Charles II of Naples

Charles II
King Charles II from the Bible of Naples, c. 1340
King of Naples
Count of Provence and Forcalquier
Reign7 January 1285 – 6 May 1309
Coronation29 May 1289
PredecessorCharles I
SuccessorRobert
Count of Anjou and Maine
Reign7 January 1285 – 16 August 1290
PredecessorCharles I
SuccessorMargaret & Charles III
Prince of Achaea
Reign7 January 1285 – 16 September 1289
PredecessorCharles I
SuccessorIsabella and Florent
King of Albania
Reign7 January 1285 – 13 August 1294
PredecessorCharles I
SuccessorPhilip I, Prince of Taranto
Born1254
Died5 May 1309 (aged 54–55)
Naples, Kingdom of Naples
SpouseMaria of Hungary
Issue
More
HouseAnjou-Naples
FatherCharles I of Naples
MotherBeatrice of Provence

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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