Aragón, house of

Aragón, house of,

family that ruled in Aragón, Catalonia, Majorca, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Athens, and other territories in the Middle Ages. It was descended from Ramiro IRamiro I
, d. 1063, first king of Aragón (1035–63), illegitimate son of Sancho III of Navarre, from whom he inherited Aragón. After the death of his half-brother Gonzalo he annexed Sobrarbe and Ribagorza and fought unsuccessfully against the Moorish king of
..... Click the link for more information.  of Aragón (1035–63), natural son of Sancho IIISancho III
or Sancho the Great
, c.970–1035, king of Navarre (1000–1035). Having inherited the kingdom of Navarre, which included Aragón, he launched an annexation campaign that made him the leading power in Christian Spain. After conquering (c.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Navarre. Under Ramiro's successors—Sancho ISancho I
(Sancho Ramírez) , 1045?–1094, king of Aragón (1063–94) and, as Sancho V, king of Navarre (1076–94); son and successor of Ramiro I.
..... Click the link for more information. , Peter IPeter I,
d. 1104, king of Aragón and Navarre (1094–1104), son and successor of Sancho I. He continued the fight against the Moors, taking (1096) Huesca and recapturing (1100) Barbastro. His brother Alfonso I succeeded him.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Alfonso IAlfonso I
(Alfonso the Battler) , d. 1134, king of Aragón and Navarre (1104–34), brother and successor of Peter I. The husband of Urraca, queen of Castile, he fought unsuccessfully to extend his authority over her kingdom.
..... Click the link for more information. —Navarre was temporarily (1076–1134) united with Aragón. During that period considerable territory was wrested from the Moors. Ramiro II (1134–37) was succeeded by his daughter, Petronilla, and her husband, Raymond Berengar IVRaymond Berengar IV
, d. 1162, count of Barcelona (1131–62). He married Petronilla, daughter and heir of King Ramiro II of Aragón, after whose abdication (1137) Raymond also ruled Aragón. Catalonia and Aragón remained united under Raymond's descendants.
..... Click the link for more information. , count of Barcelona. Aragón and CataloniaCatalonia
, Catalan Catalunya, Span. Cataluña, autonomous community (1990 pop. 6,165,638), NE Spain, stretching from the Pyrenees at the French border southward along the Mediterranean Sea.
..... Click the link for more information.  (see also BarcelonaBarcelona
, city (1990 pop. 4,738,354), capital of Barcelona prov. and of Catalonia, NE Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. Economy

Situated on a plain between the Llobregat and Besós rivers and lying between mountains and the sea, Barcelona is the second
..... Click the link for more information. ) remained united under their descendants—Alfonso IIAlfonso II,
1152–96, king of Aragón (1162–96) and, as Raymond Berengar V, count of Barcelona (1162–96); son and successor of Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragón.
..... Click the link for more information. , Peter IIPeter II,
1174–1213, king of Aragón (1196–1213) and count of Barcelona, son and successor of Alfonso II. He had himself crowned (1204) at Rome by Pope Innocent III, whom he accepted as overlord of Aragón and Catalonia.
..... Click the link for more information. , James IJames I
(James the Conqueror), 1208–76, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1213–76), son and successor of Peter II. After a minority was disturbed by private wars among the nobles, James soon consolidated royal power and tried to create a new nobility
..... Click the link for more information. , Peter IIIPeter III
(Peter the Great), 1239?–1285, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1276–85) and king of Sicily (1282–85); son and successor of James I. In 1280 he established Aragonese influence on the northern shores of Africa.
..... Click the link for more information. , Alfonso IIIAlfonso III,
1265–91, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1285–91), son and successor of Peter III. He was forced to grant wide privileges to the cortes of the Aragonese nobles.
..... Click the link for more information. , James IIJames II,
c.1260–1327, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1291–1327), king of Sicily (1285–95). He succeeded his father, Peter III, in Sicily and his brother, Alfonso III, in Aragón.
..... Click the link for more information. , Alfonso IVAlfonso IV,
1299–1336, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1327–36), son and successor of James II. Before his accession he conquered (1323–24) Sardinia, where later a revolt involved him in war with Genoa and Pisa. He was succeeded by his son, Peter IV.
..... Click the link for more information. , Peter IVPeter IV
(Peter the Ceremonious), 1319?–1387, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1336–87); son and successor of Alfonso IV. He supported Alfonso XI of Castile at the battle of Tarifa (1340), recovered (1343–44) the kingdom of Majorca, and engaged in
..... Click the link for more information. , John IJohn I,
1350–95, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (1387–95), son and successor of Peter IV. During his reign Aragón lost (1388) the duchy of Athens.
..... Click the link for more information. , and MartinMartin,
1356–1410, king of Aragón and count of Barcelona (c.1395–1410) and, as Martin II, king of Sicily (1409–10). He succeeded his brother, John I, in Aragón and became king of Sicily on the death of his son, Martin I of Sicily, who had married
..... Click the link for more information. ; after a brief interregnum (1410–12) they passed to Martin's nephew, Ferdinand IFerdinand I,
1379?–1416, king of Aragón and Sicily and count of Barcelona (1412–16), second son of John I of Castile; nephew and successor of Martin of Aragón. In 1406, Ferdinand became regent of Castile during the minority of his nephew, John II.
..... Click the link for more information. , and from him to Alfonso VAlfonso V
(Alfonso the Magnanimous), 1396–1458, king of Aragón and Sicily (1416–58) and of Naples (1443–58), count of Barcelona. He was the son of Ferdinand I, whom he succeeded in Aragón and Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. , John IIJohn II,
1397–1479, king of Aragón and Sicily (1458–79), king of Navarre (1425–79), count of Barcelona. He succeeded his brother, Alfonso V, in Aragón, Catalonia, and Sicily and became king of Navarre through his marriage with Blanche, heiress of
..... Click the link for more information. , and Ferdinand IIFerdinand II
or Ferdinand the Catholic,
1452–1516, king of Aragón (1479–1516), king of Castile and León (as Ferdinand V, 1474–1504), king of Sicily (1468–1516), and king of Naples (1504–16).
..... Click the link for more information. , who after his marriage with Isabella of Castile became joint king of Castile as Ferdinand V or Ferdinand the Catholic. His grandson, Charles I (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VCharles V,
1500–1558, Holy Roman emperor (1519–58) and, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516–56); son of Philip I and Joanna of Castile, grandson of Ferdinand II of Aragón, Isabella of Castile, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and Mary of Burgundy.
..... Click the link for more information. ) succeeded him and merged the houses of Aragón and Castile with that of HapsburgHapsburg
or Habsburg
, ruling house of Austria (1282–1918). Rise to Power

The family, which can be traced to the 10th cent., originally held lands in Alsace and in NW Switzerland. Otto (d.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Through its merger of 1137 with the house of Barcelona, the house of Aragón had acquired various fiefs in S France, notably Roussillon, Provence, and Montpellier, and suzerainty over others. It lost most of these between 1213 and 1246, mainly because Peter II intervened in the Albigensian Crusade (see under AlbigensesAlbigenses
[Lat.,=people of Albi, one of their centers], religious sect of S France in the Middle Ages. Beliefs and Practices

Officially known as heretics, they were actually Cathari, Provençal adherents of a doctrine similar to the Manichaean dualistic
..... Click the link for more information. ) and was defeated (1213) at Muret. In the same period (1229–38), however, James I won the Balearic IslandsBalearic Islands
, Span. Baleares , archipelago, off Spain, in the W Mediterranean, forming Baleares prov. (1990 pop. 767,918) of Spain; also an autonomous community since 1983. Palma is the capital. The chief islands are Majorca, Minorca, and Ibiza.
..... Click the link for more information.  and the region of ValenciaValencia
, autonomous community (1990 pop. 3,902,429) and former kingdom, E Spain, on the Mediterranean. It now comprises the provinces of Alicante, Castellón, and Valencia. The region was established as an autonomous community in 1982 by the statute of autonomy.
..... Click the link for more information.  from the Moors. In 1282, Peter III became king of SicilySicily
, Ital. Sicilia, region (1991 pop. 4,966,386), 9,925 sq mi (25,706 sq km), S Italy, mainly situated on the island of Sicily, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west and south, by the Ionian Sea on the east, and by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north, and
..... Click the link for more information. , and in the 14 cent., after a long struggle, Alfonso IV conquered SardiniaSardinia
, Ital. Sardegna, region (1991 pop. 1,648,248), 9,302 sq mi (24,092 sq km), W Italy, mostly on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, which is separated in the north from Corsica by the Strait of Bonifacio.
..... Click the link for more information. . The duchies of AthensAthens
, Gr. Athínai, city (1991 pop. 2,907,179; 1991 urban agglomeration pop. 3,072,922), capital of Greece, E central Greece, on the plain of Attica, between the Kifisós and Ilissus rivers, near the Saronic Gulf. Mt. Aigáleos (1,534 ft/468 m), Mt.
..... Click the link for more information.  and Neopatras were under the nominal rule of the family in the 14th cent., and in 1442 the kingdom of Naples (see Naples, kingdom ofNaples, kingdom of,
former state, occupying the Italian peninsula south of the former Papal States. It comprised roughly the present regions of Campania, Abruzzi, Molise, Basilicata, Apulia, and Calabria. Naples was the capital.

In the 11th and 12th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ) was conquered by Alfonso V.

Only rarely were these possessions united under a single ruler; for the most part they were held by various branches of the house, often at war with each other as well as with other rulers in Spain. The kingdom of MajorcaMajorca
, Span. Mallorca , island (1991 pop. 602,074), 1,405 sq mi (3,639 sq km), Spain, largest of the Balearic Islands, in the W Mediterranean. Palma is the chief city.
..... Click the link for more information. , with RoussillonRoussillon
, small region and former province, S France, bordering on Spain along the Pyrenees and on the Mediterranean, part of the administrative region of Occitania. It is now roughly coextensive with Pyrénées-Orientales dept. Perpignan is the historical capital.
..... Click the link for more information.  and Cerdagne, was separate from 1276 to 1343; that of Sicily, from 1296 to 1409; and that of Naples, from 1458 to 1501. Even when united under one ruler as they were under Alfonso V, the various possessions retained their distinct institutions, which continued to be important in diminished and varying degrees after the union of the crowns of Aragón and Castile. See NavarreNavarre
, Span. Navarra , autonomous community and province (1990 pop. 527,318), N Spain, bordering on France, between the W Pyrenees and the Ebro River. Pamplona is the capital.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See study by J. L. Shneidman (2 vol., 1971).