Charles I (of Two Sicilies)

Charles I (of Two Sicilies) (1226-1285), king of the Two Sicilies (1266-1285). He was the posthumous son of Louis VIII, king of France, and the brother of King Louis IX. He was given the countships of Anjou and Maine by his brother, and through marriage in 1246 he became count of Provence. In 1248 he accompanied Louis on the Sixth Crusade. In 1250 he was captured and briefly imprisoned, but later returned to Provence. By 1264 he controlled much of Piedmont (Piemonte). Charles agreed to aid the pope in his struggle against the Ghibellines in return for the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1265 Charles invaded Italy; the following year the reigning monarch Manfred was killed in battle and Charles became king. In 1268, Conradin, nephew of Manfred and last of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, led a revolt against Charles but was captured and executed. The king brutally suppressed the Ghibelline nobles, seizing their estates to pay his French soldiers. In 1270 Charles participated in the disastrous Seventh Crusade. In 1282 he learned of a revolt in Sicily against the French. Charles tried to reestablish his authority over the island, but was routed by Pedro III, king of Aragón, who destroyed his fleet. Charles died soon after, leaving his kingdom in a chaotic condition.