jacques in Paris. His corpse was moved to a chapel of the newly built
Naples Cathedral
The Naples Cathedral (; ), or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral, the main church of Naples, southern Italy, and the seat of the Archbishop of Naples. It is widely known as the Cathedral of Saint Januarius ...
in 1296.
Family

All records show that Charles was a faithful husband and a caring father. His first wife, Beatrice of Provence, gave birth to at least six children. According to contemporaneous gossips, she persuaded Charles to claim the Kingdom of Sicily, because she wanted to wear a crown like her sisters. Before she died in July 1267, she had willed the usufruct of Provence to Charles.
*
Blanche, the eldest daughter of Charles and Beatrice, became the wife of
Robert of Béthune in 1265, but she died four years later.
*
Beatrice, her younger sister, married Philip, the titular Latin emperor, in 1273.
*
Charles II, Charles's eldest son and namesake was granted the
Principality of Salerno
The Principality of Salerno () was a Middle Ages, medieval Mezzogiorno, Southern Italian state, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war. It was centred on the port city of Salerno. Although it owed alle ...
in 1272. Charles the Lame (as he was called) and his wife,
Maria of Hungary, had fourteen children, which secured the survival of the
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, or House of Anjou-Sicily, or House of Anjou-Naples was a royal house and cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. It is one of three separate royal houses referred to as ''Angevin'', meaning "from Anjou" in France. Foun ...
.
*
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
, Charles and Beatrice's next son, was elected
king of Sardinia
Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthagians, Carthaginians, and occupied by the Ancient Rome, Romans for around a thousand years, ...
by the local Guelphs in 1269, but without the pope's consent. He died childless in 1278.
* Robert, Charles's third son, died in 1265.
*
Elisabeth, Charles's youngest daughter, was given in marriage to the future
Ladislaus IV of Hungary
Ladislaus IV (, , ; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a chieftain from the pagan Cumans who had settled in Hung ...
in 1269, but Ladislaus preferred his mistresses to her.
The widowed Charles first proposed himself to
Margaret of Hungary. However, Margaret, who had been brought up in a Dominican nunnery, did not want to marry. According to legend, she disfigured herself to prevent the marriage. Charles and his second wife, Margaret of Nevers, had several children, but none survived to adulthood.
Legacy
The works of two 13th-century historians,
Bartholomaeus of Neocastro
Bartholomew of Neocastro ( 1240 – after 1293) was an Italian jurist, and author of a chronicle called the ''Historia Sicula'', which covers the years from 1250 to 1293.
Few things are known about Bartholomew. It is known that he was a bureaucra ...
and
Saba Malaspina
Saba Malaspina (died 1297 or 1298) was an Italian historian, writer, and clergyman. Born around the mid-13th century in southern Italy, he was from a "Roman family with a strong tradition of support for the papal cause" and was the deacon (later b ...
, strongly influenced modern views about Charles, although they were biased. The former described Charles as a tyrant to justify the Sicilian Vespers, the latter argued for the cancellation of the crusade against Aragon in 1285. Charles had continued his imperial predecessors' policies in several fields, including coinage, taxation, and the employment of unpopular officials from
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
. Nevertheless, the monarchy underwent a "Frenchification" or "Provençalistion" during his reign. He donated estates in the Regno to about 700 noblemen from France or Provence. He did not adopt the rich ceremonial robes, inspired by Byzantine and Islamic royal styles, of earlier Sicilian kings, but dressed like other western European monarchs, or as "a simple knight", as it was observed by the chronicler
Thomas Tuscus who visited Naples in 1267.
Around 1310, the Florentine historian,
Giovanni Villani
Giovanni Villani (; 1276 or 1280 – 1348)Bartlett (1992), 35. was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the ''Nuova Cronica'' (''New Chronicles'') on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman of ...
, stated that Charles had been the most powerful Christian monarch in the late 1270s.
Luchetto Gattilusio, a Genoese poet, compared Charles directly with Charlemagne. Both reports demonstrate that Charles was regarded almost as an emperor. Among modern historians, Runciman says that Charles tried to build an empire in the eastern Mediterraneum;
Gérard Sivéry writes that he wanted to dominate the west; and
Jean Dunbabin argues that his "agglomeration of lands was in the process of forming an empire".
The historian Hiroshi Takayama concludes that Charles's dominion "was too large to control". Nevertheless, economic links among his realms strengthened during his reign. Provençal salt was transported to his other lands, grain from the Regno was sold in Achaea, Albania, Acre and Tuscany, and Tuscan merchants settled in Anjou, Maine, Sicily and Naples. His highest-ranking officials were transferred from their homelands to represent him in other territories: his senechals in Provence were from Anjou; French and Provençal noblemen held the highest offices in the Regno; and he chose his vicars in Rome from among southern Italian and Provençal nobles. Although his empire collapsed before his death, his son retained southern Italy and Provence.
Charles always emphasised his royal rank, but did not adopt "imperial rhetoric". His renowned justiciar,
Marino de Caramanico, developed a new political theory. Traditional interpretators of
Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I.
Roman law also den ...
were convinced that the Holy Roman Emperors had a monopoly on law-making. In contrast with them, Caramanico stated that an emperor could not claim sovereignty over a king and emphasised Charles full competence to issue decrees. To promote legal education Charles paid high salaries—20–50 ounces of gold in a year—to masters of law at the
University of Naples
The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public university, public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, s ...
. Masters of medicine received similar remunerations, and the university became a principal centre of medical science. Charles's personal interest in medicine grew during his life and he borrowed Arabic medical texts from the rulers of Tunis to have them translated. He employed at least one Jewish scholar,
Moses of Palermo, who could translate texts from Arabic to Latin.
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, also known as Rhazes (full name: ), , was a Persian physician, philosopher and alchemist who lived during the Islamic Golden Age. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of medicine, and a ...
's medical encyclopaedia, known as , was one of the books translated at Charles's order.
Charles was also a poet, which distinguished him from his Capetian relatives. He composed love songs and a ''
jeu-parti'' (the latter with
Pierre d'Angicourt). In 1269, he wrote a single
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
''
cobla'' (stanza) in an exchange with the
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''.
The tr ...
Sordello. He was requested to judge two poetic competitions in his youth, but modern scholars do not esteem his poetry. The Provençal
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''.
The tr ...
s were mostly critical when writing of Charles, but French poets were willing to praise him.
Bertran d'Alamanon wrote a poem against the salt tax and
Raimon de Tors de Marseilha rebuked Charles for invading the Regno. The trouvère
Adam de la Halle
Adam de la Halle (1245–50 – 1285–8/after 1306) was a French poet-composer '' trouvère''. Among the few medieval composers to write both monophonic and polyphonic music, in this respect he has been considered both a conservative and pro ...
dedicated an unfinished epic poem, entitled ''The King of Sicily'', to Charles and
Jean de Meun glorified his victories in the ''
Romance of the Rose''. Dante described Charles—"who bears a manly nose"—singing peacefully together with his one-time rival, Peter III of Aragon, in
Purgatory
In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...
.
Charles also showed interest in architecture. He designed a tower in Brindisi, but it soon collapsed. He ordered the erection of the
Castel Nuovo in Naples, of which only the palatine chapel survives from his work. He is also credited with the introduction of French-style
stained glass
Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...
windows in southern Italy.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 01 Of Naples
1220s births
1285 deaths
13th-century monarchs of Naples
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