Charles Ier of Sicily

Biography

In 1246, it married Béatrice of Provence (1234-1267), countess of Provence and Forcalquier (1245-1267), girl of the count Raymond Bérenger {{V}} and of Béatrix of Savoy. By this marriage, it became itself count de Provence and count de Forcalquier (1246-1267), titles which continued to be to him given by courtesy after its widowhood and its remarriage.

At the time of this first marriage, his/her brother the king of France Louis {{IX}}, known as '' holy Louis '', created it count d' Anjou and Count of Maine (1246-1285) , creating of this fact the second dynasty angevine.

In 1248, it takes part, at the side of his/her brother Saint Louis, the Seventh crusade. It followed his brother in Egypt and was made prisoner as him after the Bataille of Mansourah (1250). Returned to freedom, it came to control the Provence which it had inherited by his wife, Béatrix, girl of Raymond-Béranger. In 1264, the pope Urbain {{IV}} invited it to fight Manfred de Hohenstaufen, king de Naples and of Sicily, which had incurred the disgrace of the the Holy See, and the crown of this prince gave him. Charles of Anjou was invested Royaume of Sicily by the Pape Clément {{IV}}, n the other hand of the expulsion of Manfred de Hohenstaufen, wire bastard of the emperor Frederic {{II}}. He indeed succeeds in seizing the Royaume of Naples by beating Manfred which is overcome at the time of the Bataille of Bénévent in 1266.

In 1268, it married in second weddings Marguerite of Burgundy (1248-1308), countess of Thunder (1273-1293), girl of Eudes of Burgundy and Mathilde {{II}}, without known posterity of this union.

It beat the nephew of Manfred, Conradin with Tagliacozzo (1268), but it soiled its victory by its cruelties. It severely repressed the populations of certain rebellious cities to its reign, such as Lucera whose Christian population had passed to the wire of the sword after a seat of several months. Charles of Anjou thus took possession of the two parts (islander and peninsular) of the kingdom of Sicily, but he réprimanda with such a rigor Sicily (which had been almost completely revolted against Charles) that he made so odious his government to the Sicilien S islanders, that those, guided by Jean de Procida, conspired against him: the year 1282, all the French who were in Palermo, except notable for Guillaume of the Piglets (Chamberlain of Charles of Anjou) in consideration of its uprightness and its virtue, were massacred Monday of Easter, per hour of the Vêpres, which made name this massacre the revolt known as of the Sicilian Vêpres.

Charles lost Sicily in consequence of this event, but there remained Master of the kingdom of Naples. The king Pierre {{III}} of Aragon, son-in-law of Manfred de Hohenstaufen, proclaimed king de Sicile, but having sovereignty only on the only island of Sicily, while Charles of Anjou took refuge with Naples, in the Italian peninsula, thus creating what, by convenience, one has habit to call the Royaume of Naples (whereas its true title remained king de Sicile ).

Charles of Anjou accepted also the fictitious titles of king d' Albanie (1272) and king de Jérusalem (1278-1285).

Since it had been called by the pope in 1265 in order to counter the ambitions of Manfred on Sicily and that it had been crowned, Charles 1st of Anjou had of cease only of ambitionner to take again on his account the Latin ambitions on the Byzantine empire. In 1267, he married his son Philippe with Isabelle, the girl of Guillaume d' Achaïe. It was expected that the couple would inherit the principality of Achaïe with died of Guillaume. In addition, it had been committed restoring Baudouin on the throne of Constantinople, in exchange of suzerainty on Achaïe, many islands of the Égée, and one the third of the conquests to come, with the only exclusion of the town of Constantinople.

To supplement his device, Charles did not hesitate to conclude an alliance with Seldjoukides, king d' Arménie, and even Khan of the Mongols… In 1269, it succeeds in concluding an agreement with Genoa, however allied of Byzance.

After the disaster of Tunis and the death of his brother the king of France Louis, of return in Sicily, whereas it was going to launch a maritime forwarding against Byzance, his fleet was destroyed by an extraordinary storm.

Philippe of Anjou having died in 1277 and Guillaume d' Achaïe having died in 1278, Charles of Anjou had become on paper the heir to Achaïe and the suzerain of the grounds still to the hands of Latin. In order to perfect this situation, to the autumn 1280, it sent by overland route a strong army of 8000 men in order to invest the Byzantine fortress of Bérat.

The seat lasted until March 1281, then the imperial troops ordered by Tarchaniotès, the nephew of the emperor, attacked the troops of Charles. The defeat of the Latin troops was total, most of the troops angevines was killed or captured.

Charles caused the candidature of Martin V, who was the pope of the French ambitions, but its excommunications could not prevent Sicilian Vespers of 1282.

He dies on January 7th, 1285 with Foggia, Pouilles of North, Italy.

Titles

in prerogative, with its marriage, it is made by his/her brother Saint Louis count d' Anjou and count of Maine (1246-1285)
by its marriage, count de Provence and of Forcalquier (1246-1267)
by granting of the pope, in 1266, king de Sicile (1266-1285)
by agreement with Baudouin {{II}}, in 1267, titular king of Albania and titular prince of Achaïe (1272-1285)
by repurchase, of Marie d' Antioche, in 1277, king holder of Jerusalem (1278-1285)

Marriages and children

Of its first marriage with Beatrice of Provence (1234-1267), countess of Provence and Forcalquier, it had:

Louis (1248 † 1248);
White (1250 † 1269), married in 1265 with Robert {{III}} of Dampierre (1249 † 1322), count de Flandre;
Beatrice (1252 † 1275), married in 1273 with Philippe {{Ier}} of Courtenay (1243 † 1283), titular emperor of Constantinople;
Charles {{II}} (1254 † 1309), count d' Anjou and of Maine, king de Naples;
Philippe (1256 † 1277), prince d' Achaïe, married in 1271 with Isabelle de Villehardouin (1263 † 1312), princess of Achaïe and Morée;
Robert (1258 † 1265);
Isabelle (1261 † 1300), married to Ladislas {{IV}} (1262 † 1290), king de Hongrie

Its second marriage with Marguerite of Burgundy (1248-1308), countess of Thunder, was without posterity.

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