THE CROWN OF ARAGÓN

THE CROWN OF ARAGÓN IN THE 12th CENTURY

• The first king of Aragón was Alfonso I the Battler from 1104 to 1134

• He expanded the lands of the Kingdom of Aragón to the Ebro Valley and conquered Zaragoza in 1118

• However, he could not conquer Valencia

• After the death of Alfonso I in 1134, there were many internal problems in Aragón. His brother Ramiro II, who was a monk, was elected as a king and he was forced to have a child. That child was Petronila.

• In 1137, the princess Petronila of Aragón and the the Count of Barcelona – Ramón Berenguer IV- got married and the Crown of Aragón was created. However, they could not rule because the king Ramino was still alive.

• In 1157, when Ramiro II died, Petronila and Ramón Berenguer IV ruled the Crown of Aragón

• In the second half of the 12th century, their son Alfonso II became a king of the Crown of Aragón

THE CROWN OF ARAGÓN IN THE 13th CENTURY

• In the 13th century, the grandson of Alfonso II became a king and conquered important cities such as Valencia, Alicante and the Balearic Islands. His name was Jaime I the Conqueror.

• However, the Balearic Islands created an independent kingdom after the death of Jaime I.

JAIME I THE CONQUEROR

EXPANSION OF THE CROWN OF ARAGÓN IN THE

MEDITERRANEANSince Murcia was part of Castile, the Crown of Aragón could not expand to the south. As a result, the monarchs of Aragón expanded their lands to the Mediterranean coasts and islands.

In 1282, Peter the Great conquered Sicily

In 1323, Sardinia was conquered by the Aragonese armies

In 1344, the Kingdom of Mallorca returned to the Crown of Aragón

In 1380, Athens was conquered by the Aragonese armies. However, the Crown of Aragón lost this territory in 1391

In 1442, Naples was conquered by the Crown of Aragón