Count of Forcalquier in the context of "Ermengol IV of Urgell"

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⭐ Core Definition: Count of Forcalquier

The County of Forcalquier was a large medieval county in the region of Provence in the Kingdom of Arles, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was named after the fortress around which it grew, Forcalquier.

The earliest mention of a castle at Forcalquier dates to 1044, when it was in the possession of Fulk Bertrand, joint count of Provence. When Fulk died in 1051 his lands were shared between his sons William Bertrand and Geoffrey II, who inherited Forcalquier. Sometime in the 1060s Forcalquier was inherited by William's daughter Adelaide, who was the first person to be styled "Countess of Forcalquier". She married Ermengol IV of Urgell and died in 1129, at a time when Provence was sharply disputed by the many persons who had inherited some title to it. The counts of Toulouse claimed the title marchio as descendants of Emma of Provence, while the counts of Barcelona laid claim to Provence as descendants of Douce I. In 1125 a formal division of Provence into a march and a county was effected, but in 1131 a new claimant, the House of Baux, provoked a series of wars, the Baussenque Wars, fought over the rights to the county of Provence. Meanwhile, the county north of the Durance, with Forcalquier and Embrun, had devolved to Adelaide's son by Ermengol, William III (the enumeration of counts of Forcalquier includes earlier counts of Provence). William III and his descendants, a cadet branch of the counts of Urgell, continued to rule Forcalquier until the end of the century, when the Treaty of Aix (1193) gave in marriage the last count's granddaughter, Garsenda of Sabran, to Alfonso, son of Alfonso II of Aragon and heir of the county of Provence. Their marriage in July 1193, Alfonso's inheritance in 1196, and Garsenda's in 1209 united the two counties permanently.

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Count of Forcalquier in the context of Charles II of Anjou

Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (French: Charles le Boiteux; Italian: Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine (1285–1290); he also was King of Albania (1285–1294), and claimed the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1285. He was the son of Charles I of Anjou—one of the most powerful European monarchs in the second half of the 13th century—and Beatrice of Provence. His father granted Charles the Principality of Salerno in the Kingdom of Sicily (or Regno) in 1272 and made him regent in Provence and Forcalquier in 1279.

After the uprising known as the Sicilian Vespers against Charles's father, the island of Sicily became an independent kingdom under the rule of Peter III of Aragon in 1282. A year later, his father made Charles regent in the mainland territories of the Regno (or the Kingdom of Naples). Charles held a general assembly where unpopular taxes were abolished and the liberties of the noblemen and clerics were confirmed. He could not prevent the Aragonese from occupying Calabria and the islands in the Gulf of Naples. The Sicilian admiral Roger of Lauria captured him in a naval battle near Naples in 1284. As he was still in prison when his father died on 7 January 1285, his realms were ruled by regents. The remainder of his rule was spent seeking a resolution to the Sicilian war, diplomatic moves concerning his inheritance, and administrating the new Kingdom of Naples.

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Count of Forcalquier in the context of Robert the Wise

Robert of Anjou (Italian: Roberto d'Angiò), known as Robert the Wise (Italian: Roberto il Saggio; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of Italian politics of his time. He was the third son of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, and during his father's lifetime he was styled Duke of Calabria (1296–1309).

Robert's early life was marked by his family's participation in the War of the Sicilian Vespers, in which conflict Robert served as a military commander. Upon the death of his father in 1309, Robert ruled as the king of Naples. His reign brought relative stability to Naples compared to the reigns of his father and grandfather, but it was also marked by rivalries against Germanic powers in northern Italy and the House of Barcelona in the western Mediterranean. Robert was pre-deceased by his son and heir Charles of Calabria, and so willed his throne to his granddaughter, Joanna of Naples.

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Count of Forcalquier in the context of Geoffrey II of Provence

Geoffrey II (also Josfred or Josfredus; died 13 February 1067) was the first count of Forcalquier following the death of his father Fulk Bertrand in 1062. His elder brother William Bertrand inherited Provence, but not the title of margrave. Geoffrey himself is often counted amongst the co-counts of Provence of the era. It is not certain that his region of Forcalquier was regarded as a distinct entity and not merely the Provençal demesne under his charge.

He subscribed a charter of his brothers on 14 February 1064. His wife was Ermengard, but his children are unknown.

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Count of Forcalquier in the context of William III of Forcalquier

William I (born c. 1085 and died October 1129) was the Count of Forcalquier and Marquis of Provence from 1094. He was the second son of Count Ermengol IV of Urgell and the only son of Adelaide of Forcalquier, heiress of Count William Bertrand of Provence.

William married Gersende, daughter of Count Guigues III of Albon. They had two sons, Guigues of Forcalquier and Bertrand I.

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Count of Forcalquier in the context of Ramon Berenguer V, Count of Provence

Ramon Berenguer IV or V (French: Raimond-Bérenger; 1198 – 19 August 1245) was a member of the House of Barcelona who ruled as count of Provence and Forcalquier. He was the first count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years. During the minority of a previous count in 1144–1161, the regency was exercised by Ramon Berenguer IV de Barcelona, who is sometimes counted among the counts of Provence, which has led to varied numbering of the counts of Provence named Ramon Berenguer. This Ramon Berenguer was the fourth of his name to be a reigning count of Provence.

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