Charles I of Naples Charles I ( 21 March 1226 – 7 January 1285 ) , known also as Charles of Anjou , was the King of Sicily by conquest from 1266 , though he had received it as a papal grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers of 1282 . Thereafter , he claimed the island , though his power was restricted to the peninsular possessions of the kingdom , with his capital at Naples ( and for this he is usually titled King of Naples after 1282 , as are his successors ) . Charles was the youngest son of Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile , and hence younger brother of Louis IX of France and Alfonso II of Toulouse . He conquered the Kingdom of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen and acquired lands in the eastern Mediterranean . However , the War of the Sicilian Vespers forced him to abandon his plans to reassemble the Latin Empire . By marriage to Beatrice of Provence , heiress of Raymond Berengar IV of Provence , he was Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1246 . In 1247 , his brother Louis IX made him Count of Anjou and Maine , as appanages of the French crown . By conquest and self - proclamation , he became King of Albania in 1272 and by purchase King of Jerusalem in 1277 . By the testament of William II of Villehardouin , he inherited the Principality of Achaea in 1278 . Early life . Charles was born in 1226 , shortly before the death of his father , King Louis VIII . Like his immediate older brother , Philippe Dagobert ( who died in 1232 aged 10 ) , he did not receive a county as appanage , as had their older brothers . Shortly after the death of Philippe Dagobert , his brother John Tristan , Count of Anjou and Maine , also died . Charles became the next in line to receive the Counties , but was formally invested only in 1247 . The affection of his mother Blanche seems largely to have been bestowed upon his brother Louis , and Louis tended to favour his other younger brothers , Robert of Artois and Alphonse of Toulouse . The self - reliance this engendered in Charles may account for the drive and ambition he showed in later life . Accession in Provence . Upon his accession as Count of Provence and Forcalquier in 1246 , Charles rapidly found himself in difficulties . His sisters - in - law felt cheated by their father ' s will , and his mother - in - law , the Dowager Countess Beatrice of Savoy , claimed the entire County of Forcalquier and the usufruct of Provence as her jointure . Furthermore , while Provence was technically a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and hence of the Holy Roman Empire , in practice it was free of central authority . The recent counts had governed with a light hand , and the nobilities and cities ( three of which , Marseille , Arles , and Avignon were Imperial cities technically separate from the county ) had enjoyed great liberties . Charles , in contrast , was disposed towards a rigid administration ; he ordered inquests in 1252 and again in 1278 to ascertain his rights Charles broke the traditional powers of the major towns ( Nice , Grasse , Marseille , Arles , Avignon ) and aroused considerable hostility by his punctilious insistence on enjoying his full rights and fees . In 1247 , while Charles had gone to France to receive the Counties of Anjou and Maine , the local nobility ( represented by Barral of Baux and Boniface of Castellane ) joined with Beatrice and the three Imperial cities to form a defensive league against him . Unfortunately for Charles , he had promised to join his brother on the Seventh Crusade . For the time being , Charles ' only recourse was to compromise with Beatrice , allowing her to have Forcalquier and a third of the Provençal usufruct . Rich Provence provided the funds that supported his wider career . His rights as landlord were , on the whole , of recent establishment , but his rights as sovereign entitled him to revenues on the " gabelle s " ( mainly salt ) , from " alberga " ( commutation of " gîte " ) and " cavalcata " ( commutation of the duties of military service ) and " quista " ( " aids " ) ( Baratier 1969 ) . From the Church , unlike his brothers in the north , he received virtually nothing . Charles ' agents were efficient , the towns were prosperous , the peasants were buying up the duties of " corvée " and establishing self - governing " consulats " in the villages : Provence flourished . Seventh Crusade and return . Charles sailed with the rest of the Crusaders from Aigues - Mortes in 1248 and fought at Damietta and in the struggle around Mansourah . However , his piety does not seem to have matched that of his brother ( Jean de Joinville , according to a tale about Louis catching him gambling on the voyage from Egypt to Acre ) , and he returned with his brother Alphonse in May 1250 . During his absence , open rebellion had broken out in Provence . Charles moved with his characteristic energy to suppress it , and Arles , Avignon , and Barral of Baux had surrendered to him by June 1251 . Marseille held out until July 1252 , but then sued for peace . Charles imposed a lenient peace , but insisted on the recognition of his full panoply of comital rights , and acknowledgement of his suzerainity by Marseille . Wider ambitions . In November 1252 , the death of his mother Blanche of Castile caused him to go north to Paris and assume the joint regency of the kingdom with his brother Alphonse . While in Paris , he was approached by envoys from Pope Innocent IV . Innocent was then seeking to detach the Kingdom of Sicily from the Holy Roman Empire ( in the person of Conrad IV of Germany ) , and offered it to Charles , after his brother - in - law Richard , Earl of Cornwall had declined it . Alphonse , however , was cool to the idea ; and King Louis forbade it outright . Balked , Charles took up the cause of Margaret II of Flanders against her son , John I , Count of Hainaut , in the War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault . She granted him the County of Hainaut for his service . King Louis again disapproved , and on his return from Outremer in 1254 he returned Hainaut to John . Disappointed , Charles returned to Provence , which had become restive again . The mediation of King Louis led to a settlement with Beatrice of Savoy , who returned Forcalquier and relinquished her claims for a cash payment and a pension . Marseille had attempted to involve Pisa and Alfonso X of Castile in the quarrel , but they proved unreliable as allies , and a coup by the supporters of Charles resulted in the surrender of the city ' s political powers . Charles spent the next several years quietly increasing his power over various lordships on the borders of Provence . A final rebellion occurred in 1262 , when he was absent in France ; Boniface of Castellane rebelled yet again , as did Marseille and Hugh of Baux . However , Barral of Baux now remained loyal to Charles , and Charles quickly returned to scatter the rebels . The mediation of James I of Aragon brought about a settlement ; while Marseille was forced to dismantle its fortifications and surrender its arms , it otherwise went unpunished . Surprisingly , this leniency worked to good effect ; hereafter , the Provençals proved staunch supporters of Charles , providing money and troops for his further conquests . Many of them were to be rewarded with high posts in his new dominions . With the usurpation of the Sicilian throne from Conradin by Manfred of Sicily in 1258 , the relationship between the Papacy and the Hohenstaufen had changed again . Instead of the boy Conradin , safely sequestered across the Alps , the Papacy now faced an able military leader in Italy . Accordingly , when negotiations broke down with Manfred in 1262 , Pope Urban IV again took up the scheme of disseising the Hohenstaufen from the kingdom , and offered the crown to Charles again . Manfred ' s own usurpation from Conradin told upon King Louis ' scruples ; this time , he was persuaded to admit the offer , and Charles ratified a treaty with the Pope in July 1263 . The terms were heavily in favor of the Pope ; the kingdom must never be re - united with the Empire , and the king was never to hold Imperial or Papal office , or interfere with ecclesiastical matters in the kingdom . Nevertheless , Charles accepted eagerly . For money , he called for help from the then - omnipotent Sienese banker Orlando Bonsignori . Charles ' cousin , Henry of Castile ( the Senator ) , lent him forty thousand ounces of gold to finance the war against King Manfred . This loan was never repaid . Henry of Castile , angered by Charles ' disregard , changed sides to Conradin ' s and fought with a host of Spanish knights against Charles in Tagliacozzo . Defeated , Henry was imprisoned by Charles for 22 years in Canosa di Puglia and Castel del Monte , where he wrote the famous novel of chivalry , Amadis de Gaula . Conquest of Sicily . Having endorsed the treaty , Charles could now play for time . With Manfred ' s troops advancing on the Papal States , Charles obtained an extensive renegotiation of the treaty on more favorable lines . As instructions went out to the clergy to submit contributions for the war , Urban IV died in October 1264 at Perugia , fleeing Manfred . This raised the possibility of a reversal of Papal policy . To underscore his resolve , Charles broke sharply with his previous policy of leniency and ordered the execution of several Provençal rebels who had been in his hands for a year . Fortunately for Charles , the new Pope Clement IV was the former adviser to his brother Alphonse and strongly supported the accession of Charles . Charles entered Rome on 23 May 1265 and was proclaimed King of Sicily . Charles was popular in Rome , where he was elected sole Senator , and his diplomacy had already undermined Manfred ' s support in northern Italy . While Charles ' campaigns were delayed for lack of money , Manfred , curiously , idled away his time hunting in Apulia , while his support in the north of Italy waned . Charles was able to bring his main army through the Alps , and he and Beatrice were crowned on 6 January 1266 . As Charles ' army began an energetic campaign , Manfred suddenly shed his lethargy and moved to meet him . Worried that further delays might endanger the loyalty of his supporters , he attacked Charles ' army , then in disarray from the crossing of the hills into Benevento , on 26 February 1266 . In the Battle of Benevento that followed , Manfred ' s army was defeated in detail and he was killed in the melee . Upon his death , resistance throughout the kingdom collapsed , and Charles became master of Sicily . While Charles ' administration in his new kingdom was generally fair and honest , it was also stringent . As in Provence , he insisted on maximizing the revenues and privileges he could obtain from his new subjects . Discontent was high , but for now , Charles could focus on extending his power in northern Italy ( which alarmed the Pope , who feared a powerful king of all Italy as much as he did an emperor ) . But the Pope was willing to allow this , for in September 1267 Conradin marched south to reclaim the rights of the Hohenstaufen , and one of his agents instigated a revolt in Sicily . He entered Rome on 24 July 1268 , where his arrival was wildly celebrated . At the Battle of Tagliacozzo , on 23 August 1268 , it appeared he might win the day , but a sudden charge of Charles ' reserve discomfited Conradin ' s army and he was forced to flee to Rome . Told it was no longer safe , he attempted to escape to Genoa , but was arrested and imprisoned in the Castel dell ' Ovo in Naples . In a trial carefully managed by Charles , Conradin was condemned for treason and beheaded on 29 October 1268 at the age of 16 . By the end of 1270 , Charles had captured Lucera and put down the revolt in Sicily , executing many of the captured . With the whole kingdom cowed beneath his strict , if fair , rule , he was ready to consider greater conquests . Ambitions in the Latin Empire . After the defeat of Manfred at Benevento , Charles immediately began to plan his expansion into the Mediterranean . Historically , the Kingdom of Sicily had at times controlled parts of the eastern Adriatic seaboard , and Manfred possessed the island of Corfu and the towns of Butrint o , Avlona and Suboto , which had formed the dowry of his wife Helena . Charles seized these at the end of 1266 . From thence , he passed on to intrigue with the remaining nobility of the Latin Empire . In May 1267 , he concluded the Treaty of Viterbo with the exiled Baldwin II of Constantinople and William II Villehardouin ( through his chancellor Leonardo of Veruli ) . Taking advantage of the precarious situation of the remains of the Empire in the face of rising Greek power , he obtained confirmation of his possession of Corfu , the suzerain rights over Achaea , and sovereignty over most of the Aegean islands . Furthermore , the heirs of both the Latin princes were to marry children of Charles , and Charles was to have the reversion of the Empire and principality should the couples have no heirs . With few options to check the Byzantine tide , he was well placed to dictate terms . Charles ' wife Beatrice died on 23 September 1267 , and he immediately sought a new marriage to Margaret , daughter of Bela IV of Hungary . However , Margaret wished to be a nun ( and was later canonized ) ; Charles instead married ( on 18 November 1268 ) , Margaret , Countess of Tonnerre ( 1250 – 4 September 1308 , Tonnerre ) , the daughter of Eudes of Burgundy . However , he was able to make a marital alliance with the Hungarians : his son Charles , Prince of Salerno , married Maria , daughter of crown prince Stephen , while Charles ' daughter Elizabeth married Stephen ' s son Ladislas . Eighth Crusade . Having thus made secure his position in the East , he began to prepare a Crusade to recover the Latin Empire . Michael VIII Palaeologus was greatly alarmed at the prospect : he wrote to King Louis , suggesting that he was open to a voluntary union of the Roman and Latin churches , and pointing out the interference a descent on Constantinople would pose to Louis ' own Crusading plans . Louis took a dim view of his sincerity ; but he was eager to take up the cross again , and he notified Charles of his intentions . Charles continued with his preparations against Constantinople , hoping the Crusade might be postponed , but he also prepared to turn his brother ' s Crusade to his own advantage . The Caliph of Tunis , Muhammad I al - Mustansir , had been a vassal of Sicily , but had shaken off his allegiance with the fall of Manfred . However , there were rumors he might be sympathetic to Christianity . Accordingly , Charles suggested to his brother that the arrival of a Crusade in his support might bring about Mustansir ' s conversion . Thus it was that Louis directed the Eighth Crusade against Tunis . Charles did not arrive until late in the day on 25 August 1270 , only to find that his brother had died of dysentery that morning . Charles took command , and after a few skirmishes , Mustansir concluded a peace treaty and agreed to pay tribute to Charles . Illness continued to plague the army , however , and a storm devastated the fleet of 18 men - of - war and innumerable smaller vessels as it returned to Sicily . Charles was again forced to postpone his designs against Constantinople . Conquest of Albania and Genoese War . In February 1271 , Charles began to expand his Adriatic possessions by capturing Durazzo , and he soon controlled much of the Albanian interior . In February 1272 , he proclaimed himself King of Albania and appointed Gazzo Chinardo as his vicar - general . He hoped to take up his expedition against Constantinople again , but was delayed by the rise of Pope Gregory X , consecrated on 27 March 1272 . Gregory had high hopes of reconciling Europe , unifying the Greek and Latin churches , and launching a new Crusade . To that end , he announced the Council of Lyon , to be held in 1274 , and worked to arrange the election of an emperor . In November 1272 , the strained relations between Charles and Ghibelline - ruled Genoa finally broke into war . Ghibelline revolts broke out across the north of Italy , and increasingly occupied the attention of Charles , even as Michael Palaeologus was negotiating a union of churches with the Pope . At the same time , he had made contact with Genoa and was sending money to encourage the revolts in the north . At the apparently successful conclusion of the Council of Lyon , a Union of Churches was declared , and Charles and Philip of Courtenay were compelled to extend a truce with Michael . This was a blessing in disguise for Charles , for the Ghibellines now controlled most of the north , and he was forced to retreat from Piedmont in late 1275 . In truth , Pope Gregory was not entirely displeased ; he regarded north Italy as best dealt with by its new emperor , Rudolph of Habsburg , and preferred that Charles be confined to the south . If he wished to make war , let him look to Outremer , and to this end , Gregory endorsed the sale to Charles of the claims of Maria of Antioch on the Kingdom of Jerusalem , which had been rejected by the " Haute Cour " there . On 18 March 1277 he bought her claim and assumed the title of King of Jerusalem , sending Roger of San Severino as his bailli to Acre . There Roger ousted Balian of Ibelin , the bailli of Hugh III , and compelled the nobles to swear fealty . In the meantime , Gregory had been succeeded by Pope Innocent V , who arranged a peace between Charles and the Genoese . Breakdown of the Union . Meanwhile , in Constantinople , the Union of the Churches was proving difficult to arrange , and the Emperor Michael had great difficulty in imposing it on his people . Nevertheless , he persuaded Innocent of his sincerity in working towards it , and Charles was again forbidden to attack Constantinople . Knowing this , Michael began a campaign in Albania in late 1274 , where he captured Berat and Butrint o . He also enjoyed some success in his campaigns in Euboea and the Peloponnese . Affairs dragged on for several years , until the accession of Pope Martin IV on 23 March 1281 . Pope Martin was a Frenchman , and lacked the even - handedness of some of his recent precursors . He brought the full power of the Papacy into line behind Charles ' plans . The Union , which had proved impossible to impose upon Constantinople , was called off , and Charles was given authorization for the restoration of the Latin Empire . He opened his campaign in Albania , where his general Hugh of Sully with 8 , 000 men ( including 2 , 000 cavalry ) captured Butrinto from the Despotate of Epirus in 1280 and besieged Berat . A Byzantine army of relief under Michael Tarchaneiotes arrived in March 1281 : Hugh of Sully was ambushed and captured , and his army put to flight . The Byzantines took possession of the interior of Albania . Nor was Charles particularly successful in Achaea , where he had become ( by the Treaty of Viterbo ) Prince of Achaea on the death of William II Villehardouin in 1278 . His bailli Galeran of Ivry was defeated at Skorta in his one attempt to engage the Byzantines , and was recalled in 1280 and replaced by Philip of Lagonesse . Nonetheless , Charles was to launch the body of his Crusade ( 400 ships carrying 27 , 000 mounted knights ) against Constantinople in the spring of 1282 . Sicilian Vespers . But Michael had not been working upon the military front alone . Many Ghibelline officials had fled the Kingdom of Sicily to the court of Peter III of Aragon , who had married Constance , the daughter and heir of Manfred . Manfred ' s former chancellor , John of Procida , had arranged contact between Michael , Peter and the refugees at his court , and conspirators on the island of Sicily itself . Peter began to assemble a fleet at Barcelona , ostensibly for another Crusade to Tunis . In fact , the master - plan of John of Procida was to place Peter on the throne of Sicily , his Hohenstaufen inheritance . The result was the uprising known as the Sicilian Vespers , which was initiated in Palermo on 29 March 1282 . It rapidly grew into a general massacre of the French in Sicily . A few officials notable for their good conduct were spared , and the city of Messina still held for Charles . But through the diplomatic errors of Charles ' vicar , Herbert of Orléans , Messina , too , revolted on 28 April 1282 . Herbert retreated to the castle of Mategriffon , but was forced to abandon the Crusader fleet , which was burnt . The news surprised Peter of Aragon , who had expected to intervene only after Charles had left for Constantinople . But the conspirators , aided by Emperor Michael ( who wished to see Charles balked in his expedition ) , had set the revolt in motion early . Peter did not immediately intervene ; he sailed with the fleet to Tunis , where he discovered that the would - be convert on whose behalf the Crusade had ostensibly been undertaken had been caught and executed . While he bided his time , the Sicilians made an appeal to Pope Martin to take the Communes of their cities under his protection . But Martin was far too deeply committed to Charles and French interests to heed them ; instead , he excommunicated the rebels , Emperor Michael , and the Ghibellines in north Italy . Charles gathered his forces in Calabria , landed near Messina , and began a siege . Several attempts to assault the city were unsuccessful . Rejected by the Pope , the Sicilians now appealed to King Peter and Queen Constance ; he duly accepted , and landed at Trapani on 30 August 1282 . He was proclaimed king in Palermo on 4 September , but as the archibishopric of Palermo was vacant , he could not immediately be crowned . In the face of the Aragonese landing , Charles was compelled to withdraw across the Straits of Messina into Calabria in September , but the Aragonese moved swiftly enough to destroy part of his army and most of his baggage . The Angevin house was forever ousted from Sicily . War with Aragon . Despite his retreat into Calabria , Charles remained in a strong position . His nephew , Philip III of France , was devoted to him and Pope Martin regarded the rebellion as an affront both to French interests and his own rights as suzerain of the kingdom . Both sides temporized ; the expense of a long war might be disastrous for both , and Peter and Charles arranged for a judicial duel , with a hundred knights apiece , on 1 June 1283 at Bordeaux . Skirmishes and raids continued to occur : in January 1283 , Aragonese guerillas attacked Catona and killed Count Peter I of Alençon in his hostel . In February the Aragonese crossed into Calabria to face off with Charles of Salerno . However , tensions between the Aragonese and the Sicilians had begun to rise . Both men now hoped to turn the war to their advantage , and the judicial duel turned into a farce , the two kings arriving at different times , declaring a victory over their absent opponent , and departing . Now the war escalated : Pope Martin had excommunicated Peter and proclaimed war against the Sicilians and a Crusade in January , and in March declared Peter to be deprived of his dominions . On 2 February 1284 , Aragon and Valencia were officially conferred upon Charles of Valois . The war continued in Italy : while little progress had been made in Calabria , a detachment of the Aragonese fleet was blockading Malta . Charles of Salerno sent a newly raised Provençal fleet to the relief of Malta , but it was caught by the main Aragonese fleet under Roger of Lauria and destroyed in the Battle of Malta . The Aragonese were now , however , running quite short of money , and Peter was threatened by the prospect of a French attack on Aragon . King Charles planned to raise new troops and a fleet in Provence , and instructed Charles of Salerno to maintain a strict defensive posture until his return from France . However , Roger of Lauria continued to command the sea and launch harassing raids up and down the coast of Calabria , and in May 1284 he successfully blockaded Naples , basing a small squadron on the island of Nisida to do so . The Neapolitans were infuriated by the blockade , and in June Charles of Salerno armed the newly launched fleet at Naples and embarked on 5 June to destroy the blockading squadron . Evidently believing the main Aragonese fleet was raiding down the coast , he hoped to destroy the blockading squadron and return to Naples before it returned . However , Roger of Lauria had learned of his plans , and Charles found himself engulfed by superior numbers . After a short , sharp , fight , most of his fleet was captured , and he himself was taken prisoner . News of the reverse caused anti - French riots in Naples , and Roger of Lauria was quick to take advantage of Charles ' captivity to obtain the release of Beatrice , daughter of Manfred of Sicily , then held in Naples . King Charles arrived in Gaeta on 6 June and learned of the disaster . He was furious at his son and his disobedience ; by the time he reached Naples , the riots had been quelled . He advanced on Calabria and attempted a landing in Sicily , but his main army was blocked at Reggio , and he retreated from Calabria entirely on 3 August . He continued to make preparations for a campaign against Sicily in the new year ; but his health failed . On 7 January 1285 he died in Foggia . Death and legacy . On his death , Charles left all of his domains to his son Charles , then a prisoner in Catalonia . For the time being , these were held in joint regency by a papal legate and Robert II of Artois . Charles had spent his life striving to assemble a Mediterranean empire out of whatever land he could get through law or force of arms . He did so , it seems , with a clear conscience ; he regarded himself as God ' s instrument to uphold the Papacy and punish the Hohenstaufen . He ruled justly , but with the rigidity and severity that might be expected in one of his convictions . Ultimately , his unbending austerity could not inspire the devotion needed to hold his conquests together . Still , he was to leave a substantial legacy to his heirs . Henry II of Cyprus reclaimed the Kingdom of Jerusalem after his death , for the few years left to it , but his possessions otherwise remained within the Angevin dynasty which he founded , or their descendants . Both the Angevins and their Aragonese rivals were to claim the title of " King of Sicily " ; but the Angevins , confined to the mainland , would be known to history as " Kings of Naples " . But the style of " King of Sicily " persisted , and when the two realms were reunited it was under the style of " King of the Two Sicilies " . Charles of Anjou contributed to the early medieval revival of learning , often referred to as the " Latin " Renaissance , through his employment of several Jewish scholars at the Universities of Salerno and Naples , who were expert translators . The most famous of these , Moses of Palermo , he had tutored in Latin , to enable direct translations of ancient classical and Arab texts . These Jewish scholars translated dozens of philosophical and medical treatises into Latin , bringing the heritage of classical antiquity and the great contemporary Muslim culture to pre - Renaissance Europe . However , his wars resulted in an even more serious consequence than the partition of the Kingdom of Sicily . Pope Martin IV had hopelessly compromised the Papacy in his cause ; and the botched secular " Crusades " against Sicily and ( after Charles ' death ) Aragon greatly tarnished its spiritual power . The collapse of its moral authority and the rise of nationalism rang the death knell for Crusading , and would ultimately lead to the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism . Charles was an able soldier and a good administrator , but his failure to understand the qualities of his diverse subjects , and his grasping , if pious , ambition , ultimately led him to failure . In the Divine Comedy Dante sees Charles outside the gates of Purgatory " singing in accord " with his former rival , Peter . Marriage and children . Charles was wed to Beatrice of Provence on 31 January 1246 , in Aix - en - Provence . Beatrice was the youngest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier , who had died on 19 August 1245 by his wife Beatrice of Savoy . As his elder three daughters had all married kings and received substantial dowries , Ramon settled his entire inheritance upon Beatrice , making Charles Count of Provence and Forcalquier . They had the following children : After the death of Beatrice , he married Margaret of Burgundy in 1268 . They only had one child : | -