Editing Charles I of Anjou (section)

==Mediterranean empire==

{{further|Frankokratia}}

===Italy===

Charles's wife, Beatrice of Provence, had died in July 1267. The widowed Charles married [[Margaret of Burgundy, Queen of Sicily|Margaret of Nevers]] in November 1268.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=182}} She was co-heiress to her father, [[Odo, Count of Nevers|Odo]], the eldest son of [[Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy]].{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=182}} Pope Clement died on 29{{nbs}}November 1268.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=118}} The papal vacancy lasted for three years, which strengthened Charles's authority in Italy, but it also deprived him of the ecclesiastic support that only a pope could provide.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=119}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=136}}

Charles returned to Lucera to personally direct its siege in April 1269.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=119}} The Saracens and the Ghibellines who had escaped to the town{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=119}} resisted until starvation forced them to surrender in August 1269.{{sfn|Housley|1982|p=19}}{{sfn|Metcalfe|2009|p=293}} Charles sent Philip and [[Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola|Guy of Montfort]] to Sicily to force the rebels there into submission, but they could only capture [[Augusta, Sicily|Augusta]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=124}} Charles made [[William l'Estandart]] the commander of the army in Sicily in August 1269.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=124}} L'Estandart captured [[Agrigento]], forcing Frederick of Castile and Frederick Lancia to seek refuge in Tunis.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=124}} After L'Estandart's subsequent victory at [[Sciacca]], only Capece resisted, but he also had to surrender in early 1270.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=124}}

Charles's troops forced Siena and Pisa—the last towns to resist him in Tuscany—to sue for peace in August 1270.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=120}} He granted privileges to the Tuscan merchants and bankers which strengthened their position in the Regno.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=84}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=120–121}} His influence was declining in Lombardy, because the Lombard towns no longer feared an invasion from Germany after Conradin's death.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=80}} In May 1269 Charles sent Walter of La Roche to represent him in the province, but this failed to strengthen his authority.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=80}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=122}} In October Charles's officials convoked an assembly at Cremona, and invited the Lombard towns to attend.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=80}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=122}} The Lombard towns accepted the invitation, but some towns—Milan, Bologna, Alessandria and Tortona—only confirmed their alliance with Charles, without acknowledging his rule.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=80}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=122}}

===Eighth Crusade===

{{Main|Eighth Crusade}}

Louis IX never abandoned the idea of the liberation of Jerusalem, but he decided to begin his new crusade with a military campaign against Tunis.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=196}}{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=183}} According to his confessor, [[Geoffrey of Beaulieu]], Louis was convinced that al-Mustansir of Tunis was ready to convert to Christianity.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=196}} The 13th-century historian [[Saba Malaspina]] stated that Charles persuaded Louis to attack Tunis, because he wanted to secure the payment of the tribute that the rulers of Tunis had paid to the former Sicilian monarchs.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=195}}

The French crusaders embarked at Aigues-Mortes on 2{{nbs}}July 1270; Charles departed from Naples six days later.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=142}} He spent more than a month in Sicily, waiting for his fleet.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=142}} By the time he landed at Tunis on 25{{nbs}}August,{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=142}} [[dysentery]] and [[typhoid fever]] had decimated the French army.{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=183}} Louis died the day Charles arrived.{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=183}}

The crusaders twice defeated Al-Mustansir's army, forcing him to sue for peace.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=143}} According to the peace treaty, signed on 1{{nbs}}November, Al-Mustansir agreed to fully compensate Louis' son and successor, [[Philip III of France]], and Charles for the expenses of the military campaign and to release his Christian prisoners.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=143}} He also promised to pay a yearly tribute to Charles and to expel Charles's opponents from Tunis.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=143–144}} The gold from Tunis, along with silver from the newly opened mine at [[Longobucco]], enabled Charles to mint new coins, known as {{lang|it|carlini}}, in the Regno.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|pp=157, 161}}

Charles and Philip departed Tunis on 10{{nbs}}November.{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=183}} A storm dispersed their fleet at [[Trapani]] and most of Charles's galleys were lost or damaged.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=143}} Genoese ships returning from the crusade were also sunk or forced to land in Sicily.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=150}} Charles seized the damaged ships and their cargo, ignoring all protests from the Ghibelline authorities of Genoa.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=150}} Before leaving Sicily he granted temporary tax concessions to the Sicilians, because he realised that the conquest of the island had caused much destruction.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=106}}

===Attempts to expand===
Charles accompanied Philip III as far as Viterbo in March 1271.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=162}} Here they failed to convince the cardinals to elect a new pope.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=145}} Charles's brother, Alphonse of Poitiers, fell ill.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=17}} Charles sent his best doctors to cure him, but Alphonse died.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=17}} He claimed the major part of Alphonse's inheritance, including the [[Marquisate of Provence]] and the [[County of Poitiers]], because he was Alphonse's [[proximity of blood|nearest kin]].{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=39}} After Philip III objected, he took the case to the [[Parlement]] of Paris.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=39}} In 1284 the court ruled that appanages [[escheat]]ed to the French crown if their rulers died without descendants.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|pp=39–40}}

[[File:CharlesofAnjouempire.png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|alt=A map presenting Charles's realms: Anjou and Maine in the middle of present-day France; Provence in southeastern France; the Regno in southern Italy; Albania in present-day Albania and northeastern Greece; Achaea in southern Greece.|Charles's empire in the early 1270s]]

An earthquake destroyed the walls of Durazzo in the late 1260s or early 1270s.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|pp=14–15}}{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=184}} Charles's troops took possession of the town with the assistance of the leaders of the nearby Albanian communities.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=15}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=90}} Charles concluded an agreement with the Albanian chiefs, promising to protect them and their ancient liberties in February 1272.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=15}} He adopted the title of [[King of Albania]] and appointed [[Gazzo Chinardo]] as his vicar-general.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=90}}{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=185}} He also sent his fleet to Achaea to defend the principality against Byzantine attacks.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=91}}

Charles hurried to Rome to attend the enthronement of [[Pope Gregory X]] on 27{{nbs}}March 1272.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=146}} The new pope was determined to put an end to the conflicts between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=150–151}} While in Rome Charles met with the Guelph leaders who had been exiled from Genoa.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=150}} After they offered him the office of [[Capitano del popolo|captain of the people]], Charles promised military assistance to them.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=150}} In November 1272 Charles commanded his officials to take prisoner all Genoese within his territories, except for the Guelphs, and to seize their property.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=82}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=156}} His fleet occupied [[Ajaccio]] in Corsica.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=156}} Pope Gregory condemned his aggressive policy, but proposed that the Genoese should elect Guelph officials.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=156}} Ignoring the Pope's proposal, the Genoese made alliance with Alfonso X of Castile, [[William VII of Montferrat]] and the Ghibelline towns of Lombardy in October 1273.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=156}}

The conflict with Genoa prevented Charles from invading the [[Byzantine Empire]], but he continued to forge alliances in the Balkan Peninsula.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=156, 158}} The Bulgarian ruler, [[Konstantin Tih]], was the first to conclude a treaty with him in 1272 or 1273.{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=185}} [[John I Doukas of Thessaly]] and [[Stefan Uroš I]], King of Serbia, joined the coalition in 1273.{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=185}} However, Pope Gregory forbade Charles to attack, because he hoped to unify the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] and Catholic churches with the assistance of Emperor Michael VIII.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=137}}{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=186}}

The renowned theologian [[Thomas Aquinas]] died unexpectedly near Naples on 7{{nbs}}March 1274, before departing to attend the [[Second Council of Lyon]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=161}} According to a popular legend, immortalised by [[Dante Alighieri]], Charles had him poisoned, because he feared that Aquinas would make complaint against him.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=161}} The historian [[Steven Runciman]] emphasises that "there is no evidence for supposing that the great doctor's death was not natural".{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=161}} Southern Italian churchmen at the council accused Charles of tyrannical acts.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=137}} Their report reinforced the Pope's attempt to reach a compromise with [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolf of Habsburg]], who had been elected king of Germany by the [[prince-elector]]s of the Holy Roman Empire.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=138}} In June, the Pope acknowledged Rudolf as the lawful ruler of both Germany and Italy.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=138}} Charles's sisters-in-law, Margaret and Eleanor, approached Rudolf, claiming that they had been unlawfully disinherited in favour of Charles's late wife.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=167}}{{sfn|Bárány|2010|p=62}}

Michael VIII's personal envoy announced at the Council of Lyon on 6{{nbs}}July that he had accepted the [[Filioque|Catholic creed]] and [[papal primacy]].{{sfn|Harris|2014|p=202}} About three weeks later, Pope Gregory again prohibited Charles from launching military actions against the Byzantine Empire.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=166}} The Pope also tried to mediate a truce between Charles and Michael, but the latter chose to attack several smaller states in the Balkans, including Charles's vassals.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=137}} The Byzantine fleet took control of the maritime routes between Albania and southern Italy in the late 1270s.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=18}} Gregory only allowed Charles to send reinforcements to Achaea.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=137}} The organisation of a new crusade to the Holy Land remained the Pope's principal object.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=168–169}} He persuaded Charles to start negotiations with [[Maria of Antioch (pretender)|Maria of Antioch]] about purchasing her claim to the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]].{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=118}} The [[High Court of Jerusalem]] had already rejected her in favour of [[Hugh III of Cyprus]],{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=118}} but the Pope had a low opinion of Hugh.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=169}}

The war with Genoa and the Lombard towns increasingly occupied Charles's attention.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=168}} He appointed his nephew [[Robert II of Artois]] as his deputy in Piedmont in October 1274, but Artois could not prevent [[Vercelli]] and Alessandria from joining the Ghibelline League.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=168}} The following summer, a Genoese fleet plundered Trapani and the island of [[Gozo]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=168}} Convinced that only Rudolf I could achieve a compromise between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Pope urged the Lombard towns to send envoys to him.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=168}} He also urged Charles to renounce Tuscany.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=138}} In the autumn of 1275 the Ghibellines offered to make peace with Charles, but he did not accept their terms.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=168}} Early the next year the Ghibellines defeated his troops at [[Col de Tende]], forcing them to withdraw to Provence.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=168}}

===Papal elections===
[[File:Viterbo, palazzo e loggia dei papi, 05.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|alt=A large building, built of bricks, with a tower, surrounded by trees and small houses|The [[Palace of the Popes in Viterbo]]]]

Pope Gregory X died on 10{{nbs}}January 1276.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=170}} After the hostility he experienced during Gregory's pontificate, Charles was determined to secure the election of a pope willing to support his plans.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|pp=138–139}} Gregory's successor, [[Pope Innocent V]], had always been Charles's partisan and he rapidly confirmed Charles as senator of Rome and imperial vicar of Tuscany.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=171–172}} He also mediated a peace treaty between Charles and Genoa,{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=137}} which was signed in Rome on 22{{nbs}}June 1276.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=172}} Charles restored the privileges of the Genoese merchants and renounced his conquests, and the Genoese acknowledged his rule in Ventimiglia.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=172}}

Pope Innocent died on 30{{nbs}}June 1276.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=172}} After the cardinals assembled in the [[Lateran Palace]], Charles's troops surrounded it, enabling only his allies to communicate with other cardinals and with outsiders.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=172}} On 11{{nbs}}July the cardinals elected Charles's old friend, [[Ottobuono de' Fieschi]], pope, but he died on 18{{nbs}}August.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=172–173}} The cardinals met again, this time at Viterbo.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=173}} Although Charles was staying in the nearby Vetralla, he could not directly influence the election, because his vehement opponent, Cardinal [[Pope Nicholas III|Giovanni Gaetano Orsini]], dominated the [[papal conclave]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=173}} [[Pope John XXI]], who was elected on 20{{nbs}}September, excommunicated Charles's opponents in Piedmont and prohibited Rudolf from coming to Lombardy, but did not forbid the Lombardian Guelph leaders swearing fealty to Rudolf.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=173}} The Pope also confirmed the treaty concluded by Charles and Maria of Antioch on 18{{nbs}}March which transferred her claims to Jerusalem to Charles for 1,000 bezants and a pension of 4,000 {{lang|fr|[[livres tournois]]}}.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=173}}{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=119}}
[[File:Arnolfo di cambio, monumento a carlo I d'angiò, 1277 ca. 05.JPG|thumb|left|Statue by [[Arnolfo di Cambio]] c. 1277]]

Charles appointed [[Roger of San Severino]] to administer the Kingdom of Jerusalem as his [[Bailiff of the Kingdom of Jerusalem|bailiff]].{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=119}} San Severino landed at Acre on 7{{nbs}}June 1277.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=178}} Hugh III's bailiff, [[Balian of Arsuf]], surrendered the town without resistance.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=179}} Although initially only the [[Knights Hospitaller]] and the Venetians acknowledged Charles as the lawful ruler, the barons of the realm also paid homage to San Severino in January 1278, after he had threatened to confiscate their estates.{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=119}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=179}} The [[Mamluks of Egypt]] had already confined the kingdom to a coastal strip covering {{convert|2600|km2|abbr=in}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=179}} and Charles had ordered San Severino to avoid conflicts with Egypt.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=97}}

Pope John died on 20{{nbs}}May 1277.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=181–182}} Charles was ill and could not prevent the election of Giovanni Gaetano Orsini as Pope Nicholas III on 25{{nbs}}November.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=182}} The Pope soon declared that no foreign prince could rule in Rome{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=139}} and reminded Charles that he had been elected senator for ten years.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=183}} Charles swore fealty to the new pope on 24{{nbs}}May 1278 after lengthy negotiations.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=183}} He had to pledge that he would renounce both the senatorship of Rome and the vicariate of Tuscany in four months.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=183}} On the other hand, Nicholas III confirmed the excommunication of Charles's enemies in Piedmont and started negotiations with Rudolf to prevent him from making an alliance against Charles with Margaret of Provence and her nephew, [[Edward I of England]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=183–184}} The negotiations with Rudolf lay behind Nicholas' refusal to renew Charles's vicariate in Tuscany, to which Rudolf had appointed his own vicar.{{sfn|Partner|1972|pp=270, 272}}

Charles announced his resignation from the senatorship and the vicariate on 30{{nbs}}August 1278.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=185}} He was succeeded by the Pope's brother, [[Matteo Rosso Orsini (cardinal)|Matteo Orsini]], in Rome, and by the Pope's nephew, Cardinal Latino Malabranca, in Tuscany.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=185}} To ensure that Charles fully abandoned his ambitions in central Italy the Pope started negotiations with Rudolf about the restoration of the Kingdom of Arles for Charles's grandson, [[Charles Martel of Anjou|Charles Martel]].{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=139}} Margaret of Provence sharply opposed the plan, but Philip III of France did not stand by his mother.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=185}} After lengthy negotiations, in the summer of 1279 Rudolf recognised Charles as the lawful ruler of Provence without demanding his oath of fealty.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=185}} An agreement about Charles Martel's rule in Arles and his marriage to Rudolf's daughter, [[Clemence of Austria|Clemence]], was signed in May 1280.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=186}} The plan disturbed the rulers of the lands along the Upper Rhone, especially [[Robert II, Duke of Burgundy|Duke Robert II]] and [[Count Otto IV of Burgundy]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=192–193}}

Charles had meanwhile inherited the [[Principality of Achaea]] from William II of Villehardouin, who had died on 1{{nbs}}May 1278.{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=119}}{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=23}} He appointed the unpopular {{lang|fro|[[Seneschal|senechal]]}} of Sicily, [[Galeran of Ivry]], as his baillif in Achaea.{{sfn|Lock|1995|p=93}}{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=196}} Galeran could not pay his troops who started to pillage the peasants' homes.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=196}} [[John I de la Roche]], Duke of Athens, had to lend money to him to finance their salaries.{{sfn|Lock|1995|p=93}} [[Nicephoros I of Epirus]] acknowledged Charles's suzerainty on 14{{nbs}}March 1279 to secure his assistance against the Byzantines.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=23}} Nicephoros also ceded three towns—[[Butrinto]], [[Sopotos]] and [[Panormos (Epirus)|Panormos]]—to Charles.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=23}}

Pope Nicholas died on 22{{nbs}}August 1280.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=190}} Charles sent agents to Viterbo to promote the election of one of his supporters, taking advantage of the rift between the late Pope's relatives and other Italian cardinals.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=190}} When a riot broke out in Viterbo, after the cardinals had not reached a decision for months, Charles's troops took control of the town.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=190}} On 22{{nbs}}February 1281 his staunchest supporter, Simon of Brie, was elected pope.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|pp=190–191}} Pope Martin IV dismissed his predecessor's relatives and made Charles the senator of Rome again.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=191}}{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=141}} [[Guido I da Montefeltro]] rose up against the Pope, but Charles's troops under [[Jean d'Eppe]] stopped the spread of the rebellion at [[Forlì]].{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=191}} Charles also sent an army to [[Piedmont]], but [[Thomas I, Marquess of Saluzzo]], annihilated it at [[Borgo San Dalmazzo]] in May.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=192}}

===Crusade against Byzantium===
Pope Martin excommunicated Emperor Michael VIII on 10{{nbs}}April 1281 because the Emperor had not imposed the Church union in his empire.{{sfn|Lock|2006|p=119}}{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=193}} The Pope soon authorised Charles to invade the empire.{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=193}} Charles's vicar in Albania, [[Hugh of Sully]], had already [[Siege of Berat (1280–1281)|laid siege to the Byzantine fortress of Berat]].{{sfn|Lock|1995|p=93}} A Byzantine army of relief under [[Michael Tarchaneiotes]] and [[John Synadenos (megas stratopedarches)|John Synadenos]] arrived in March 1281.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=26}} Sully was ambushed and captured, his army put to flight and the interior of Albania was lost to the Byzantines.{{sfn|Nicol|1984|p=27}} On 3{{nbs}}July 1281 Charles and his son-in-law, [[Philip of Courtenay]], the titular Latin emperor, made an alliance with [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] "for the restoration of the Roman Empire".{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=194}} They decided to start a full-scale campaign early the next year.{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=193}}

Margaret of Provence called Robert and Otto of Burgundy and other lords who held fiefs in the Kingdom of Arles to a meeting at [[Troyes]] in the autumn of 1281.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=193}} They were willing to unite their troops to prevent Charles's army from taking possession of the kingdom, but Philip III of France strongly opposed his mother's plan and Edward I of England would not promise any assistance to them.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=193}} Charles acknowledged that his wife held the [[County of Tonnerre]] and her other inherited estates as a Burgundian fief, which appeased Robert of Burgundy.{{sfn|Dunbabin|1998|p=36}} Charles's ships started to assemble at Marseilles to sail up the Rhone in the spring of 1282.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=193}} Another fleet was gathering at Messina to start the crusade against the Byzantine Empire.{{sfn|Runciman|1958|p=212}}