CHARLES, Count of Anjou and Provence, King of Naples and Sicily, about 1220-85. Ile was the ninth son of Louis VIII. of France, and wedded Beatrice, heiress of Provence, after scattering his rivals by the aid of an army furnished by his brother, Louis IX. His next adventure was on a crusade to the Holy Laud in company with his brother, when both were taken prisoners. Returning to Provence, Charles resumed his authority, and began to cherish high ambitious. He first assisted Margaret of Flanders, in a plan to set aside the children of her husband by a former wife, for the aggrand izement of her own offspring, for which Charles was to receive the province of Hain ault; but Louis interfered and Charles was compelled to relinquish Hainault for a sum of money. About this time the pope, Urban IV., requested Charles to assume the crown of the Two Sicilies, to assist in the overthrow of the bastard Manfred, the Ghibelline king; and in 1265, Charles was crowned at Rome; a crusade was preached against Manfred, who was taken and killed; Couradin, the legitimate heir, was also betrayed, captured, and murdered; a like fate was dealt out to many Italian nobles; estates were confiscated to reward the French mercenaries; and they established over Sicily an arbitrary and brutal rule. Charles aimed at becoming the head of the eastern .empire. With this intent he accompanied his brother on another crusade; but the ven ture failed in consequence of a great storm and the breaking out of the plague.
Charles also incurred the enmity of the pope, Nicholas II., by refusing to accept the hand of his niece for Charles's grandson: so Nicholas went over to the Ghibellines, and took from Charles his titles, But Nicholas died in 1280, and Charles procured the election of a Frenchman, Martin IV., to the chair of St. Peter, in return for which Charles was made senator of Rome, and his rival, the emperor Michael Paheologus, was excommunicated. Another expedition was ready for the east, when news was brought of the rebellion, afterwards known as the Sicilian Vespers (see ante); the people of Sicily had risen against their conquerors, and on Easter Monday, 1282, nearly exter minated the French in all Sicily. Charles at once sent his fleet against Messina, refus ing all offers of capitulation; but the city held out until assistance carne from Don Pedro of Aragon, and Charles's fleet was burned. Despairing of other means of success, Charles challenged Don Pedro to single combat; the latter accepted, but only Charles appeared in the list. Soon afterwards Charles's son was defeated and taken prisoner; and in 1285, Charles himself fell ill and died at Poggia.