Peter III of Aragon

Peter III of Aragon ( November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pressing the claim of his wife, Constance II of Sicily, uniting the kingdom to the crown. Youth and succession Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife Violant of Hungary. On 13 June 1262, Peter married Constance II of Sicily, daughter and heiress of Manfred of Sicily. During his youth and early adulthood, Peter gained a great deal of military experience in his father's wars of the Reconquista against the Moors. In June 1275, Peter besieged, captured, and executed his rebellious half-brother Fernando Sánchez de Castro at Pomar de Cinca. On his father's death in 1276, the lands of the Crown of Aragon were divided amongst his two sons. The Kingdom of Aragon, the Kingdom of Valencia and the Catalan counties went to Peter III as being the eldest son; while the Kingdom of Majorca and the Catalan counties beyond the Pyrenees went to the second son, who became James II of Majorca.