Editing Charles II of Naples (section)

==Regency==

However, by late 1279 his father appointed him to administer Provence.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=43}} In December 1280 the duke accompanied his cousin, king [[Philip III of France]], to Toulouse where he met with [[Peter III of Aragon]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=209}} Peter III was the son-in-law of [[Manfred of Sicily]] who had lost the Kingdom of Sicily to Charles's father in 1266 after the battle at Benevento.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|pp=99, 168}} Peter insolently ignored Charles during the meeting, although both Philip III and [[James II of Majorca]], who was also present, reminded Peter that Charles was closely related to him.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=209, 317}}

{{Blockquote|[B]y no means could [Charles] find a cheerful countenance nor any comfort in ... [Peter III of Aragon]; rather was [Peter] harsh and angry towards him. [Philip III of France] and [James II of Majorca] took [Peter III] into a chamber one day and asked him how it was that he did not speak with [Charles]; that he knew full well that he was his near blood-relation, as he was the son of his cousin, the daughter of the count of Provence and besides, that his wife also, the daughter of the King of Hungary, was his blood-relation. But though there were many ties between them, they could obtain nothing from him in the end. And [Charles] invited [Philip III], [Peter III] and [James II] to a banquet, but [Peter III] would not accept it, wherefore the banquet had to be given up. But [James II] showed great civility to [Charles] and [Charles] to him. And so, on their departure from the interview, [Charles] left with [James II] and [Muntaner] saw them both enter Perpignan, and a great feast was made for them, and [James II] detained [Charles] for eight days.|[[Ramon Muntaner]] ''The Chronicle''{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}}}

Meanwhile pope Nicholas III attempting to deter Charles I's future power ambitions in Italy, not least to carve for his family a duchy, went in negotiations with [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolf I]] the Holy Roman emperor for a reinstatement of the [[Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles|Kingdom of Arles]] that was to be given to Charles Martel, Charles I's grandson. The dowager queen of France, [[Margaret of Provence]], sister of Beatrice, wife of Charles I, opposed sharply to their plans.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|pp=39, 44}} However, Charles I's claims on territories of Alphonse of Poitiers on the latter's death would increase substantially his rule on Provence. [[Pope Martin IV]], a staunch supporter of Charles I, published the bull of that convention on the 24th of May 1281, where it prescribed that the erstwhile kingdom's territories, along the duchies of [[Dauphiné]], and [[County of Savoy|Savoy]] with their vicinities were to be given to child couple, Charles Martel and [[Clemence of Austria|Clemence]], daughter of Rudolf, as appanage and Charles I's son, Charles, duke of Salerno would be its regent.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=192}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=139}} Margaret of Provence pursued the matter further and called the duke Robert ΙΙ of Burgundy, count Otto IV of Burgundy along with some lesser lords to a new meeting at Troyes in autumn of 1281, but as Charles I was preoccupied with the preparations for the full scale crusade against the Byzantine empire and the ruling of the court whether or not he was to inherit Alphonse's lands, he had acknowledged his wife's extent of territories and for the rest of the Burgundian land that they were held in fief, thus appeasing the duke Philip II and the matter ended there. 

The heavy taxation, forced loans and [[purveyance]] were among the reasons that had caused much discontent within the Italian subjects of Charles I, especially in Sicily, and that precipitated out of a seemingly insignificant cause the eruption of a civic unrest of magnitude that led to a generalised anti-French riot, known today in modern historiography as the [[Sicilian Vespers]], in [[Palermo]] on 30 March 1282.{{sfn|Harris|2014|p=205}} The revolt having spread quickly put an end to the Angevin rule on the island, but since they needed a royal overlord they turned to Peter III of Aragon and Constance.{{sfn|Harris|2014|p=205}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=108}} Peter arrived in Sicily with a large fleet in late August and was declared king on the 4th of September 1282.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=228}}

Peter III's army arriving on Sicily meant going in war with Angevin and presumably his unbeknown arrival compelled the partial withdrawal of Charles I's troops from the island. Peter's advance allowed him to send forces to Calabria to attempt ousting the Angevin from the mainland too. However, the duke of Salerno headed a military reinforcement and met his father Charles I at  [[Reggio Calabria]]. More troops arrived by his two nephew, [[Robert II, Count of Artois]] and Peter I of Alençon and checked the Aragonese advance. In late December 1282 Charles I challenged Peter III to a [[judicial duel]] to end their conflict on Sicily and it was agreed to take place in six months at Bordeaux. Before leaving in January 1283 Charles I appointed his son Charles, the duke of Salerno as regent of the kingdom.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=110}} The inexperience of the duke led him to a chain of wrong decisions that by the time [[Charles I of Anjou|Charles I]] returned to Naples the kingdom was on the brink of collapsing. The news of the duke's capture lit a flame of riot in Naples, but the papal legate Gerard of Parma crushed it at its beginning. Charles I tried to undo the situation and marched with his troops to Calabria and even besieged the town but on the Aragonese relief forces arrival he withdrew to [[San Martino di Taurianova]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=238}}

[[File:Arms of Charles II dAnjou.svg|thumb|right|150px|Coat of arms of Charles II of Naples: the arms of the House of Anjou [[Impalement (heraldry)|impaled]] with the cross of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]]]

A general assembly was held at the king's camp near San Martino with the barons, prelates and envoys of the towns and it was decided that the royal monopoly on salt and exchanges of the petty coinage were to be abolished.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=239}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=110}} The assembly also decided that the monarchs were allowed to levy the ''[[subventio generalis]]'', a very unpopular tax only after having consulted with representatives of their subjects.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=110}} The liberties of the noblemen and the clergy were reconfirmed, while the commoners' obligations to contribute in a corvée fashion to the maintenance of the royal fortresses and flee were reduced.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=239}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|pp=110–111}} The reforms adopted at the assembly made the continuation of his father's active foreign policy impossible.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=112}}

Charles in his father absence strengthened his ties with native aristocracy by appointing members of the Aquinas, Ruffo and [[House of Sanseverino|Sanseverino]] families to his royal council.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=111}} He also tried to make his father's most unpopular officials scapegoats for some of the abuses that were made during the latter's reign.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=107}} In June 1283, he ordered the imprisonment of all male members of the della Marre and Rufouli families, two prominent noble families that had often been entrusted with the collection of the taxes and custom duties in Charles I's reign.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|pp=73, 107}} While the heads of those two families were executed to silence the popular voice, the rest of the incarcerated male members were held to ransom, the release of whom cost huge amounts of money to their relatives.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=107}}

Charles as a regent could not finance a lengthy war and he resorted to borrowing some thousands of ounces of gold from the Holy See, the kings of France and England, the ruler of Tunis, Tuscan bankers, and from the rest of the towns of the mainland, known as the ''Regno''.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=244}} Gerard of Parma also persuaded the Southern Italian prelates to cede a part of their revenues to Charles for the war against the rebels and their supporters.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=244}} He could then equip 40 new galleys in Provence.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=244}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=125}} The Aragonese fleet had meanwhile imposed a blockade on the island of [[Malta]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=244}} Charles dispatched his new fleet to the island, but the Sicilian admiral, [[Roger of Lauria]], attacked and almost annihilated the Provençal galleys in the [[Battle of Malta]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=244}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=125}} Lauria soon occupied the islands of [[Capri]] and [[Ischia]], which enabled him to make frequent raids against the [[Bay of Naples]], whereas the capturing of another islet that of [[Nisida]], allowed for the imposion of a blockade in Naples.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=246}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=244}}