Charles I of Naples

(1226-1285)
Son of King Louis VIII and the younger brother of Louis IX, of which Charles was accompanied to 7 meters (1248-1250) and 8-m (1270) Crusades. In 1246 Charles married acquired as a result of Provence. In 1261 the newly elected Pope Urban IV, a native of France, suggested to Charles Sicily and Naples (Kingdom of Sicily), if he will drive out Manfred, illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II, ie. Representative of the sworn enemies of papal authority Hohenstaufen. After lengthy negotiations, Karl took the kingdom in 1265 as a papal fief is the successor of Urbana - Clement IV. By the end of the year Charles headed the army which defeated Manfred at Benevento in 1266, Manfred himself was killed in battle. In 1268 Karl won the battle of Talyakotstse over the last of the Hohenstaufen, 16-year Conradin, grandson of Frederick II. In the same year Conradin was captured and extradited to Carl and executed in Naples. In the conquered area, Karl attracted many French settlers, who used his military service and administration.
They found, however, that getting rid of the papacy Hohenstaufen happened to him at the cost of the appearance of a new danger in the person of Charles, which rested on the power of France. Soon, Karl tried to establish control over much of northern Italy. Arriving at the place of Hohenstaufen, Charles inherited from them and plans against the Byzantine Empire, which once again rules the Greek emperor. Karl plotted as a crusade against the Muslims who have mastered Jerusalem (in 1277, Karl has achieved the title of King of Jerusalem), and also sought to expand its influence in North Africa and Sardinia. Karl seized Corfu and established control over the east coast of the Adriatic, but the power of the keys to further antagonized his attack on the Byzantine Empire. Remove this obstacle in 1281 by election to the papacy a friendly Martin IV, Carl was ready to resume the onslaught against Byzantium, when all his plans were upset that began on March 31, 1282 Sicilian revolt (TN. 'Sicilian Vespers') against the tax burden and the arbitrariness French officials. Settled in Sicily, the French have been cut, and arrived here in September 1282 at the invitation of the Sicilians, Pedro III of Aragon expelled from the island of Charles and took the crown of King of Sicily, under the name of Pietro I. Charles remained only his possessions in southern Italy, known later as Nepolitanskoe Kingdom. Pope Martin IV excommunicated Pedro and initiated a war against France, Aragon, which, however, had no success. Charles died in Foggia January 7, 1285. Failure, which he suffered in the unification of Italy, to postpone this process for many centuries.