Christian states of Spain Don Alvaro de Luna, who later writers suggested was a boyfriend of the young king John II reigned until his death in 1454, was succeeded by his son, Henry IV, who reigned until 1474 He had a daughter and before Henry IV died, the heiress, Isabella, married Ferdinand of Aragon, uniting Christian Spain KINGDOMS OF ARAGON AND NAVARRE The royal House of Aragon, in northeastern Spain, traces its origins back to Ramiro I (r 1035–1063) His father, Sancho III, king of Navarre, had left him Aragon, as Ramiro was illegitimate Ramiro was a warrior prince and quickly extended his lands, even briefly taking part in forays into the land of his half brother Garcia III, who had inherited the rest of Navarre In a war with the Moorish emir of Saragossa over tribute, Ramiro was killed in battle on May 8, 1063 Ramiro’s successor was his eldest son, Sancho I, who managed to recapture lands from the Moors, pushing the boundaries of Aragon to the north bank of the river Ebro In 1076 when his cousin, the king of Navarre, died, Sancho succeeded to the throne of Navarre In June 1094 Sancho was killed during the siege of Huesca His son and successor, Pedro I, then became king of Aragon and Navarre, carrying on the siege of Huesca for another two years In 1096 he defeated a large Moorish army and its Castilian allies, at the Battle of Alcoraz, with help, legends state, from St George Pedro’s two children died young, and in grief both he and his wife died soon afterward Pedro was succeeded by his brother Alfonso I “The Warrior.” Having no children he was succeeded by his younger brother, Ramiro II “The Monk.” Ramiro was only king for three years, abdicating to spend the remaining 10 years of his life in a monastery His only child, Petronilla, became queen, when she was one year old When she turned 15 in 1151, she married Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona Twelve years later she abdicated the throne in favor of her son Alfonso II (r 1163–96) His eldest son and successor was Pedro II, who was alleged to have kept scandalous company with many women With the outbreak of the Albigensian Crusade in France, and the persecution of the Cathars in southern France, Pedro II led his army into the region to demonstrate the historical ties of Aragon to the region He tried to stop the carnage that was taking place around Carcassone and urged the pope to recognize the area as a part of Aragon, not France, which would have ended the crusade He failed and on September 13, 1213, at the Battle of Muset, was killed in battle with the crusaders led by Simon de Montfort 89 Pedro’s son James I “The Conqueror” was only five when he succeeded his father After a terrible regency, James took control and led his armies in taking the Balearic Islands (1229–35), conquering Valencia from the Moors in 1233–45, and also in the campaign against Murcia in 1266 When James died his son, Pedro III, succeeded him, leading his armies against the Moors He had a claim to the kingdom of Sicily through his wife and invaded the island in 1282, earning the title “The Great.” He was badly injured in the eye during fighting with the French and died soon afterward to be succeeded by his son Alfonso III “The Do-Gooder.” This interesting title came from the fact that he granted his subjects the right to bear arms His brother and successor James II “The Just” conquered more land from the Moors and was in frequent disputes with the papacy In 1310 he conquered Gibraltar, and possibly to placate Pope Clement V, two years later he suppressed the Order of the Knights Templar James II was succeeded by his son Alfonso IV “The Debonair” or “The Good.” Most of his reign was spent in disputes over the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, which were captured by the Genoese His son and successor, Pedro IV, held a huge coronation, apparently with as many as 10,000 guests, and earned the title “The Ceremonious.” He managed to lead his army into Sicily, which he recaptured, and when he died in 1387, his feeble son John I succeeded to the throne His wife, Iolande de Bar, was actually in control of the kingdom John died after being gored by a boar during a hunt, and his younger brother Martin “The Humane” became king It was during his reign that the famous santo cáliz was transferred to Valencia Cathedral, where it is still revered by many as the Holy Grail It was said that St Peter took it from the Holy Land to Rome, and it was taken to Valencia Martin lost the throne of Sicily and when he died in 1410, there was a brief interregnum until Ferdinand I “The Just” was proclaimed king Ferdinand I was the son of John I and was elected king by the nobles When Ferdinand I died in 1416, after reigning for just four years, his eldest son, Alfonso V “The Magnanimous,” became king There was a plot to overthrow him, and he refused to hear the names of the conspirators, allowing them to go unpunished He spent much of his time and energy in his possessions in Italy: Naples and Sicily When he died, his lands in Spain went to his brother John, who had been king of Navarre, and he became king of Aragon and Navarre His Italian lands went to his illegitimate son Ferdinand John II reigned from 1458 until 1479 His greatest achievement was arranging the marriage of his son, Ferdinand, to