The siege of Djerba in 1432 was one of the battles of the Aragonese expedition to Tunisia of 1432.
| Siege of Djerba (1432) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Aragonese expedition to Tunisia of 1432 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Crown of Aragon |
 Hafsid dynasty | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Alfonso V of Aragon |
Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 132 ships[1] | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Low | Unknown | ||||||
Background
editThe permanent ambition of Alfonso V of Aragon was always the Kingdom of Naples, which he had already tried to conquer in the war of 1420–1423.[2] He thought that having a base in Tunisia would be useful for a future invasion of Italy, so he sent an expedition.
Siege
editIn 1432, taking advantage of the truce with Castile in the War of the Infants of Aragon, Alfonso V of Aragon went to sea again towards Italy, with a first stop on the island of Djerba,[3] laying siege on August 15, until September 9. Abu Faris Abd al-Aziz II, ruler of Tunis, faced him on the beach, being defeated.[4]
Consequences
editAlfonso V's opportunity came in 1434 and 1435 with the successive deaths of Louis III and Queen Joana II. Alfonso was in Sicily waging war against the Hafsids, and he decided to conquer his precious kingdom, starting by attacking Gaeta.[5] But the Aragonese fleet was defeated at the Battle of Ponza in 1435 by a joint fleet formed by Genoa, the Duchy of Milan, the Papacy and the Kingdom of Naples.[5] In this defeat, many nobles, the king himself and his brothers were taken prisoner and were not released until the payment of a very high ransom provided by the Courts of Montsó. Shortly after, the Duke of Milan changed sides by allying himself with Alfonso, which allowed him to try to conquer the kingdom again in 1436, until the Aragonese captured Naples on June 2, 1442, and annexing the Kingdom of Naples.[5]
References
edit- ^ Housley, Norman (17 June 2016). The Crusade in the Fifteenth Century: Converging and competing cultures. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-317-03688-3.
- ^ "Siege of Djerba (1432)". Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana. Enciclopèdia Catalana. (in Catalan)
- ^ Furió, Antoni (2002). Castells, torres i fortificacions en la Ribera del Xúquer. University of Valencia.
- ^ Pius II (2013). Europe (c.1400-1458). CUA Press. p. 306. ISBN 081322182X.
- ^ a b c Diccionari d'Història de Catalunya (in Catalan); ed. 62; Barcelona; 1998; ISBN 84-297-3521-6; p. 25