Reconquista XI-XIII centuries.

The period from the middle of the XI to the middle of the XIII century. was the time of decisive military successes of the Reconquista. The fragmented Mauritanian possessions were relatively easy prey for Christian sovereigns. So, in 1085, the Castilians occupied Toledo, the largest city in Central Spain, the former capital of the Visigoths. At the beginning of the XII century. The Aragonese captured Zaragoza. In 1147 Lisbon was taken. In the hands of Christians by the end of the XII century. most of the peninsula was located. Nevertheless, their progress to the south was slow. This is due to a number of circumstances. There was no unity among the Christian states. The unification of León and Castile was fragile. The final unification of Castile and León took place only in 1230. Another factor holding back the advancement of Castile and Aragon to the south was the military intervention of the Berbers of North Africa. The most important circumstance that determined the pace of the Reconquista was the objective possibility of subjugation and colonization of the occupied lands. With a shortage of human resources, the acquisition of land that there was no one to inhabit did not create incentives for new seizures. Therefore, from the XI century. not conquest, but turning into tributaries, who annually paid huge sums to Castile and Aragon, became a frequent occurrence. Due to these circumstances, the Reconquista in the XI-XIII centuries. was carried out not gradually and smoothly, but as if by leaps. Its main victories came in the first half of the 13th century. At the beginning of the century, Castile managed to regulate its relations with its neighbors; in 1212, its king Alphonse VIII, at the head of an allied army, utterly defeated the Berbers at Las Navas de Tolosa.

Based on an alliance with the church, cities and petty nobility, having large incomes from maritime trade, the royal power of both Castile and Aragon in the XIV-XV centuries. led a decisive attack on the political rights of large feudal lords and deprived them of a significant amount of independence. By the end of the XV century. she took away from the big feudal lords the right to mint coins, wage private wars, and confiscated many lands from them. The king also took possession of the lands of the spiritual and knightly orders.

In 1479, Aragon and Castile united into a single state under the rule of a married couple - Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. This event was one of the important stages in the strengthening of royal power in Spain. In the matter of crushing the power of large feudal lords, the royal power was supported by the city. In 1480, the cities of Castile entered into an alliance with each other - the "holy hermandade", which organized its own militia to fight the feudal lords. But, using the military forces of the cities to curb the feudal lords, the royal power gradually curtailed the independence of the cities themselves. The church, especially the Inquisition, introduced in Spain in 1480, also provided great support to royal power.

Under Ferdinand and Isabella, an absolute monarchy is established in Spain.

Thus, in the second half of the XIII century. in the hands of the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula, only Granada remained with the territory adjacent to it. It no longer posed a serious danger to Christian states. The reconquista stopped until the end of the 15th century.

The Reconquista had a significant impact on the political organization of the Iberian countries. External danger, and later the need to consolidate the ruling class in order to achieve joint conquests, prevented the development of feudal fragmentation. From the 11th century in the Kingdom of Leono-Castile, the monarchy finally acquires a hereditary character. In the fight against the rebellious feudal lords, the kings could use the financial resources of the vassal Muslim territories, the military formations of cities, the help of numerous caballeurs and hidalgos. However, the powers of royal officials on the territory of the state were still significantly limited by the privileges of large secular lords, churches and orders, on the one hand, and the rights of rural and especially urban communities, on the other.

History of the Kingdom of Aragon

In the period 1975─1982. after the end of Franco's dictatorship in Spain, a number of democratic reforms were carried out during the transition to a constitutional monarchy. At that time, the autonomous community of Aragon appears as part of Spain. However, the history of Aragon goes back to the Middle Ages. Having appeared on the ruins of the Roman Empire, Aragon is gaining strength in the Middle Ages. And then it becomes the center of crystallization of the state of Spain. During their history, the kings of Aragon fought many wars. The main war was fought with the Arab states, which were formed on the Iberian Peninsula after the arrival of conquerors from Africa. As a result of constant struggle, by the XIII-XIV centuries, the kingdom of Aragon, having captured a significant part of the Iberian Peninsula and a number of islands in the Mediterranean, becomes a major power. Subsequently, Aragon enters into a union with Castile and the Spanish state is formed. This article will focus on the history of the Kingdom of Aragon.

In ancient times, Aragon was not marked by anything special on the territory of Iberia. The Celtiberians who lived here traded with Carthage, Greeks and Phoenicians. The Romans arrived here at the end of the 3rd century BC. During the reformation of the empire by Augustus, Tarraconian Spain was created in the northeast of modern Spain, which was a province of the Roman Empire. This happened in the period from 27 BC. e. to 14 a.d. e. At the same time, the Romans found here the city of Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), which receives the name of the emperor. When the Roman Empire collapsed, the kingdom of the Visigoths was formed on the Iberian Peninsula. This happens in the 5th century AD simultaneously with the spread of Christianity in the territory of the Iberian Peninsula.

The main shock for the people inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula was the invasion of the Arabs, who in those days were called the Moors. They came to these lands in 712-718. They quickly captured the entire territory of modern Spain. Free from them was the land in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. The Visigoths could not offer serious resistance to the Arabs, and were destroyed or captured by the Muslim Moors. The only force that could withstand the onslaught of the Arabs were the Franks.

From 768 to 814, the king and then emperor of the Franks was the warlike Charlemagne. During his reign, he was able to win back the lands in the north of modern Spain from the Arabs. The Spanish brand was formed on this territory. Surrounded by Charlemagne was Count Aureolo, who was one of the generals. He was able to liberate the city of Jacu, located in the Pyrenees in the northeast of the peninsula.

As a result of this campaign, he was able to drive the Moors out of the territories they occupied between the Aragon River and its tributary Subordan. The county of Aragon got its name from the name of this river. The capital of the county was the city of Jaca. After some time, Aureolo died and the capital of the county was again captured by the Arabs. And then Aznar Galindes, the new Count of Aragon, again began to liberate these territories.

War Aznar Galindes with Banu Qasi (Arab state) led with the support of the Basques. Galindes during his lifetime made the County of Aragon independent from the Frankish Empire. In fact, Aragon became an independent state. The composition of the new Aragon, in addition to the environs of Jaca, included the counties of Ribagors and Sobrarbe. The latter are located in the northeast of Spain in the foothills of the Pyrenees).

In 922, the last representative of the Galindes dynasty dies, and Aragon passes under the control of the kings of Navarre, with whom the Aragonese counts were related. At the beginning of the 11th century, the kingdom of Navarre became the largest Christian state on the Iberian Peninsula. This is the main center of opposition to the Arabs. But, as time has shown, the state of Navarre was fragile. When Sancho III the Great died, his kingdom of Navarre fell apart into several parts. Ramiro, who was the illegitimate son of Sancho III the Great, becomes the head of Aragon. As a result, Aragon regains its independence.

Rapid development and the era of conquests (XI-XIII centuries)

For the first time after the death of Sancho III the Great and the beginning of the reign of Ramiro in Aragon, the territory of the county was insignificant. But Ramiro was not one of those who are content with little and he went to war with his brother Garcia, who was the king of Navarre. But here his troops defeated, he abandoned the intention to conquer Navarre. After some time, he still managed to expand his possessions. His brother Gonzalo died and Ribagors and Sobrarbe joined the county of Aragon by right of inheritance. So, the Aragonese kingdom began to expand.

Ramiro tried to further expand his possessions further Ribagorsa and got involved in a war with the Moors. However, he failed at the siege of Graus, where he was killed. After his death, Sancho-Ramirez, his son, took over the kingdom. He came to the throne in 1063. Sancho Ramirez continued the war, but more successfully. He first took the fortresses of Monzón and Barbastro. Then Graus and other settlements submitted to him.

During the reign of Sancho-Ramirez, the kingdom of Aragon expanded not only through war, but also through peaceful means. We are talking about the annexation of Navarre. The inhabitants of the kingdom did not want to give the crown to the murderer of Sancho and swore allegiance to Sancho—Ramirez. Subsequently, he undertook a campaign to the west to besiege Huesca, but there he had no luck. He died during the siege.

As a result of the campaigns and conquests undertaken, the Aragonese kingdom expanded significantly due to the territories in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. By the end of the 11th century, Aragon stretched from Ribagora Noguera to San Sebastian, and reached the Ebro (modern Rioch). Huesca was conquered by the son of Sancho Ramirez ─ Pedro I in 1096. In addition, he annexed several more cities to the kingdom, recapturing them from the Moors. Pedro I dies in 1104, passing the throne to his son Alphonse I. He began to wage wars with the Muslims even more vigorously in the direction of the right bank of the Ebro. The main thing that Alfonso I did was the conquest of Zaragoza in 1118. After that, all the fortresses of the Moors in the Ebro region entered the kingdom of Aragon. These are Daroka, Tarakona, Kalatayud and others. The borders of the kingdom advanced beyond the Ebro towards Teruel and Cuenca. Several times the Almoravides tried to recapture Zaragoza, but the army of Alphonse I defeated them at Kutanda in 1120.

After brilliant victories, Alfonso I was awarded the title "Warrior". In agreement with the Mozarabs, in 1125 he made a campaign against the possessions of Murcia, Valencia and Andalusia. He failed to take some large cities, but his army reached the shores of the Mediterranean Sea after the victory at Arinsola in 1126 near Lucena. In order to populate the conquered lands, Alfonso I brought with him several thousand Mozarabs.

On the right bank of the Ebro, several fortresses remained under the control of the Moors, which posed a threat. Alfonso I organized a campaign against Mexinense and conquered this fortress. Then he carried out operations against Fraga, located on the Sinque River, but here he was defeated. And in 1134 Alfonso I dies without heirs.

According to the will of Alphonse I, the kingdom of Aragon should be given to military orders: the Templars and the Johnites. But the population of Navarre and Aragon thought differently and did not fulfill this testament. The nobility of Aragon chose the brother of Alfonso I ─ Ramiro to the throne. He was a monk in a Narbonne monastery. The nobility of Navarre chose their king and seceded from Aragon, regaining their independence.

Ramiro II did not perform any outstanding deeds and military exploits. He received from the pope an exemption from his vow of celibacy. After that, he took Agnes of Aquitaine as his wife. They had a daughter, Petronila. Ramiro II married her to Berenguer IV. It was the Count of Barcelona. In 1137, Ramiro II abdicated and entered a monastery, after which the Count of Barcelona became the ruler of Aragon. The result is a union of these key kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula. The further fate of Catalonia and Aragon becomes common. Catalonia brought with it the spirit of expansion, trade and culture. Through it, relations with other European states began to be established. The first common king of the united Catalonia and Aragon is Ramon Berenguer, who was the son of Ramon Berenguer IV.

He adopted the name of Alphonse II as a sign of respect for the people of Aragon. His close ally was Alfonso VIII of Castile, with whom they fought against Navarre. Alfonso II was unable to include Navarre in Aragon, but he nevertheless took several of their fortresses. At the same time, he also achieved success in the field of diplomacy. In 1167, his cousin from the house of the Counts of Barcelona dies. His father Ramon Berenguer IV and the German emperor entered into a treaty, according to which Alfonso II inherited the Duchy of Provence. And in 1172, Alfonso II inherited the county of Roussillon.

In addition, in 1187 Alphonse II was sworn in by the counties of Bigorre and Bearn in southwestern France. Thus, the power of the state of Alphonse II increases significantly and he receives almost complete control over the south of France. Little by little, Alfonso II expanded the borders in the south. He fought with the Moors himself and together with Alphonse VIII of Castile.

He succeeded in conquering Caspe and Albarracina, where he founded the city of Teruel in 1170. In parallel with this, they had to repulse the raids of the Moors on Tarragona. The province suffered greatly from these raids. In 1173, the Moors caused serious damage to the villages in this province, although they were unable to capture Zaragoza.

Alfonso II later conquered Cuenca for Castile. As a result, the king of Castile freed Aragon from fiefdom. Towards the end of his reign, Alfonso II, along with León, Navarre and Portugal, united against Castile. But in 1179, Castile and Aragon again conclude an alliance treaty. Under this agreement, they divided the Spanish lands among themselves. Alfonso II died in 1196.

The son of Alfonso II ─ Pedro II inherited the throne at a troubled time for the kingdom. Unrest constantly broke out in the French possessions of Aragon and Catalonia. French kings sought to take these territories under their crown. In Provence, the nobility tried to gain independence from Aragon. But Pedro II managed under these conditions to annex the county of Montpellier in 1204. This he achieved as a result of his marriage to Countess Maria. A year later, the county of Urgell came under the crown of Aragon.

Pedro II decided to travel to Rome in order for the Pope to crown him. Historians have not yet found an unequivocal explanation of why he decided on this innovation, which was not previously in the customs of Catalonia and Aragon. Apparently, the main motive was to obtain the support of the Pope, as well as Pisans and Genoese. The latter had powerful fleets, and Pedro II needed them to capture the Balearic Islands. In addition, he hoped to solve problems in the south of France with the help of the political influence of the Pope. Peter II was crowned by the Pope in November 1204, and then also knighted. Pedro II undertook to protect the Catholic faith, persecute heretics and inviolability of churches.

In addition, he declared himself a vassal of the Pope and gave him about his kingdom as a fief. Now the kings of Aragon had to pay remuneration to the Pope every year for the patronage that he would provide to him and his heirs. The population and nobility of Catalonia and Aragon were unhappy with this decision. After all, Pedro II did this without their consent, and they considered this oath invalid. The cities of the kingdom united in the so-called hermandad and demanded that the king renounce the vassal oath. Pedro II refused and began to pay Rome a reward, assuming the status of a Catholic king. Meanwhile, in southern France, the religious question was becoming more and more complicated. The situation was especially difficult in Provence.

Relations between the Pope and the nobility in the south of France became very strained. The nobility did not at all seek to suppress heresy to please Rome. This eventually led to war. The Pope declared a crusade against the Albigensians. The main enemies were declared the Count of Toulouse (son-in-law of Pedro II) and Viscount Roman Roger (Beziers and Carcassonne), who was a vassal of Aragon. This campaign was announced by the Pope in 1209.

The crusaders began their offensive from Lyon. Under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, they stormed Beziers and staged a terrible massacre there, and then also set fire to the city. After that they also took the city of Carcassonne and slaughtered all the heretics there. The Count of Toulouse had to submit to Rome against his will.

As a result, the crusaders of Simon de Montfort seized the lands of Viscount Ramon Roger, but this did not suit Peter II at all. However, under the pressure of circumstances and representatives of the Pope, he had to recognize Simon de Montfort as the ruler of Carcassonne and Beziers. After this, a short peace was restored, during which Pedro II was engaged in the affairs of his kingdom. Alfonso VIII declared a crusade against the Moors, joined by Aragon. In 1212, a victory was won at Las Navas. Around the same period, Pedro II was able to annex Ronceval and Aibar, belonging to the kingdom of Navarre, to Aragon. In addition, some territories in the south of the kingdom and the land of Castile under the name of Moncayo were annexed. But in the south of France, things went according to a bad scenario for the Aragonese king.

In 1213, the fighting of the crusaders against the Count of Toulouse resumed. Pedro II turned to the Pope with a request to protect the Count of Toulouse from Simon de Montfort. But the request remained unanswered, and he had to defend the nobility and the count, whose lands were taken from him, by force of arms. But luck was not on their side, and at the battle of Muret, Pedro II was killed and his army was defeated. After his death, Catalonia and Aragon were left without a king. Pedro II had a son, Jaime, who was in the hands of Simon de Montfort. The late monarch himself gave it to him when he planned a marriage with Montfort's daughter.

Pope Innocent intervened in this situation, and after that Montfort returned Jaime in 1214. But since he was a minor, he could not immediately take over the reign of the kingdom. Therefore, the Cortes of Aragon and Catalonia chose Guillen de Monredo as guardian for Jaime. It was the Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Sancho, who is the brother of Jaime's grandfather, became the procurator of the kingdom. In addition, junior prosecutors for Aragon, Catalonia and Montpellier were selected. At the same time, there was no agreement in the kingdom. The uncle of the heir ─ Fernando and the procurator general Sancho sought to seize the throne.

At the same time, the nobles of Aragon behaved in their fiefdoms as independent rulers. They fought each other, trying to grab a piece from the other. There was a group of nobles in the kingdom who came to the defense of the imperfect King Jaime. Guillen de Monredo imprisoned the heir in the fortress of Monzon, and they rescued him from there. After that, Jaime led the troops and began to fight against the aristocrats and their relatives who claimed the throne. His party consisted mainly of the nobility of Catalonia. He did not manage to curb his relatives and know soon. The constant struggle lasted until 1227. The result of this struggle was the signing of an agreement with the nobility, according to which peace was restored. This turmoil in the kingdom was reflected in foreign affairs. Especially on business in southern France.

The Battle of Muret never brought about a resolution of the situation with Simon de Montfort. The local nobility resisted Simon de Montfort and did not want to recognize his authority. As a result, the Count of Toulouse, having united with the Catalan nobility, again went to war against Montfort. The result was the death of Simon de Montfort and the end of French domination, which reigned here after the Crusade in 1209. After the end of the turmoil, Jaime I began to expand the borders, in which his intentions coincided with the mood of the population. He was especially supported in this matter by the inhabitants of Catalonia.

Since ancient times, the Catalans traded by sea and sought to establish their hegemony in the Mediterranean. With the coming to power of Jaime I, they began to realize their plans. On the way of conquests, the Balearic Islands became the first. At that time, the Moors lived there, who terrorized the coast of Spain with raids. The nobles of Aragon refused to lend their troops and money to this campaign. Part of the Catalans was also against it. Jaime I had to manage only with the means and people that the cities of Catalonia, some of the lords and representatives of the clergy provided him.

An army was assembled, which was loaded onto 43 ships and 12 galleys. The flotilla headed for the island of Mallorca, where the troops landed in September 1229. Jaime I easily conquered the island. The Moors in Palma and the mountains were quickly defeated. In addition, one of the local rulers collaborated with Jaime. As a result of the campaign, good booty was obtained, and the lands of the island were divided among themselves by generals and nobles. Now the king of Aragon appointed his governor in Palma. In 1232 Jaime I undertook a new campaign. Now to the island of Menorca, which also became a vassal of the kingdom. In 1235, Ibiza was conquered. Thus, the Muslim Moors were expelled from the Balearic Islands or annexed to the kingdom of Aragon. In parallel with the conquest of the Balearic Islands, Jaime I began to prepare for the conquest of Valencia lands next to it. At that time, Muslims dominated there. In 1232, Blasco de Alagon, a nobleman from the Aragonese nobility, captured Morelia with his troops. In fact, Morella was conquered with the help of several barons and Catalan militias. Then for another 5-6 years, Jaime I conquered various fortresses and territories in the vicinity of Valencia. At the beginning of 1238, the siege of Valencia itself began, which capitulated in September. According to the terms of the surrender, the emir of the Moors and anyone who wants to can leave the city. At the same time, it was allowed to take the property that you could carry with you. After the conclusion of the agreement, 50,000 Muslims left the city.

After Valencia was taken, the Aragonese army captured other important settlements of this kingdom. In particular, the powerful fortress of Xativa, Alzira and a number of other settlements, on the territory of the modern province of Alicante. The Kingdom of Valencia was completely subjugated by 1253. In gratitude for the assistance rendered to the king, Jaime I distributed the occupied lands among these aristocrats. But after the conquest of these territories, uprisings of the Moors rose several times in the mountains. They managed to suppress, although not without difficulty. After that, many Muslim inhabitants were expelled from the lands of Valencia. Jaime I planned, in general, to expel all Muslims, but did not have time to do this, because he died. In addition, during the reign of Jaime I, some more conquests were made in the territory inhabited by the Moors.

The borders of the kingdom of Aragon now reached the city of Bear. A corresponding agreement was concluded on this with the King of Castile Fernando III. The territories that were located south of Beara were recognized as Castile. But despite this treaty, Jaime I violated this treaty in 1265. With the support of the Catalan and Aragonese nobility, he started a war with the Emirate of Murcia. First he took the cities of Alicante and Elche, and then in 1266 he conquered the city of Murcia.

According to the peace treaty, Muslims received the right to remain in the city. In addition, they retained the right to build mosques and have their own court. King Jaime I populated Murcia with colonists from Catalonia, and distributed the territories among the nobility, which helped in the conquest. But he recognized this territory for the king of Castile. During his reign, Jaime I often made various compromises and concessions. This was necessary in order to avoid a civil war. The Aragonese nobility was very headstrong and often acted without regard for the monarch. They could at any moment refuse to help the king with troops and money.

Therefore, the king of Aragon constantly tried to weaken the influence of the nobility and limit the feudal lords. The eldest son of the king ─ Pedro took part in this process. He tried to amend the laws and force the nobility to do their duty. As a result, there was a sluggish civil confrontation in Aragon. He managed to stop only for the time of the new Muslim invasion of the territory of Murcia. In 1276, Jaime I dies in a campaign undertaken to suppress the uprising of the Moors in Valencia.

During his reign, the kingdom significantly strengthened politically, expanded its territories and laid the foundation for further expansion in the Mediterranean. In parallel with external conquests, the king tried to carry out internal reforms and overcome the all-powerful feudal lords. He protected all his royal rights and powers, not wanting to make Aragon a vassal of Rome. And this was insisted on by Gregory X, who was then the Pope of Rome.

Jaime I also unified the laws, put things in order in the finances of the kingdom and founded a number of educational institutions. Not only that, he also had a talent for writing. He wrote poetry, and also left behind a chronicle, where he spoke about his reign. But in his will, for some reason, he went against his main idea ─ the unification of the possessions of Aragon and Catalonia. He bequeathed to divide the kingdom between his sons. The eldest son Pedro received Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia. The younger son received lands in the south of France and the Balearic Islands. As a result, the possessions of the kingdom of Aragon were divided for some time. This turned out to be an unwise move, as the kingdom was then in need of centralization.

Aragon in the XIII-XV centuries

Even during his lifetime in Jaime I, he married his eldest son Pedro III to the daughter of the King of Sicily ─ Manfred of Hohenstaufen. As a result of this union, the kings of Aragon received a legal right to parts of the lands of Italy. Because of this, there were subsequently many conflicts between Argon and a number of states in Western Europe. In particular, Charles of Anjou, the prince of the royal house of France, became an opponent of this. The first thing Pedro did on the throne was to declare independence from the Pope. In breaking the vassal treaty, he was supported by the majority of the population.

Soon after this, Pedro III had to fight the nobility in his state. This time, the “bone of contention” was the right to inherit the county of Urgell. The civil war of the king against Armengol X, who claimed the county, began. As a result of this struggle, Armengol X recognizes himself as a vassal of the king, but the struggle does not end there. In 1280, all the nobility of Catalonia unites against the king. The rebels took refuge in the city of Balaguer, which Pedro III besieged along with the militia of the cities. At the head of the rebels was the Count of Foix, who was joined by about three hundred nobles. The local population did not support the rebels, and they quickly capitulated. The instigators were imprisoned, but soon released. The king ordered them to pay compensation for the damage and conclude an agreement.

In 1278, the king's brother Jaime, who inherited Mallorca and Roussillon, concluded an agreement according to which the heirs of the Aragonese king are recognized as overlords of these lands. Around the same time, friendly allied relations were established with Portugal and Castile. This was facilitated by the marriage of the Portuguese king Dinis with Isabella ─ Infanta of Aragon. Pedro III completed the suppression of the uprising of the Moors in Valencia, which was started by his father. As a result, many Muslim Moors were expelled from these territories.

During the time of Jaime I, the emir of Tunis (al-Mostansir) was an ally of Aragon and paid tribute. When al-Mostansir died, one of his sons seized power. Under this pretext, Peter 3 began to interfere in the internal affairs of the emirate. In 1280, he sent an expeditionary force to Tunisia under the leadership of Conrado de Llans. As a result of this campaign, he established a protectorate over the emirate of Tunisia. The Aragonese now had the right to collect duties on the wine trade at a rate of 50%. In addition, Tunisia now had to pay tribute and Aragon received the right to appoint an mayor to govern the Christian population of Tunisia. Alcalde could fly his own flag, which was given honors on a par with the Tunisian. In cities such as Tunis and Bougie, there were consuls of Catalonia. The result of this military campaign was the strengthening of the diplomatic and military positions of Aragon in North Africa.

Next, Pedro III turned his gaze to the kingdom of Sicily. There were some Neapolitan lands under the crown of Sicily at that time. These territories belonged to the sons of Frederick II (German Emperor). But this right was disputed by the Pope, resulting in a long struggle. The pontiff sought to consolidate his right to the lands of Sicily and, with some reservations, offered them to Charles of Anjou. Tom only needed to win them back from the representatives of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, and then manage them in the status of a vassal of Rome. Angevin liked the deal. He defeated the Sicilian troops and killed the regent Manfred, as well as his nephew Conradin, who was captured and beheaded in 1268.

Pedro III was married to one of the daughters of the regent Manfred and could not stay away from these events. Gradually he came into contact with the Sicilians and began preparations to conquer the kingdom. Preparations directly for the war began in 1281. For this, an army of 15 thousand people and a fleet of 140 ships were equipped. The King of France, learning of these preparations, sent envoys to find out the reason. He was officially told that the expeditionary corps was sent to Algeria (in those days of Constantine), to help this city in the fight against the sultanate.

In 1282 the fleet went to the city of Alcoil. It was taken and the Aragonese troops began to conquer the settlements around the city. At this time, an event took place that went down in history under the name "Sicilian Vespers". On March 31, 1282, the Sicilians exterminated the French invaders. Some time after this, an embassy from the Sicilians arrived at the headquarters of the Aragonese troops and asked them for help in the fight against Charles of Anjou. Pedro III agreed, believing that the Sicilian throne was rightfully his. In August 1282 he landed at Trapani and easily captured Sicily.

Aragon won a number of unconditional victories on land and at sea. Charles of Anjou was forced to flee to Italy. By February 1283, Pedro III had established control over Calabria. Further fighting in Italy was also successful for the Aragonese army. Admiral Roger de Lauria in 1284 managed to defeat the French squadron at Malta, and not far from Naples, he captured Charles the Lame (son of Charles of Anjou). The Pope could not forgive the conquest of the Sicilian kingdom. He proclaimed that Pedro III was dispossessed and his subjects were released from their oath of allegiance to him. The Pope entrusted their fate to Charles of Valois, who was the youngest son of the King of France.

Charles of Anjou dies in January 1285 and the French troops in Italy are left without leadership, since the son of the late king was captured by Pedro III. The French army invaded Catalonia, and the Pope presented it as a crusade. Jaime (King of Mallorca and Roussillon), who was the brother of Pedro III, took the side of the French. However, some fortresses and cities resisted the invaders, remaining loyal to the kingdom of Aragon. But there was no full support for Pedro III in the kingdom. The nobility and clergy of Ampurdan turned their backs on him or even "put a spoke in the wheel."

French troops used a poorly guarded site in the Pyrenees to capture Ampurdan. As a result, they managed to capture almost the entire country. After taking the castle of Lierse, Charles of Valois settled there, and his troops besieged Girona. Thanks to the heroic resistance of the city, Roger de Loria arrived in time to help. In addition, luck was on the side of the Aragonese. An epidemic began in the French army, which led to large non-combat losses. Roger de Loria's flotilla defeated the French fleet. The French troops could no longer receive reinforcements from the sea and began to retreat behind the Pyrenees. At the Panissars pass, the troops of Aragon and Castile attacked them and staged a terrible massacre. Almost the entire French army ceased to exist.

Meanwhile, the war in Roussillon did not stop, and Pedro III held Charles the Lame prisoner. Before sending a military corps to the island of Mallorca in November 1285, Pedro III dies, and before his death he promises to return Sicily to the Pope. This desire of King Pedro was not realized. But the sons of the king were more sensible and were not going to give Sicily to the pope. The youngest son Jaime ascended the Sicilian throne, and the eldest son ─ Alfonso becomes the king of Catalonia and Aragon. Majorca was also in his possession until 1295. He gave it to Jaime II only after he took the fealty oath.

In Italy, the war of France with Aragon and Castile continued. In 1288, the parties conclude a peace treaty in Campfranche. According to it, the Pope of Rome invalidated the act of donating the Sicilian kingdom to Charles of Anjou. In addition, the right to Roussillon and the island of Mallorca was recognized for Aragon. Alfonso released Charles the Lame, and he had to make amends from the war. And also he had to provide hostages instead of himself. Jaime was recognized as King of Sicily by treaty.

However, after the release of Charles the Lame, he did not fulfill his obligations. Moreover, he, in collusion with Jaime, the king of Mallorca, threatened Aragon with war. Yes, and in Sicily the struggle continued. In 1291, an agreement less favorable to the Aragonese was concluded in Tarascon. Jaime was recognized as the king of Sicily, but the king of Aragon had to pay tribute for all the time from the moment it was established by Pedro II. In parallel with these events, Alfonso III tried to take the Sicilian crown from his brother. At the beginning of 1286, Alfonso III conquers the island of Menorca. Formally, he was a vassal of the kingdom, but in fact an independent entity. Constant external threats could not make the Aragonese nobility cohesive. They constantly fought with the king. Under Alphonse III, the internal situation escalated, since he did not have a strong character and experience in managing his father's affairs. Due to external problems, the nobility decided to promote their interests and seek privileges. Alfonso III followed their lead and agreed to significant concessions. As a pretext, the nobility used the fact that Alfonso III became king of Aragon without swearing allegiance to the fueros on the Cortes. The union of the noble Aragonese demanded his return to Aragon. Otherwise, they threatened to revolt.

Moreover, representatives of the union maintained contacts with Charles of Valois, who claimed the crown of Aragon. They even began to open their embassies in European countries. At first, Alfonso III sentenced the instigators of the rebellion to death, but this only led to an aggravation of the conflict. Due to the aggravation of the foreign political situation, the country needed peace inside. As a result, Alfonso III conceded to the union and granted the nobility the privileges they demanded. This happened in 1287. According to the adopted “Privileges of the Unia”, Alfonso III recognized the mediator judge (hustis) and took upon himself the obligation not to encroach on the life of the nobility in the Cortes and the nobility. In addition, the "Privilege of the Union" established other restrictions on the power of the king.

Alfonso III died in 1291 without issue. The crown of Aragon passed to Jaime, who was the king of Sicily. He handed over Sicily to his son Fadrika, which was a violation of the treaty in Tarascon. The result was a new war with France. But Jaime did not fight for long, and under the influence of Pope Boniface VIII, he made a humiliating peace. June 5, 1295 in Aguani. Under the treaty, he renounced the rights to Sicily. The Sicilians, led by their son Fadrique, did not recognize this treaty and continued to fight. In fact, Jaime took upon himself the obligation to wage war against his own son in order to return Sicily to the Pope.

Instead, Boniface VIII lifted the excommunication of the kings of Aragon, and France waived the rights to the Sicilian crown. In 1297, the pope grants Jaime rights to the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. And he, in turn, recognized Aragon as a vassal of the Pope and assumed obligations to pay tribute. And he must conquer these islands on his own. Jaime II entered into a marriage agreement with the daughter of the King of France ─ Blanca of Anjou.

But, despite all the diplomatic concessions, the war began again. The Sicilians proclaimed Fadrique their independent king, and a long war began with Aragon. Eventually, the House of Angevin leaned towards peace negotiations as the alliance with the Pope fell apart. In 1302, a peace treaty was concluded, according to which the crown of Sicily was recognized for Fadrike, and he married Eleanor (daughter of Charles of Anjou). At the same time, Fadrike promised that after his death the throne would not pass to his children, but to his father-in-law. But Aragon later still retained Sicily under his rule.

In addition to the difficulties in the Sicilian question, Jaime was also worried about other unresolved problems in Spain. In particular, these are disagreements with Castile, which appeared as a result of unrest in this kingdom. There was a struggle between Sancho IV and the Infantes of Cerda, who eventually fled to neighboring Aragon. Jaime II made an attempt to capture Murcia and as a result received recognition of the rights to its northern part. In addition, the Aragonese royal house was able to increase its territory as a result of marriage alliances. So, the daughter of Jaime II married the Duke of Austria. Subsequently, he became the German emperor, which improved relations with the Pope. Alfonso (another son of Jaime II) was married to the niece of the Count of Urgell. This gave him the right to inherit Urgel after the death of the Count. The wife of Jaime II (Blanca of Anjou) died and he married the daughter of the Cypriot king.

The grandson of Jaime II became the king of Mallorca, and the counties of Ampurias and Ribagors went to his son ─ Pedro. In 1323-1324 Alphonse conquered Sardinia. Jaime II received the right to do this from the Pope. But this company was not an easy walk. The Pisans put up stubborn resistance. At the end of his reign, Jaime II was able to partially curtail Zanti privileges. For example, the powers of the great Khustisya.

In those days, there were no regular armies yet, and after the conclusion of the peace treaty, many people remained without any kind of occupation. And since these people were armed, they posed a serious threat to the territories where they remained. Gangs of mercenaries were formed, who served any master for money. And simply, they devastated and plundered the territories in which they were located. Therefore, the owners of such lands have always tried to facilitate the exodus of armed people to other territories. Fadrique, the king of Sicily, acted in the same vein when he liberated the territory of the island from the military, who remained there in 1302 after the conclusion of a peace treaty.

In 1303, the Turks greatly annoyed Andronicus (the Byzantine emperor) and Fadrika invited one of the commanders to go to the aid of the emperor of Constantinople. He accepted this offer and went to Constantinople with several thousand soldiers, who were deployed on several dozen ships. These ships were provided to Fadrika, if only the mercenaries went home. This army was led by Roger de Flor, to whom the Byzantine emperor granted the title of Grand Duke and gave him the daughter of the Tsar of Bulgaria as his wife. In the company that began against the Turks, the army of Roger de Flora showed itself well in battles. Since de Flor himself was well rewarded, adventurers from Aragon, Catalonia, the kingdom of Navarre reached out to him. Two more campaigns were made, led by Berenguer de Entensa and Berenguer de Rocafort. As a result of the help, the Byzantine emperor was freed from the Turks. For this, he awarded where Florus the title of Caesar, and Berenguer de Entensa granted the title of Grand Duke. In addition, in 1305 he gave them Anatolia with all the adjacent islands.

Such an award aroused the envy of the Greek nobility and Crown Prince Michael. They organized a conspiracy, as a result of which de Flor, his entourage and more than a thousand soldiers were killed. Similar killings also took place in Constantinople and Gallipoli. Fernando de Aones was killed, and about 3 thousand lightly armed soldiers remained from the army. The remaining troops, as a sign of revenge, attacked the Greeks, defeated them and ravaged the cities and suburbs. These events have been called the "Catalan revenge". All these mercenaries were also at enmity with each other. Together with them, Fernando, the son of the Sicilian king Fadrique, took part in these campaigns. Later, the Duke of Athens called the Aragonese troops for help, and then he himself began to plot against them in order to get rid of them. His plan was discovered, and then the Aragonese took control of Athens. They declared themselves vassals of Fadrika, and called Manfred (another son of the king of Sicily) to the kingdom. This Aragonese Athenian duchy existed in the period 1326-1387.

In 1327 Jaime II dies and Alfonso takes his place on the throne. At this time, there was still a war for Sardinia with the Pisans. Alfonso decided to divide the kingdom into two parts to give them to his sons. Fernando, his son from his second marriage, he planned to give the Marquisate of Tortosa. There he included many lands from the kingdom of Valencia. However, the Valencians did not agree with this, because they did not want to obey the prince of Castilian blood. He inherited it from his mother, the sister of the Castilian king. This is explained by the fact that Valencia is a border region with Castile and they often had conflicts. As a result, Alfonso had to give up his intentions. In 1335, Alfonso's son, Pedro IV, occupies the throne of Aragon. He was a very energetic, cunning and cruel man. At the same time, he carefully observed all the requirements of etiquette, for which he received the nickname Pedro the Ceremonial.

He turned out to be more perspicacious in the fight against the Aragonese and Catalan nobility. Pedro IV emerged victorious from this struggle with the nobility and eliminated the threat of unrest. And Castile, at the same time, was shaken by constant internal strife. At the beginning of his reign, Pedro IV was constantly at war with the Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, as well as with the island of Mallorca. Against the Moors, he acted in conjunction with the king of Castile. This protracted war ended with the victory at Salado.

The war with Mallorca ended differently. The king of the island, Jaime III, arrived in Barcelona in 1342 to take the fealty oath to Pedro IV. He accused him of a state conspiracy to kill the king of Aragon and arrested him. In addition, the wife of Jaime III was arrested. He then organized a military campaign against Mallorca and achieved victory without difficulty. Shortly thereafter, he went on a campaign against Roussillon and won. As a result, Mallorca and Roussillon were included in Aragon. On March 29, 1344, Peter the Fourth swore an oath to the Cortes never to seize these territories from the kingdom.

Relations between the king and the nobility were still tense and even hostile. Among the cities, some also supported the nobility. The situation was such that even a small pretext could lead to open civil war. Pedro IV had no sons. Therefore, the throne was to be inherited by his brother Jaime. But Pedro deprived him of the throne and the right to inherit. At the same time, he forced the Infanta Constanza to take the oath, considering her the future heir to the throne. The Aragonese and Valencian nobility rebelled because of this, and Jaime returned to Aragon and organized the "Unia of the nobility." Pedro IV had to submit to their demands and satisfy the claims. In 1347, at the session of the Cortes, held in the city of Zaragoza, he restored the post of procurator. However, this success of the nobility was temporary, since Pedro IV was not one of those who surrender after the defeat.

Shortly thereafter, in November 1347, Jaime dies. Pedro IV is sent to Valencia with the aim of reprisal against the union. But the rebellious people began to hold him in the position of a hostage. In 1348, he manages to escape and, at the head of the Catalan army, he crushes the supporters of the Union in the city of Epile. After that, he comes with an army to Zaragoza and executes the rebels there. At the same time, he cancels the privileges of the union. According to eyewitnesses, he cut the parchment with the charter with a dagger. After the defeat of Unia in Aragon, Pedro IV went to Valencia and defeated the rebel army there. Revenge was not long in coming. The king ordered mass executions of Union supporters. Most of them were severely tortured. The bell, which was created by the nobility at the meeting of the Union, was melted, and this molten metal was poured into the throats of the rebels.

It is worth noting here that not only the nobility, but also the general population opposed the Aragonese king. There is no reliable information about this, but historians suggest that the Uniate program contained not only the demands of the nobles for independence, but also some proposals from the cities for limiting centralization and the absolutist demands of the king. After the abolition of the Privilege of the Union, absolutism and the centralization of power in Aragon increased significantly. But, despite the strengthening of the throne, the nobility retained many of their privileges. Only their excessive demands were eliminated and the Khustisya institution was revised. At the same time, the Catalan nobility in this struggle was on the side of the king. After solving internal problems in this way, Pedro IV returns to foreign policy.

First of all, Pedro IV had to solve problems on the island of Sardinia. Uprisings constantly arose there, which were provoked by the Republic of Genoa. To solve this problem, Aragon declares war on the Genoese, making an alliance with the Venetians. Two victories were won in naval battles, but this did not help to calm the situation in Sardinia. Therefore, in 1354, Pedro 4, at the head of a large army, went to Sardinia. There he captured all the key settlements, but some pockets of resistance still remained. At this point, he has to switch to the war with Pedro the Cruel.

In the wars with Castile, the success of the Aragonese kingdom was ensured by the victory of Enrique of Trastamar. After this victory, Enrique II married his son Juan to the Infanta of Aragon ─ Eleanor. As a result, the House of Trastamar received rights to the throne of Castile. Therefore, by right, in 1412, a representative of the House of Trastamara became king of Aragon. In 1381, a delegation of Athenian nobility and citizens who depended on Sicily came to Pedro IV with a proposal to admit Athens to Aragon. He accepted their offer and gave privileges, as with the Barcelona lands. Pedro IV also made attempts to take possession of the island of Sicily.

The last years of his life, Pedro IV unsuccessfully tried to subdue Tarragona and was engaged in family strife. He died in January 1387. By this time, his wife and children had left him. During the reigns of Martin I and Juan I, there were no achievements in foreign policy. The kingdom lost Neopatria and the Duchy of Athens. At this time, an uprising breaks out in Sicily, which is suppressed by force. And there were also short-term wars with de Foix and Armagnac, who claimed the throne of Aragon.

During this period, Sicily joins Aragon, which was prepared by Pedro IV. The king of Sicily at that time was Martin, who, after the death of Juan I in 1396, occupies the throne of the Aragonese kingdom. He died in 1410 without leaving any heirs. The issue of succession to the throne was resolved peacefully. There were many contenders for the crown of the Aragonese kingdom, who indicated kinship with Martin I. The main ones were Fernando de Antequera (uncle of Juan II - King of Castile), Jaime (Count of Urgell - son of Martin I's sister).

The rank and file of the people in Valencia and Catalonia spoke out for Jaime. And Fernando was supported by the Church of Aragon, part of the nobility and cities, Castile and the great Justis. Fernando was not popular among the people because he was a stranger. There was no king in Aragon from 1410 to 1412. All this time there were serious riots and clashes between noble houses. They used the situation to settle scores among themselves. At this time, Fernando de Antequera occupies part of Aragon in confirmation of claims to the throne.

At this time, Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia were governed by deputations, which were allocated by the Cortes. Therefore, the parliament in Catalonia initiated a discussion on the issue of the heir to the throne. Candidates for the throne appeared at the meeting to present the legal grounds behind their claims. In February 1412, the representatives of Aragon and Valencia, as well as the parliament of Barcelona, ​​reached an agreement to resolve the issue of succession to the throne. A commission was assembled, which did not include deputies from Sicily, Majorca and Sardinia. All these lands were part of Aragon. In total there were 9 members of the commission (three each from Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia). Four were lawyers, the other five were confessors.

The created commission discussed the issue in the city of Caspe for several days and on June 25, 1412 recognized the right of Fernando de Antequera to the royal throne. In Aragon, this decision was accepted with jubilation, and in Catalonia and Valencia there were many dissatisfied. After Fernando arrived in Aragon, the Count of Urgell (Jaime) raised a rebellion against him. On his side were many noble noble families who waged armed struggle during the absence of the king.

The Count of Urgell was supported by many ordinary people of Aragon, who were unhappy that Fernando surrounded himself with courtiers and troops from Castile. Jaime used mercenaries from England and Gascony for his own purposes. But Fernando managed to defeat the Count of Urgell in the battle of Balaguer. After that, he announced a manifesto, according to which he guaranteed forgiveness to those who surrendered their weapons and ceased resistance. Jaime surrendered and Fernando, who gave him life. Despite the sympathy among the Catalans, they reacted with indifference to Jaime's defeat.

After the issue of succession from the throne was resolved, it was time to turn attention to affairs outside the borders of the Aragonese kingdom. At this time, the struggle for the papal throne unfolded. There were three candidates running for it. To put an end to this turmoil, the German emperor demanded the abdication of all three popes. This was necessary so that the papal throne was free until the moment when the cathedral in Constance chooses the appropriate candidate. The candidates Gregory XII and John XXII followed this request, but Benedict XIII (in the world Don Pedro de Luna) refused. He was an Aragonese to whom Fernando owed much of the crown. So he began to support him.

However, later, under pressure from European monarchies and the emperor, he refused to patronize Benedict XIII. He did not renounce the papal throne and locked himself in the fortress of Peniscola. There he died in 1423. And Fernando died in 1416, leaving the throne to Alfonso V, his son. He earned the nickname of the Magnanimous and the Wise. At the same time, almost all of his reign was spent in wars.

All conflicts under Alfonso V near Aragon were outside the Iberian Peninsula. At first, the reason for the war was that the Neapolitan Queen Juana recognized King Alfonso as her heir. Instead, she hoped that Aragon would protect her from Louis of Anjou. Alfonso V accepted this offer and began to carry out the standard policy of his kingdom. This policy was to increase their territories at the expense of Italian lands. Therefore, the old war between France and the Argon flared up again. Alfonso fought against several Italian states and French troops. At first, the war went according to a favorable scenario and the Aragonese troops occupied Naples and Marseilles.

In 1434, Juan dies and the war breaks out with renewed vigor. Now Alphonse V's affairs went very badly. In 1435, in the naval battle of Ponza, his fleet was defeated, and he was taken prisoner. He received freedom only after 2 years and continued to fight with the enemy. Now his army took Naples again, and then the whole territory of the Neapolitan kingdom. After that, peace negotiations began. Alfonso declared Fernando heir to the Neapolitan throne. It was his natural son. In 1447, he inherited the Duchy of Milan, which strengthened the position of Aragon in Italy.

As for domestic political life, at the court of Alphonse V there were many poets and scientists widely known in European countries. At the end of his reign, Alfonso V was at war with Genoa and earned military glory. The wars that he waged contributed to the increase in the territory of Aragon. But in general, all this had a bad effect on the management system, which was gradually upset. The brothers of the king and his wife began to manage state affairs. The Cortes urged the king to return to Aragon in order to eliminate the civil strife and self-will of the Infantes. But he was constantly in Italy and planned new conquest campaigns.

Alfonso V moves his residence to Naples from ancient Zaragoza. Thus, he tried to shift the center of the Aragonese kingdom to southern Italy. He dies in 1458 and after his death Naples is separated from Aragon. His younger brother, who was named Juan II the Unfaithful, ascends the throne in Zaragoza, and the illegitimate son of Alfonso 5 ─ Ferdinand I puts on the Neapolitan crown.

Traveling in Spain or France, you can take a photo of the Kingdom of Aragon, or rather those structures that have survived from past centuries. For example, the castle of Loarre (Aragon) or the palace of the kings of Mallorca (Perpignan).

Aragon as a separate state actually existed from 1035 to 1516. Together with other historical lands, the kingdom formed the basis of Spain. How this happened will become known from the article.

From county to kingdom

The core of the future kingdom was the County of Aragon. It existed since 802, and was dependent on the kingdom of Navarre. In 943 the local dynasty ended and the county became part of Navarre. King Garcia I married the heiress of the county. So the kings of Navarre received the title of Count of Aragon.

In 1035, King Sancho III died, his possessions were divided among his sons. Before his death, the ruler gave the county to his illegitimate son. This is how the kingdom of Aragon was born.

Associated with the river that flowed through its territory. Initially, it was small in size, but gradually the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorsu were attached to it. The sources indicate that the area of ​​the kingdom of Aragon was 250 thousand square kilometers. Who was that illegitimate son of the king?

First king

The name of the first ruler of the kingdom of Aragon was Ramiro. Until his death, he sought to expand his possessions. There were attempts to annex the kingdom of Navarre to their lands, but they were unsuccessful.

The king decided to expand his possessions from the east side. To do this, he declared war on the Moors. However, the siege of Graus not only did not fulfill his desire, but also led to death. The first king died in 1063. Sancho Ramirez became his successor. He continued his father's work.

The king was able to capture the fortress of Barbastro, then Graus. At this time, the Navarrese kingdom voluntarily joined Sancho. In the west, he made an attempt to besiege Huesca, where he was killed.

The kingdom received Huesca in 1096. The son of the murdered king, Pedro the First, was able to master it.

The strange testament of Alphonse the First

In 1104, the kingdom of Aragon passed to the son of Pedro the First, Alphonse. He sent military forces to conquer the Muslim possessions on the right bank of the Ebro. He hoped to take possession of Zaragoza. This was achieved in 1118.

Thanks to his many victories, the king was able to reach the Mediterranean coast. However, there were still fortresses owned by Muslims. Alphonse I died in 1134. He had no children, so he decided to leave the kingdom to the Johnites and the Templars (military orders). The will was not fulfilled, both the Aragonese and the Navarrese were against it.

The nobles of Aragon decided to make the brother of the deceased king. Ramiro was a monk in the Narbonne monastery, and became king. He did not deal with public affairs in the same way as his predecessors. In order to leave his heirs on the throne, the king asked the pope to release him from the vow of celibacy. He married Agnes of Aquitaine. A daughter was born in the family. Her father gave her in marriage to Berenguer the Fourth, who owned the county of Barcelona. The Kingdom of Aragon (it is impossible to give percentages) increased due to dynastic marriage.

After that, Ramiro renounced power, retiring to a monastery. From 1137, Berenger the Fourth became the new ruler. From that moment on, the fate of Aragon and Catalonia became one.

Unification with Catalonia

The first ruler of the united state was the son of Berenguer the Fourth, who bore the name of his father, but in tribute to the inhabitants of Aragon he began to be called Alphonse the Second.

During his reign, he managed to expand the boundaries of the kingdom at the expense of the lands of southern France. His vassals were:

• duchy of provence;
• county of Roussillon;
• county of Bearn;
• County of Bigorr.

The king also fought the Moors and had disagreements with Castile. He died in 1196. His son Pedro II succeeded him.

First ruler crowned in Rome

Pedro II began to rule the kingdom of Aragon in difficult times. The French kings sought to seize the border territories, and Provence defended its independence. Despite this, the king managed to further expand his possessions by marrying Countess Maria. So he got the county of Montpellier. A little later, he took possession of the county of Urgell.

An important political event of that time was the trip of Pedro II to Rome. In 1204, the coronation of Pedro II took place. The Pope also knighted him. Za called himself a vassal of the pope. This meant that the kingdom had to pay an annual tribute to the Catholic Church. Such behavior of the king outraged the nobility of Aragon and Catalonia.

The king died in 1213, trying to protect the lands of the Count of Toulouse from capture. This was due to the difficult situation that was taking place in the south of France.

Kingdom without a ruler

The death of Pedro II left the kingdom of Aragon (western Europe) without a ruler. The only son of the deceased was at Montfort. It took the intervention of the pope to bring the heir to the throne back to the kingdom. However, Jaime was still a minor, so he was assigned a guardian. They became the representative of the Knights Templar de Monredo.

Jaime, who was only nine years old, found himself in the hands of relatives, each of whom sought to seize the crown. Loyal people managed to save him from the fortress of Monzon. Then Jaime, supported by the troops, began a struggle for power. It lasted for about ten years, until the king signed an agreement with the nobility. It made it possible to establish universal peace.

After the internal problems in the kingdom were temporarily resolved, Jaime directed his forces to expand the borders of the state. He managed to conquer the Balearic Islands and Valencia from the Muslims.

In addition to capturing new territories, curbing the nobility, the king managed to restore order in finances, several educational institutions were founded under him. Jaime refused to recognize himself as a vassal of the pope. With his reign, he laid a solid foundation for the kingdom to dominate the Mediterranean.

At his death, the king left Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia to his eldest son Pedro, who had long helped him conduct state affairs. He left the Balearic Islands and a number of other lands to his son Jaime.

Capture of Sicily

Having come to power, Pedro the Third began a struggle with the nobility. The reason was the question of the rights to the county of Urgell. The king proved his superiority, but soon the nobility of Catalonia opposed him.

The nobles were not supported by the local population and they had to surrender. The king first imprisoned the instigators, but later released them. The ruler ordered the rebels to make amends for the damage they caused.

In 1278, Pedro the Third signed an agreement with his brother, according to which Jaime's possessions became dependent on the kingdom of Aragon (western Europe). The king established friendly relations with Portugal and Castile.

In 1280, Pedro III was able to establish a protectorate of the kingdom over Tunisia. The Aragonese received an annual tribute from the ruler of Tunisia, and also received the opportunity to collect a tax on the wine trade. Aragon received advantageous positions on the African continent. The next in line was the kingdom of Sicily.

At that time, the sons of the German emperor ruled in Sicily, but the pope wanted to get these lands. He invited Charles of Anjou to reconquer Sicily and rule it as a vassal of Rome. Charles managed to capture Sicily, he destroyed the regent, the nephew of the ruler, and later the ruler himself, Manfred Konradin.

Pedro the Third was married to the daughter of Manfred, so he was interested in the fate of Sicily. The king negotiated with the Sicilians, who wanted to get rid of the power of the pope. The Aragonese ruler waited and prepared the fleet. Finally, in 1282, he began a campaign to conquer Sicily.

Pedro the Third took the kingdom quite easily, and Charles of Anjou was forced to flee to Italy. The battles continued and proved successful for the Aragonese.

The capture of Sicily angered the pope and he announced that he was depriving the king of his possessions. Some cities and fortresses supported Pedro, others began to put obstacles in his way. French troops were on the side of Rome. Even Pedro's death and his declaration that he would give Sicily to the Pope did not stop the war. The sons of the late king did not want to part with the occupied lands. In addition to external enemies, the kingdom suffered from turmoil between the brothers, as well as opposition from the nobility.

Fight between king and nobility

The Kingdom of Aragon (Europe) passed to Alphonse the Third. He did not have such a strong character as Pedro. This further complicated the relationship with the nobility, which sought to subjugate the king.

The Union of noble Aragonese was created. They demanded submission from the king and threatened him with an uprising. Alphonse tried to resist Unia, even decided to execute several rebels. But problems with external enemies changed the decision of the king, in 1287 he granted Unia privileges.

The king's power was limited. He pledged not to encroach on the lives of representatives of the nobility. In 1291 the king died.

Father and son war

The king did not leave an heir, so the brother of the late Jaime took the throne. He was the ruler of Sicily, having received Aragon, he transferred his throne to his son Fadrika. This was opposed by the French and the pope. Jaime wanted peace, so he made concessions and renounced the rights to Sicily.

The inhabitants of the island and Fadriko did not agree with this. The Kingdom of Aragon (history grade 6) was obliged to fight against dissenters. So the father went to war against his son in order to win back the island for his father. For this, Rome canceled the previous bulls that excommunicated the Aragonese kings from the church, and also granted rights to Corsica and Sardinia.

Jaime had to conquer Sicily for the pope on his own. The inhabitants of the island proclaimed Fadriko an independent ruler. The war went on with varying success. In the end, the exhausted parties decided to make peace. The French also agreed to this, and spoiled their relationship with the pope.

Fadriko became the king of Sicily, but he married the daughter of Charles of Anjou and after his death was obliged to give the island to his father-in-law or his descendants.

Jaime died in 1327. His son Alphonse took his place. He ruled for eight years.

Then the throne passed to his son Pedro the Fourth. During the years of his reign, he waged war with the Moors, Mallorca. Then he took up the struggle with the nobility. As a result, he destroyed the Privilege of the Union, and brutally executed its supporters. It is known that he ordered the melting of the bell, which convened representatives of the nobility to the meetings of the Unia. Molten metal was poured into the mouths of those who opposed the king. Pedro died in 1387.

The following rulers were:

• Juan the First and Martin the First.
• Fernando.
• Alphonse the Fifth the Wise.

All the wars that Alphonse the Fifth conducted increased the territory of Aragon. However, they had a detrimental effect on the system of government in the state. All affairs were handled by the brothers of the royal family.

Unification of the kingdoms

In 1469, the marriage between Ferdinand and Isabella took place. Thus, the prerequisites for the creation of the kingdom of Aragon and Castile appeared. Ten years after the marriage, John II died. Aragon passed to his son Ferdinand II. Since his wife was the queen of Castile and León, both states were united under one crown.

The Kingdom of Aragon and Castile laid the foundation for the Kingdom of Spain. However, the process of formation of the state dragged on until the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century.

The reign of Ferdinand and Isabella was quite cruel. They zealously guarded the purity of the Catholic faith. For this, the following methods were used:

• in 1478 they established the Inquisition, that is, an ecclesiastical court;
• Muslims, Jews, Protestants were persecuted;
• people suspected of heresy were burned at the stake;
• since 1492, the persecution of those who were not converted to Christianity began;
• the creation of ghettos - closed quarters in which non-believers were supposed to live.

Many Jews and Muslims converted to Christianity, but their persecution did not stop. New Christians were suspected of secretly performing forbidden rites. Jews had to leave their homes and flee to neighboring states. Thus, the unification of Castile and Aragon into the Spanish kingdom led to severe persecution by the Catholic Church.

Emergence of the Kingdom of Spain

Under Ferdinand and Isabella, the Reconquista ended. At the same time, Columbus discovered the New World with Spanish funds. So (Aragon and Castile) receives colonies in their possession. The state temporarily becomes one of the strongest in Western Europe.

After the death of Isabella, the throne passed to her daughter Juana. She married a representative of the Habsburg dynasty, Philip the First. In 1506 he died, and Juana finally lost her mind. The throne passed to their young son Charles.

In 1517, Charles became the full-fledged ruler of Spain, and two years later became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Spain reached its highest peak in the 16th century. In history, this period is called the Golden Age of Spain.

Union of Castile and Aragon

Isabella I, Queen of Castile, and Ferdinand II, Ruler of Aragon, ascended the throne in 1474 and 1479 respectively. The conclusion of their marriage in 1469 was accompanied by difficulties: here and the presence of other applicants for the throne of Castile, and internal opposition to their union, and the fact that these representatives of the older and younger branches of the family were second cousins ​​to each other; as a result, in order to marry, they had to obtain special permission from Rome.

Both of them ascended the throne after long civil wars, which they managed to survive thanks to mutual support. The reunification of the Trastamara family was predetermined from the moment Ferdinand I of Antequer was elected in 1412 as the official head of the Aragonese Federation. In the third quarter of the century, Juan II of Aragon was forced to turn to Castile, when the claims of the Catalan oligarchy aggravated French encroachments on the lands beyond the Pyrenees and in Italy. Moreover, there were very strong ties of an economic nature. As for Isabella, she had to defend her legal succession to the throne after her half-brother Enrique IV in a fight with Enrique's daughter Juana and her Portuguese allies at the Battle of Toro in 1476. As before, Isabella encouraged her supporters with titles of nobility, lands and positions at court. The power of the monarch still depended on the support of noble families.

THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA (1492)

To tie the knot in a joint venture and heal the wounds of the internecine wars of the 1470s, the rulers of Castile and Aragon again launched a campaign in 1482 to convert the Muslim kingdom of Granada to Christianity. It took ten years to break the resistance of Granada, because it was not only "one of the greatest and most beautiful cities", according to an Egyptian traveler, but also a formidable natural fortress, which, despite internal divisions and economic decline, still managed to repel the onslaught Castilians. This war was not too different from the previous ones - more long and costly sieges and the destruction of neighboring villages than swift raids. The composition of the army has not changed either: infantry from the townspeople, noble cavalry, as well as cavalry of military orders and churches and royal detachments - a very small proportion of the total. The personal squads of the nobles still remained a significant force. A novelty in the last stage of the struggle between Christianity and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula was the greater use of infantry and artillery, including primitive examples of the arquebus. As before, the main source of funds for the war was the income of the church.

The capitulation took place at the beginning of 1492, its terms for the vanquished being as noble as those of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Perhaps as a sign of reconciliation, the "Catholic Kings" dressed up in Muslim dress when they entered the city. However, despite the generosity of the winners, by 1494 most of the Muslim nobility had returned to North Africa. As for the population of the kingdom of Granada, which was estimated to be 300,000 people, after a brief period of peaceful coexistence, the process of conversion began. Taxes and a decrease in religious tolerance provoked a series of uprisings, and in 1502 the Granadians were asked to choose between conversion or exile. At the same time, it was supposed to pay for leaving the country and leave children, so many preferred to stay and accept Christianity. They settled on "reservations" in Alpujarras (a mountainous region in the southeast of Granada) and received the rather derogatory nickname "moriscos". As before, the Christians settled mainly in fortified cities and castles of the crown, while the countryside came under the control of the nobility, military orders and city councils.

The conquest of Granada proved to be the best possible start to the reign of the "Catholic Kings". For ten consecutive years, the best troops of South Castile, under the royal banner, participated in royal campaigns. The last victory gave the monarchs the opportunity to shower honors on the most loyal and courageous vassals. The emotional impact of the victory on contemporaries cannot be expressed in words: “Where is more significant than the discovery of America,” one eyewitness admired; "An end to the troubles of Spain!" exclaimed another. In this atmosphere of jubilation, after the successful conclusion of a century of conflict, Isabella and Ferdinand, who were camped six miles from Granada, in the new Christian city of Santa Fe, decided that the time had come to further strengthen the position of the monarchy.

THE EXILE OF THE JEWS

Perhaps the "Catholic Kings" considered the military victory over the Moors sufficient reason to continue the popular policy that had won them city recognition. The monarchy needed an increase in the number of allies in order to weaken the influence of the nobility. The establishment of the Inquisition in 1478 was the first step in this direction; at first very popular with the people and the church, the Inquisition was a centralized institution of royal power - the only one operating throughout the territory of the united monarchy. The expulsion of the Jews apparently seemed like a way to consolidate power in the country. This happened only three months after the surrender of Granada. The Jews were offered to convert to Christianity or leave the lands of Castile and Aragon within four months. The number of those who chose to leave is the subject of heated debate; the latest estimate is that there were between 60,000 and 70,000 of them, and many of them returned after a royal decree allowed them to return and reclaim their property if they could prove that they had converted to Christianity. According to a number of researchers, the impact of the expulsion of Jews on the economic and demographic situation in the country is greatly exaggerated.

COLUMBUS AND AMERICA

1492 is also the year Isabella and Ferdinand finally listened to the Genoese navigator Cristobal Colón (Christopher Columbus) who had been speculating for years about the possibility of finding a western route to India. In fact, the audience took place two weeks after the promulgation of the decree on the expulsion of the Jews, and it is not surprising that Andalusia provided support for the Genoese. The only competitor in sailing across the Atlantic was Portugal, which was the first to enter the ocean and by 1492 was believed to control the known routes for gold and spices. The great rulers of Western Andalusia owned such ports as San Lucar de Barrameda, Gibraltar and Cadiz, gained a lot of wealth after raids on North Africa and exploited the labor of the inhabitants of the colonies on their vast estates. The royal decision was dictated by the desire to keep the initiative and take advantage of the opportunity, if it presented itself; the same thing happened in 1482, when the campaign against Granada was launched for fear that the large landowners of the south would divide the Muslim kingdom among themselves.

From a number of references it follows that Columbus had a clear idea of ​​what he wanted. And he wanted gold. However, he also insisted that his goal was to convert pagans to the good news of the Catholic Church. It was after the first voyages of Columbus in 1494 that the Pope approved the title of "Catholic Kings" for the Spanish royal couple. The thirst for profit inextricably accompanied the fulfillment of the "civilizing" mission, which made Castile the defender of Christian Europe from the infidels; all who invested effort or money in this enterprise expected a good return. In those days, gold was “both the most profitable and the most symbolic of all commodities,” according to the famous French historian Pierre Vilard. Clerics and crusaders, who had just proved their valor and finally defeated Islam on the peninsula, wanted to establish their faith overseas. Moreover, the cross and the sword received a new ally - the Castilian language. In 1492, Elio Antonio de Nebrija (1444-1522) produced The Art of the Castilian Language, Europe's first mother tongue grammar, and dedicated it to Queen Isabella as "an instrument of empire". So the language became a yoke that united the old and new subjects of Castile.

One of the most important moments in the history of the strengthening of royal power was the unification of Aragon and Castile. In 1479, these kingdoms were united under the rule of a married couple - Ferdinand, King of Aragon, and Isabella, Queen of Castile. As a result, a united Spain turned out to be one of the most powerful powers in Europe. It included most of the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily and southern Italy. Relying on an alliance with the church, cities and the petty nobility, having significant income from maritime trade, the royal government launched a decisive attack on the large feudal lords and deprived them of a significant part of their former political independence.

The feudal lords were deprived of the right to mint coins, wage private wars, and many lands were confiscated from them. Their strong castles, the support of their political independence, were destroyed. The king also took possession of the lands of the spiritual and knightly orders.

In the matter of crushing the power of the feudal lords, the royal power was supported by the city. In 1480, the cities of Castile entered into a general alliance among themselves, the so-called holy germandada, which fought against the feudal lords. Saint Germandade set herself the goal of ending feudal wars, establishing safe passage on all roads, and fighting violators of public peace. To protect internal order in Spain, Saint Germanada organized a militia, always ready to carry out her decisions. But having used the military forces of the cities to curb the feudal lords, the royal power gradually curtailed the independence of the cities themselves.

The church, and especially the Inquisition, introduced in Spain in 1480, also provided great support to the royal power. Fighting all sorts of “heresies” that could undermine the dominance of the church, the Inquisition thereby persecuted any social and political opposition to the existing system. Any manifestation of social and political dissent was considered resistance not only to the king, but also to the church, and the Inquisition, with its tortures and bonfires, was a constant ally of royal absolutism, which supported the church in every possible way. According to Marx, “Since the time of Ferdinand the Catholic, the clergy have come under the banner of the Inquisition and have long ceased to identify their interests with those of feudal Spain. On the contrary, thanks to the Inquisition, the church became the most terrible instrument of absolutism. The first head of the Inquisition was the ferocious Torquemada, whose name became a household name due to his fanatical cruelty in the persecution of heretics.

Strengthened from within, the royal power began a policy of territorial expansion.

The first blow was directed against the Emirate of Granada, the last possession of the Arabs in Spain. In 1481 a campaign against Granada was undertaken. It was given the character of a crusade against the infidels. The war with the Arabs dragged on for 11 years, and only in 1492 Granada was taken by the Spaniards. With the conquest of Granada, almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, with the exception of Portugal, was united in the hands of the Spanish kings.

The capture of Granada required considerable effort, and it was surrendered by the Moors on the condition that they allow the free practice of Muslim worship and the preservation of their property by the Muslims. This condition was extended to the Jews. But all these promises were later broken. Moors and Jews were forced to convert to Christianity. As a result, the Muslims raised a number of uprisings, suppressed only with great effort. They were asked to either leave Spain or be baptized (1502). A significant part of the Muslims and Jews moved to Africa, and thus a lot of economically valuable elements left Spain. With their emigration, a number of important trade ties that the Emirate of Granada maintained with North Africa and with the East fell apart. This eviction was accompanied by large-scale confiscations of land.

The Moors, the so-called Moriscos, who remained in Spain and converted to Christianity, were the subject of constant persecution by the church. The life of the Moriscos was subject to the strictest church control. At the slightest denunciation, they were accused of heresy, which entailed death at the stake or life imprisonment. The Jews were subjected to the same constant persecution. In 1492 - the year of the capture of Granada and the discovery of America by Columbus - all Jews, with the exception of those who converted to Christianity, were expelled from Spain with the confiscation of all their property. The Jews who converted to Christianity, the so-called Marans, like the Moriscos, were subjected to constant spiritual and political surveillance and became victims of the inquisitorial terror.

Under Ferdinand and Isabella, an absolute monarchy begins to be established in Spain. Large feudal lords lost their political independence, instead receiving an honorary position at court. Cortes are losing their former importance and are convened less and less. Management assumes a bureaucratic character, concentrating in the center in the hands of the royal councils, and in the localities - in the hands of royal officials, corregidores. But the bureaucratic apparatus was extremely cumbersome, as it consisted of ancient feudal institutions, adapted to the goals of royal absolutism, and new bodies created next to them. The provincial and estate disunity that had developed over the centuries in Spain was reflected in an extremely complex and uncoordinated administrative apparatus.

For all the outward similarity of the political system of Spain with the system of other monarchical states of the then Europe, it was distinguished by a significant originality, which is explained by all the previous historical development of Spain. Marx gives him the following characterization: "The absolute monarchy in Spain, which has only a purely external resemblance to the absolute monarchies of Europe, should generally be equated with Asiatic forms of government" 2 .

1 Marx and Engels, Work. Vol. X, p. 720.