[August 6] Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona

Surnamed: "The Holy"
Parents: Ramon Berenguer III, count of Barcelona, and Douce I, countess of Provençe

Date of Birth: circa 1113
House: Barcelona

Spouse(s): Patronilla, queen of Aragón, daughter of Ramiro II, king of Aragón, and Agnes of Aquitaine

Predecessor: Ramon Berenguer III
Reign: 1131 – 1162

Summary: The consolidation of Hispania was a slow process which was aided by the intermarriages of its many dynasties. Few were viewed with such success as the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Patronilla of Aragón. Ramon inherited Barcelona from his father in 1131 and six years later, he was married to the infant daughter of the king of Aragón. It was part of a political alliance to create a solid front against the kingdom of Castile. Ramiro II, king of Aragón, abdicated the throne to Patronilla in 1137, and Ramon ruled both Barcelona (and its many sub-counties) and Aragón from that time forward. It is notable, however, that Ramon never took the royal crown and named himself "prince of the Aragonians" and "marquis of Lleida and Tortosa".


The treaty made with Aragón stipulated a perpetual union of the crowns of Aragón with Barcelona, which created the formal Crown of Aragón which existed until the early 1700s. Had Patronilla died prior to producing children, future children of Ramon would have inherited both crowns. The arrangement was organized into a permanent dynastic union, with both regions retaining nominal independence under one shared ruler. Modern historians consider this union to be the beginning of a long unification of Spain. A side benefit of the union was that Aragón now had seaports with which to pursue sea voyages and one day conquer the Balearic Isles. The union also balanced Hispania into three roughly equal realms: Aragón-Barcelona, Castile-León, and Portugal. Ramon also helped end the long war with Castile by marrying his sister, Berengaria, to his rival, Alfonso VII of Castile. With his alliance secured, Ramon began a long crusade against the Moors, joining in the Second Crusade's Spanish front by attacking the Almoravid kingdoms in the south. He attacked Valencia and Murica in 1147. With the help of the French, he captured another city, Tortosa, in late 1148. He spent most of 1149 attacking various French rivals on his northern borders in an attempt to consolidate all remaining Catalonia, which he succeeded in by the end of the year. Ramon's brother, Berenguer Ramon, was the count of Provençe and Ramon aided him in his wars against the count of Toulouse. When Provençal count died in 1144, Ramon took over for his young nephew as regent. The 1151 Treaty of Tudilén split zones of conquest in Islamic Spain between Castile and Aragón to prevent future conflicts, with Aragón relegated to the eastern coast and Castile in control of central Spain. Ramon Berenguer IV died in 1162 leaving his small empire to his son, Ramon Berenguer V, who in 1163 inherited the kingship of Aragón from his mother when she abdicated. Ramon V took the regnal name Alfonso II to show continuity with Aragón. Another son of Ramon IV's, Père, inherited the county of Cerdanya.

Date of Death: 6 August 1162
Successor: Ramon Berenguer V (later Alfonso II of Aragón)

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• Sixtus II, pope of Rome (258)
• Hormisdas, pope of Rome (523)
• Henry, duke of Saxony (1195)
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• Ladislaus, king of Naples (1414)
• Callixtus III, pope of Rome (1458)
• Paul VI, pope of Rome (1978)