Peter, Infante of Aragon (1406/1411 ? – 1438 besieging

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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

(1424–1425) and Duke of

Noto Noto (; ) is a city and in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. It is southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains. It lends its name to the surrounding area Val di Noto. In 2002 Noto and its church were decl ...

, was the sixth child of King

Ferdinand I of Aragón Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sicil ...

and Countess

Eleanor of Alburquerque Eleanor of Alburquerque (1374 – 16 December 1435) was a Castilian noblewoman, Countess of Alburquerque, who became List of Aragonese consorts, Queen of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. She was the regent of Aragon during th ...

Biography

The brothers future king John,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and Peter formed an ambitious group of princes, known as the

Infantes of Aragon The Infantes of Aragon ({{langx, es, Los Infantes de Aragón) is an appellation commonly used by Spanish historians to refer to a group of 15th-century '' infantes'' (princes) of the House of Trastámara, specifically the sons of King Ferdinand ...

, who aimed to seize power in Castile at the expense of their cousin and brother in law, King

Juan II of Castile John II of Castile (; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the son of King Henry ...

. They were particularly opposed to

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in ...

, favourite of the king and central figure of the Castilian Kingdom. He participated in the fights of his brother Infante Enrique, against King John II and Álvaro de Luna, taking an active part in the struggles in the eastern part of Castile between 1426 and 1431. His capture in 1431 led to the pacification of the regions of Salamanca and Extremadura, as he was required to surrender all the fortresses and possessions that his family owned there in order to be released.Real Academia de la Historia
/ref> In 1434 he moved to the Kingdom of Sicily together with his brother Infante Enrique, to help their older brother

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...

, King of Aragon, in his aspirations to occupy the throne of the Kingdom of Naples. Thus he participated in the disastrous Battle of Ponza, managing to escape capture by leading two galleys towards

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 ...

and managing to seize this city and later also

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

. Peter, Duke of

, died in battle, aged 27, in

, when besieging

during the

Aragonese conquest of Naples The conquest of the Kingdom of Naples and its incorporation into the Crown of Aragon was carried out between 1435 and 1442 by King Alfonso V of Aragon. Background After the War of the Sicilian Vespers which started in 1282, Sicily was split int ...

Contact with Ethiopia

Yeshaq I Yeshaq I (), throne name: Gabra Masqal II (Ge'ez: ገብረ መስቀል) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1414 to 1429/1430, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the second son of Emperor Dawit I. Ancestry Of Amhara lineage. Yeshaq I wa ...

made the earliest known contact from post-Axumite Ethiopia to a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an ruler. He sent a letter by two dignitaries to king

, which reached the king in 1428, proposing an alliance against the

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, which would be sealed by a dual marriage, that would require Infante Peter to bring a group of artisans to Ethiopia, where he would marry Yeshaq's daughter. It is not clear how or if Alfonso responded to this letter, although in a letter that reached Yeshaq's successor

Zara Yaqob Zara Yaqob (; 1399 – 26 August 1468) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty who ruled under the regnal name Qostantinos I (; "Constantine"). He is known for the Geʽez literature that flourished during his reign, th ...

in 1450, Alfonso wrote that he would be happy to send artisans to Ethiopia if their safe arrival could be guaranteed, for on a previous occasion a party of thirteen of his subjects traveling to Ethiopia had all perished. Richard Pankhurst, ''The Ethiopians: A History'' (Oxford: Blackwell, 1998), pp. 75f

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter of Aragon, Count of Alburquerque 15th-century births 1438 deaths 15th-century Aragonese nobility Viceroys of Sicily Sons of kings Sons of counts