[November 2] James II, king of Aragón

Surnamed: "The Just" (El Justo)
Parents: Peter III, king of Aragón, and Constance of Sicily
Born: 10 August 1267
House: Barcleona
Spouse(s): (1) Isabella, daughter of Sancho IV, king of Castile, and María de Molina, then (2) Blanche, daughter of Charles II, king of Naples, and Maria of Hungary, then (3) Marie, daughter of Hugh III, king of Cyprus, and Isabella of Ibelin, then (4) Elisenda, daughter of Pedro I, lord of Altona, and Gisela d'Abarça
Predecessor: Alfonso III

Reign: 1291 – 1327
Brief: Inheriting Sicily from his father in 1285, James II rose to claim the entire Aragonese empire in 1291 when his elder brother, Alfonso III, died. As one of his earliest actions, James ended the feud over Sicily with Charles II of Anjou by ceding to him Sicily. Unfortunately, the Sicilian nobles elected James' brother, Frederick, rather than Charles. The pope requested that James and Charles remove Frederick, investing James with the kingship of Sardinia and Corsica as an enticement. James, however, never moved to depose his brother. In 1295, James returned the Balearic Islands to his uncle, James II of Majorca. But three years later, the Aragonese king demanded to be recognized as the overlord of the islands. An attack on Murcia in 1296 gained him access to Granada and all its wealth, angering the Castilians, though avoiding any lasting grudge. He reigned from Aragón for the rest of his life and died in 1327.

Date of Death: 2 November 1327
Successor: Alfonso IV

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Peter III, king of Aragón (1285)
• Maximilian III, archduke of Austria (1618)

[October 17] Petronila, queen of Aragón

Parents: Ramiro II, king of Aragón, and Agnes of Aquitaine
Born: 29 June 1136
House: Jiménez
Spouse(s): Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona, son of Ramon Berenguer III, count of Barcelona, and Douce I, countess of Provence
Predecessor: Ramiro II

Reign: 1137 – 1164
Brief: From the moment Petronilla was born, it was known that she would rule as queen regnant. She was married at the age of one to the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer IV. Her father then abdicated the throne and resumed his monastic life leaving the regency of Aragón to Ramon Berenguer.  At the age of 15, she consummated her marriage and eventually produced five children. In 1162, her husband died and for two years she ruled solely. In 1164, she abdicated the throne in favor of her son, Ramon Berenguer, who changed his name to Alfonso II. He had already become count of Barcelona when his father died and, upon succeeding to the Aragonese throne, he became the first ruler over both realms. Petronilla does not seem to have taken up the regency for her son and died a decade later. She was buried in Bercelona Cathedral, though her tomb has long since been lost.

Date of Death: 17 October 1174
Successor: Alfonso II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Boniface II, pope of Rome (532)

[September 8] Alfonso I, king of Aragón & Navarre

Surnamed: "The Battler" (El Batallador)
Parents: Sancho V, king of Aragón and Navarre, and Felicia of Roucy
House: Jiménez
Born: circa 1073
Spouse(s): Urraca, queen of Léon, daughter of Alfonso VI, king of León, and Constance of Burgundy

Predecessor: Pedro I

Reign: 1104 – 1134

Date of Death: 8 September 1134

Successor: Ramiro II (in Aragón) and García IV (in Navarre)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Sergius I, pope of Rome (701)
• Leo IV, emperor of Constantinople (780)
• Clement III, antipope of Rome (1100)
• Charles III, king of Navarre (1425)
• Faisal I, king of Iraq (1933)

[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)

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Sixtus II, pope of Rome (258)
• Hormisdas, pope of Rome (523)
• Henry, duke of Saxony (1195)
• Stephen V, king of Hungary (1272)
• Ladislaus, king of Naples (1414)
• Callixtus III, pope of Rome (1458)
• Paul VI, pope of Rome (1978)

[June 27] Alfonso V, king of Aragón

Surnamed: "The Magnanimous"
Parents: Fernando I, king of Aragón, and Eleanor of Alburquerque
Date of Birth: 1396
Royal House: Trastámara
Spouse: Maria, daughter of Enrique III, king of Castile, and Catherine of Lancaster
Predecessor: Fernando I
Reign: 1416 – 1458
Summary: Very little is written about the early life of Alfonso V of Aragón. He was born at Medina del Campo to Fernando de Antequera (the future Fernando I) and Leonor de Alburquerque. He dynasty was a Castilian line descended through females to the old counts of Barcelona. He became king of Aragón, Majorca, Sicily, and Valencia upon the death of his father in 1416. In 1421, he was adopted as the heir to Juana II, queen of Naples. Alfonso immediately left for the south coast of Italy upon this declaration. He recruited local mercenaries to depose the pretender, Louis III, who was supported by Muzio Attendolo Sforza. Pope Martin V supported the Sforza army so Alfonso switched his allegiance to the Antipope Benedict XIII. Alfonso won the battle but lost favor with Juana after capturing her lover. After another brief war, Aragón was defeated and Louis III was declared Juana's heir.


Alfonso's reign fell into chaos after this. The Mediterranean chose sides in the ensuing war, with Genoa joining with Naples and Milan joining Aragón. The Italian portion of the kingdom of Sicily was taken in 1424 by Genoan soldiers and Alfonso's brother, Pedro, was forced to flee to the island of Sicily. For eight years, Naples remained outside of Alfonso's grasp. Then, in 1432, he had his chance to regain the favor of the queen. He failed, and Naples remained with Juana until her dead three years later. Naples was deeded to René of Anjou, the brother of Louis III, but the new pope opposed the inheritance. Alfonso set out again and was captured by Genoa. While imprisoned, he convinced Genoa to switch sides and the armies marched south again. During the meantime, René had made it to Naples and claimed the throne. Pedro was killed in the battle that followed when Alfonso tried to take the city, and then Aragón began to take over everything outside of Naples. In November 1441, the siege of Naples began and the city finally fell the next spring. He centralized the state and reduced the opposition, then conquered Sardinia as a slight to his temporary allies in Genoa. To ensure his legitimacy in Naples, he petitioned the pope and received license to pass the entirety of the kingdom on to his illegitimate son, Fernando. For the next ten years, Alfonso planned the conquest of Genoa, but the king died before ever marching on the merchant republic. While Alfonso was campaigning, his Hispanic possessions were controlled by Juan, his brother and eventual legitimate successor in Iberia, Sicily, and Sardinia.
Date of Death: 27 June  1458
Successor: Juan II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Eudes II, duke of Burgundy (1162)

[June 18] Alfonso III, king of Aragón

Surnamed: "The Liberal"
Parents: Pedro III, king of Aragón, and Constanza of Sicily

Date of Birth: 1265

House: Barcelona

Predecessor: Pedro III

Reign: 1285 – 1291

Summary: A member of the infamous Barcelona family of Aragón, Alfonso III was the designated heir of his father, Pedro, from birth. He became king upon the death of his father at the age of twenty and almost immediately went on campaign against his uncle, King Jaime II of Majorca. Majorca had been separated from Aragón under the reign of King Jaime I of Aragón, but later Aragonese kings fought to return it to the main line. Alfonso conquered Majorca in 1285 and Ibiza, an appendage in the Balearic Islands, the next year. He then conquered Minorca in 1287 and claimed the title King of Majorca from his uncle immediately after.

Being the son of Constance, heiress of Sicily, Alfonso and his brother, Jaime, had an inheritance right to the kingdom. The two brothers at first attempted to rest control of the small island state from the Papacy but decided that it would be better for the pope to decide the future of the island. Alfonso's reign was constantly at odds with the more important nobles of the realm. In 1288, Alfonso was forced to agree to the Union of Aragon, a charter that united the crowns of Aragón and Valencia and granted privileges to some nobles and to the commoners. This charter eventually caused division and anarchy within Aragonese lands that lasted intermittently until the union of the Aragonese and Castilian crowns over two centuries later. For his inability to control his nobility, Dante Alighieri placed Alfonso III in Purgatory in his Divine Comedy. Alfonso died prior to his marriage to Eleanor, daughter of King Edward I of England. He was buried at Barcelona Cathedral and succeeded by his brother, Jaime II.

Date of Death: 18 June 1291

Successor: Jaime II

Other Monarch Deaths:

Leo III, emperor of Constantinople (741)

Chukyo, emperor of Japan (1234)

[January 20] Juan II, king of Aragón

Parents: Ferdinand I, king of Aragón, and Eleanor of Alburquerque

Date of Birth: 29 June 1398

Royal House: Trastámara

Spouse: Blanche I, queen of Navarre, then Juana Enríquez

Reign: 1458 – 1479

Predecessor: Alfonso V

Summary: John II began ruling Aragón at an early age. During his youth, he ruled in the name of his brother, Alfonso, who was generally in Italy ruling over Sicily. In 1425, he also came into possession through marriage of the small kingdom of Navarre in the Pyrenees. Throughout his life, he would reign over this small kingdom despite the superior claims of his children over his own claim. From 1441 until his own death in 1479, John deprived the right to rule Navarre first of his son, the titular Charles IV, and then Blanche II, until Queen Eleanor finally outlived her father. This conflict between father and children was not helped by John's second wife, Juana, who sowed seeds of conflict between John and the children of his first marriage. It is thought that Juana herself may have been responsible for the death of Charles IV.

As king of Aragón, John also ruled the Catalan counties of northern Spain, the kingdoms of Sicily, Valencia, Majorca, and Sardinia, and the county of Roussillon in France. Conflicts over Roussillon, technically a French county, caused John to finally cede it to Louis XI in 1472. This did not pacify him, however, and he fought a long war with France over the Catalan counties until his death in 1479. Prior to his death, John had arranged the marriage between his only surviving son, Ferdinand II, and the heiress of Castile, Isabella. Isabella became queen in 1474 and Ferdinand succeeded his father in 1479, thereby uniting for the first time in history the kingdoms of Aragón and Castile (and their many appendages), setting the groundwork for the creation of the kingdom of Spain. John's daughter Eleanor ruled Navarre for all of two weeks before dying. The Navarrese crown then passed to John's great-grandson Francis Phoebus, count of Foix.

Date of Death: 20 January 1479

Successor: Ferdinand II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Fabian, pope of Rome (250)
• Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (1191)
• Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1612)
• Charles IV, king of Spain (1819)
• Minh Mang, emperor of Vietnam (1841)
• Christian VIII, king of Denmark (1848)
• Kalakaua, king of Hawai'i (1891)
• George V, king of the United Kingdom (1936)