Foix in the context of "Sarcophagus"

Ariège (French pronunciation: [aʁjɛʒ] ; Occitan: Arièja [aɾiˈɛdʒɔ]) is a department in southwestern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It is named after the river Ariège and its capital is Foix. Ariège is known for its rural landscape, with a population of 153,287 as of 2019. Its INSEE and postal code is 09. The inhabitants of the department are known as Ariègeois or Ariègeoises.

The County of Foix (French: Comté de Foix, pronounced [fwa]; Occitan: Comtat de Fois, pronounced [fujs] locally [fujʃ]; Catalan: Comtat de Foix, pronounced [foʃ]) was a medieval fief in southern France, and later a province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern département of Ariège (the western part of Ariège being Couserans).

During the Middle Ages, the county of Foix was ruled by the counts of Foix, whose castle overlooks the town of Foix. In 1290 the counts of Foix acquired the viscountcy Béarn, which became the center of their domain, and from that time on the counts of Foix rarely resided in the county of Foix, preferring the richer and more verdant Béarn.

Pamiers (French pronunciation: [pamje] ; Occitan: Pàmias Occitan pronunciation: [ˈpamjɔs]) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it is not the capital which is the smaller town of Foix. The seat of the Bishop of Pamiers is at the Pamiers Cathedral. The current mayor of the town is Frédérique Thiennot, who succeeded André Trigano in 2020 after he had held the post for 25 years.

42°33′37″N 1°48′36″E / 42.560139°N 1.810104°E / 42.560139; 1.810104

The Col de Puymorens ("Puymorens Pass") is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees, connecting Foix to Cerdagne. Its summit is 1,915m.

Álvaro (1239 in Burgos – 1268 in Foix), called Àlvar el Castellà ("the Castilian") in Catalan, was the Count of Urgell and Viscount of Àger from 1243. He was the son of Ponce I, Count of Urgell and succeeded his brother Ermengol IX within a year of their father's death.

Upon inheriting the county of Urgell, he exchanged his birth name, Rodrigo, for Álvaro and married Constance of Montcada, a relative of the ruling family of Béarn, at the order of James I of Aragon in 1253. However, he detested this marriage and had it annulled, marrying Cecilia of Foix, daughter of Roger-Bernard II of Foix, in 1256. This was to be the source of great enmity and conflict between the houses of Béarn and Foix. The House of Barcelona supported the Bearnese.