Aragonese Crusade

Part of the Crusades and the War of the Sicilian Vespers

A fresco from the Castle of Cardona depicting the Siege of Girona in 1285; now preserved in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Date	1284–1285
Location	Principality of Catalonia
Result	Aragonese victory

Belligerents

Kingdom of France
Kingdom of Mallorca
Kingdom of Navarra
Republic of Genoa

Crown of Aragon
Roussillon

Commanders and leaders

Philip III
Charles of Valois
James II

Peter III
Roger de Lauria
"The Bastard" (POW)

The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against the King of Aragon, Peter III the Great, in 1284 and 1285. Because of the recent conquest of Sicily by Peter, the Pope declared a crusade against him and officially deposed him as king, on the grounds that Sicily was a papal fief: Peter's grandfather and namesake, Peter II, had surrendered the kingdom as a fief to the Holy See. Martin bestowed Aragon on Charles, Count of Valois, son of the French king, Philip III, and nephew of Peter III.

The crusade soon caused civil war within Aragon, as Peter's brother, King James II of Majorca, joined the French. James had also inherited the County of Roussillon and thus stood between the dominions of the French and Aragonese monarchs. Peter had opposed James' inheritance as a younger son and reaped the consequence of such rivalry in the crusade.

In 1284, the first French armies under Philip and Charles entered Roussillon. They included 16,000 cavalry, 17,000 crossbowmen, and 100,000 infantry, along with 100 ships in south French ports. Though they had James' support, the local populace rose against them. The city of Elne was valiantly defended by the so-called Bâtard de Roussillon (Bastard of Roussillon), the illegitimate son of Nuño Sánchez, late count of Roussillon (1212–1242). Eventually he was overcome and the cathedral was burned, despite the presence of papal legates, while the population was massacred, all save the Bâtard. He succeeded in negotiating his surrender and accompanied the advancing royal forces as a prisoner.

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