Flag of the House of Capet
The Angevin Kingdom of Naples (1282-1458) was a dynasty of Naples ruled by the House of Anjou. Charles of Anjou, a nobleman of France, took over Naples with the aid of the Papal States, killing King Manfred I of Sicily and taking control of Sicily. It was a Guelph (pro-Pope) faction during the Wars of Guelphs and Ghibellines, and in 1458 it ended when Ferrante I of Naples began Aragonese rule as the Kingdom of Naples.
History[]
When Frederick II of Germany's son Manfred von Hohenstaufen became the King of Sicily during the Holy Roman Empire's wars in Italy, the Papal States' Pope Urban IV invited Charles of Anjou, a nobleman of France, to become the new king. As the son of Louis VIII of France and hence the younger brother of King Louis IX of France, he was supported by the French crown, and with an army of mercenaries, he conquered Sicily and Naples in 1282 at the Battle of Benevento. Charles I's claim to Naples and Sicily was contested by the House of Anjou, who invaded Italy, causing France to declare the Aragonese Crusade. In 1283 the Angevins were defeated in the Battle of Malta at sea, followed by more defeats, and the fighting continued as it molded into the Wars of Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Angevins supported the Pope's Guelph faction until Ferrante I of Naples, an Aragonese noble, was appointed to the throne after the previous king died with no issue.