Aragonese conquest of Sardinia

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Conquest of Sardinia
Aragona vs Pisa.png
Major battles of the campaign
Date1323–1326
Location
Result Aragonese victory
Territorial
changes
Belligerents
Estandarte de la Corona de Aragon.svg Crown of Aragon
Flag of the Giudicato of Arborea.svg Judicate of Arborea

Flag of the Republic of Pisa.svg Republic of Pisa
Flag of Genoa.svg Republic of Genoa

Commanders and leaders
Estandarte de la Corona de Aragon.svg Alfonso IV of Aragon
Flag of the Giudicato of Arborea.svg Hugh II of Arborea
Flag of the Republic of Pisa.svg Manfredi della Gherardesca
Coat of Arms of the House of Doria.svg Gaspare Doria
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Political situation in Sardinia in the early 14th century, just before the Aragonese invasion:
Red, Republic of Pisa
Yellow, Doria
Black, Comune of Sassari
Green, della Gherardesca gherardiani
Purple, Malaspina
Blue, Judicate of Arborea Sardegna, inizio 14 secolo.png
Political situation in Sardinia in the early 14th century, just before the Aragonese invasion:
Red, Republic of Pisa
Yellow, Doria
Black, Comune of Sassari
Green, della Gherardesca gherardiani
Purple, Malaspina
Blue, Judicate of Arborea

The Aragonese conquest of Sardinia took place between 1323 and 1326. The island of Sardinia was at the time subject to the influence of the Republic of Pisa, the Pisan della Gherardesca family, Genoa and of the Genoese families of Doria and the Malaspina; the only native political entity survived was the Judicate of Arborea, allied with the Crown of Aragon. The financial difficulties due to the wars in Sicily (until 1295), the conflict with the Crown of Castile in the land of Murcia and Alicante (1296–1304) and the failed attempt to conquer Almeria (1309) explain the delay of James II of Aragon in bringing the conquest of Sardinia, enfeoffed to him by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.

Contents

The possession of the island of Sardinia was crucial for the Crown of Aragon. Sardinia was abundant of natural resources like silver and salt and had a thriving agro-pastoral economy; also its geographical location ensured more control over the western Mediterranean and the island itself was an indispensable basis for the creation of so-called ruta de las islas (route of the islands) that allowed to halve the time of sailing to reach the rich markets of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Chronology

Alfonso of Aragon, Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona Clau del sostre de Santa Maria del Mar - 2 de 5.JPG
Alfonso of Aragon, Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona
Political situation in Sardinia after the surrender of Pisa in June 1326 Sardinia 1324.png
Political situation in Sardinia after the surrender of Pisa in June 1326

Aftermath

The Judicate of Arborea, between 1368-1388 and 1392-1409, controlled most of the island. Kingdom of Sardinia 1368-1388 -- 1392-1409.png
The Judicate of Arborea, between 1368–1388 and 1392–1409, controlled most of the island.

In 1347 the Doria, which controlled most of the lands of the former Logudoro state in north-western Sardinia, came again into conflict with the Crown of Aragon at Aidu de Turdu between Bonorva and Giave. [9]

Threatened by the Catalan-Aragonese claims of suzerainty and consolidation of the rest of the island, the Judicate of Arborea, under Marianus IV of Arborea, broke the alliance with the Crown of Aragon and together with the Doria declared war on the Iberians. In 1368 an Arborean offensive succeeded in nearly driving out the Catalan-Aragonese from the island, reducing the "Kingdom of Sardinia" to just the port cities of Cagliari and Alghero and incorporating everything else into their own kingdom. A peace treaty returned the Catalan-Aragonese their previous possessions in 1388, but tensions continued and in 1391 the Arborean army led by Brancaleone Doria again swept most of the island into Arborean rule. This situation lasted until 1409 when the army of the Judicate of Arborea suffered a heavy defeat by the Catalan-Aragonese army in the Battle of Sanluri.

After the sale of the remaining territories for 100,000 gold florins to the Judicate of Arborea in 1420, [10] the "Kingdom of Sardinia" extended throughout the island, except for the city of Castelsardo (at that time called Casteldoria or Castelgenovese), which had been stolen from the Doria in 1448. The subduing of Sardinia having taken a century, Corsica, which had never been wrestled from the Genoese, was dropped from the formal title of the Kingdom.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Casula 2012.
  2. Casula 1994, p. 342.
  3. 1 2 3 Casula 1994, p. 343.
  4. Oxford Reference, urca or uxer
  5. Casula 1994, p. 303.
  6. 1 2 3 Casula 1994, p. 384.
  7. Casula 1994, p. 284.
  8. 1 2 3 Casula 1994, p. 423.
  9. Casula 1994, p. 285.
  10. Casula 1994, p. 372.

Bibliography

39°34′00″N8°54′00″E / 39.5667°N 8.9000°E / 39.5667; 8.9000