War of the Sicilian Vespers

War of the Sicilian Vespers
A scene of the Sicilian Vesper by Francesco Hayez
Date 30 March 1282 – 31 August 1302 Location The Mediterranean; primarily Sicily, the Mezzogiorno, Aragon, and Catalonia Result Peace of Caltabellotta, House of Barcelona gains Sicilian throne Territorial changes Division of the pre-war Kingdom of Sicily into Trinacria (insular Sicily) and Angevin Kingdom of Naples Aragon gains suzerainty over the Kingdom of Majorca Aragon gains claim on Corsica and Sardinia Papacy cedes right to name king of Sicily Frederick III agrees to pass throne to House of Anjou upon death (later reneges)
Belligerents
Crown of Aragon  Kingdom of Sicily Supported by:  Byzantine Empire  Republic of Venice Hafsid dynasty (Tunis) Ghibellines	Kingdom of Naples  Kingdom of France  Kingdom of Mallorca  Kingdom of Navarre Supported by:  Republic of Genoa  Papal States  Kingdom of Castile  Crown of Aragon (post 1295 Treaty of Anagni) Guelphs
Commanders and leaders
Crown of Aragon: Peter III of Aragon (1282–1285)  # Alfonso III of Aragon (1282–1291)  # James II of Aragon (1291–1302) Kingdom of Sicily: James II of Sicily (1285–1295) Frederick III of Sicily (1296–1302) Constance of Sicily Sicilian Parliament	Angevin Naples: Charles of Anjou (1282–1285)  # Charles II of Naples (1285–1302) Robert II of Artois (1282–1302) Kingdom of France: Philip III of France (1284–1285)  # Philip IV of France (1285–1290) Independent French Princes: Charles of Valois (1284–1302) Kingdom of Majorca: James II of Mallorca (1283–1295)

The War of the Sicilian Vespers, also shortened to the War of the Vespers, was a conflict waged by several medieval European kingdoms over control of Sicily from 1282 to 1302. The war, which started with the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers, was fought over competing dynastic claims to the throne of Sicily and grew to involve the Crown of Aragon, Angevin Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of France, and the papacy.

Initially fought between Sicilian rebels and Charles of Anjou in Sicily and Southern Italy, the war expanded when Aragon intervened in Sicily to support the rebels and claim the throne. After Aragonese successes, the war grew into the concurrent Aragonese Crusade as the Kingdom of France intervened against Aragon in Iberia. The crusade ended in defeat, but efforts to end the war failed despite several peace treaties. Aragon gave up the crown of Sicily in exchange for papal concessions in 1297, entering into an alliance with Angevin Naples and the papacy against Sicily, but the new alliance's campaign to invade Sicily saw no success. The war ended in 1302 in the Peace of Caltabellotta, by which Sicily became an independent kingdom ruled by the House of Barcelona.

The war resulted in the division of the old Kingdom of Sicily; the island of Sicily came to be ruled as the Kingdom of Sicily, while the mainland territories of the old kingdom became the Kingdom of Naples. The war led to an era of Aragonese expansion in the Western Mediterranean, as the kingdom gained suzerainty over the Kingdom of Majorca and Sardinia. Outlasting four kings and four popes, the twenty-year war showcased the decline of papal power in southern Europe and the rise of increasingly powerful kings in the late 13th century.