Kingdom of Aragon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aragón was a Frankish feudal county (Jaca) before becoming a self-proclaimed kingdom, which was united to the kingdom of Pamplona (later Navarre) in 925. Split from the kingdom of Navarre, the Kingdom of Aragón was re-established in 1035. This kingdom conquered the city of Zaragoza from Al Andalus in 1118 and lasted as a separate crown until 1707.

The Kingdom of Aragón gave the name to the Crown of Aragon, after the dynastic union of a Count of Barcelona (Ramon Berenguer IV) with a Queen of Aragón (Petronila of Aragon), their son inheriting all their respective territories. This Crown was effectively disbanded after the dynastic union with Castile which supposed the dawn of the Spanish Kingdom. The Kings of Aragón had also the title of Count of Barcelona and ruled territories that consisted of not only the present administrative region of Aragón but also Catalonia, and later the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Sicily, Naples and Sardinia (see Crown of Aragon).

The King of Aragón was the direct King of the Aragonese region, and held also the title of King of Valencia, King of Mallorca (for a time), Count of Barcelona, Lord of Montpellier, and, for a time, Duke of Athens and Neopatria. Each of these titles gave him sovereignty over a certain region, and these titles changed as he lost and won territories. In the fourteenth century, his power was greatly restricted by the Union of Aragon.