[December 18] Alfonso II, king of Naples

Parents: Ferdinand I, king of Naples, and Isabella of Taranto
Date of Birth: 4 November 1448
House: Trastámara
Spouse(s): Ippolita Maria, daughter of Francesco I, duke of Milan, and Bianca Maria of Milan
Predecessor: Ferdinando I
Reign: 1494 – 1495
Brief: Though barely considered a ruler of Naples, the long regency he held during his father's late illness gave Alfonso considerable power and influence. A close relative to the kings of Aragón, Alfonso was also the direct heir to the Brienne claim to the kingdom of Jerusalem, which fell to him in 1465. Unfortunately, by the time Alfonso ascended the throne in 1494, he had little to show for it. The Papacy had been attempting to annex Naples for centuries and the constant warfare had drained the accounts in Naples. When Ferdinando I died, King Charles VIII of France was already marching south to invade and claim the land, which had been offered to him by Pope Alexander VI. Alexander VI reasserted his faith in Alfonso soon after, though, but it was too late: Charles was already at the doorstep of Naples. Alfonso's fleet and army were destroyed and the king fled, abdicating in favor of his son, Ferdinando II. The retired king died in a monastery later that year. Though his reign was short, Alfonso was a patron of the arts while he served as crown prince and his palace heavily influenced Charles when he briefly occupied the city.

Date of Death: 18 December 1495

Successor: Ferdinando II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Magnus I, king of Sweden (1290)

[November 26] Isabel I, queen of Castile & León

Soubriquet: "The Catholic"
Parents: Juan II, king of Castile & León, and Isabella of Portugal
Date of Birth: 22 April 1451
House: Trastamara
Spouse(s): Ferdinand II, king of Aragón, son of Juan II, king of Aragón, and Juana Enriquez
Predecessor: Henry IV

Reign: 1474 – 1504
Brief: The first undisputed female ruler of the largest kingdom in Spain, Isabella ruled during a time of change. During her youth, she fought to establish her right to rule, which was only confirmed when her half-brother, Alfonso, died suddenly. She was jostled between various betrothals and proposed marriages for many years before finally settling with Ferdinand, the heir to Aragón. Isabella became queen in 1474 and almost immediately went to war with Portugal, which claimed a daughter of King Henry IV was the true heir to Castile. The war continued for many years, and Isabella took direct control over her government, traveling throughout Castile to suppress rebellions and revolts. At home, Isabella reformed the criminal code, rebuilt the finances of her realm, and pushed strongly for administrative reform within the government. In 1492, Castile dissolved the Emirate of Granada once and for all, ending the Muslim presence in Spain. Later that year, she personally financed an expedition by Christopher Columbus to seek a route to the East via the Atlantic Ocean. He returned the next year and she secured from the pope exclusive privilege to the New World for Spain with the exception of Brasil. For her participation in the crusades and for evangelizing abroad, Isabella and Ferdinand received the moniker "Catholic Monarch" from the pope, a title unique to Spain. Isabella finally retired in 1504 and died later that year, leaving the government in the hands of her daughter, Juana, and her son-in-law, Felipe I of Austria.

Date of Death: 26 November 1504
Successor: Juana

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Siricius, pope of Rome (399)

[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)

[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)