Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthaginians, and occupied by the Romans for around a thousand years, including the rule of the Vandals in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Before the foundation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was ruled by judices, and some rulers obtained the title of King of Sardinia by the Holy Roman Emperor but did not gain effective authority to rule it.
The title of as Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae (King of Sardinia and Corsica) was first established in 1297, when Pope Boniface VIII gave a royal investiture to James II of Aragon. The Crown of Aragon started effectively ruling Sardinia in 1323. Until 1479, when Ferdinand II of Aragon acknowledged Corsica as part of the Republic of Genoa, rulers of Sardinia used the nominal title of Rex Corsicae (King of Corsica). Corsica had been effectively ruled by Genoa since 1284 and the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica had been renamed simply Kingdom of Sardinia in 1460, when it was incorporated into a sort of confederation of states, each with its own institutions, called the Crown of Aragon, and united only in the person of the king.
Monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861 included the House of Barcelona (1323–1410) and the House of Trastámara (1412–1516), the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg (1516–1700) and the House of Bourbon (1700–1708), and the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg (1708–1720). In 1720, the Kingdom of Sardinia was ceded to the House of Savoy, which ruled Sardinia–Piedmont until 1861, when it changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946). During its existence from 1297 to 1861, 24 sovereigns from seven different dynasties succeeded one another on the throne of the kingdom.
Early history Owing to the absence of written sources, little is known of the history of the Nuraghic civilization, which constructed impressive megalithic structures between the 18th and the 12th centuries BCE. The first accounts of Sardinia are from Greek sources but relate more to myth than to historical reality. An African or Iberian hero, Norax, named the city of Nora; Sardus, a son of Hercules, gave the island its name; and one of his nephews, Iolaus, founded the city of Olbia.Perra Mario, 1993, La Sardegna nelle fonti classiche (Sardinia in classical sources), Editrice S'Alvure, Oristano Greek colonization of the city of Olbia has been confirmed by recent archaeological excavations. Towards the end of the 6th century BC, Sardinia was conquered by the Carthaginians and in 238 BC it was occupied by the Romans for , with a period under the dominion of the Vandals in the 5th and 6th centuries CE.
Early medieval rulers
Godas (Died 533) According to Procopius,De bello Gothico, IV 24. Godas was a Vandal governor of Sardinia who rebelled against his king, Gelimer, who ruled northern Africa, Sardinia and Corsica. Procopius wrote that Godas behaved like a king but that it was a short-lived kingdom.De bello Wandalico. Godas was defeated and killed in 533 by an expedition from Carthage led by Gelimer's brother, Tzazo.Procopius, De Bellus III.24.1; translated by Dewing, vol. 2 pp. 196–97 Shortly afterwards, Roman troops sent by Byzantine emperor Justinian I and led by his general Belisarius totally annihilated the Vandal kingdom and Sardinia returned to Roman administration.Procopius, De Bellus III.25; translated by Dewing, vol. 2 pp. 201ff
Judges
Before the Kingdom of Sardinia was founded, the rulers of the island were known as archons (ἄρχοντες in Greek) or "judges" (iudices in Latin, judices in Sardinian, giudici in Italian).C. Zedda and R. Pinna (2007), La nascita dei giudicati, proposta per lo scioglimento di un enigma storiografico, Archivio Storico Giuridico Sardo di Sassari, vol. 12. http://www.archiviogiuridico.it/Archivio_12/Zedda_Pinna.pdf F. Pinna (2010), "Le testimonianze archeologiche relative ai rapporti tra gli arabi e la Sardegna nel medioevo", Rivista dell'Istituto di storia dell'Europa mediterranea, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 4. The island was organized into one "judicatus" from the 9th century. After the Muslim conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, the Byzantines (who ruled Sardinia) could no longer defend their isolated far western province. In all likelihood a local noble family came to power, still identifying themselves as vassals of the Byzantines but in reality independent since communication with Constantinople was very difficult. Of those rulers, only two names are known: Salusios (Σαλούσιος) and the protospatharios Turcoturios (Tουρκοτούριος),1) Κύριε βοήθε τοῦ δοῦλου σου Tουρκοτουρίου ἅρχωντος Σαρδινίας καί τής δούλης σου Γετιτ 2) Tουρκοτουρίου βασιλικου πρωτοσπαθαρίου και Σαλουσίου των ευγενεστάτων αρχόντων.) R. CORONEO, Scultura mediobizantina in Sardegna, Nuoro, Poliedro, 2000Antiquitas nostra primum Calarense iudicatum, quod tunc erat caput tocius Sardinie, armis subiugavit, et regem Sardinie Musaitum nomine civitati Ianue captum adduxerunt, quem per episcopum qui tunc Ianue erat, aule sacri palatii in Alamanniam mandaverunt, intimantes regnum illius nuper esse additum ditioni Romani imperii." - Oberti Cancellarii, Annales p 71, Georg Heinrich (a cura di) MGH, Scriptores, Hannoverae, 1863, XVIII, pp. 56-96Crónica del califa 'Abd ar-Rahmân III an-Nâsir entre los años 912-942,(al-Muqtabis V), édicion. a cura de P. CHALMETA - F. CORRIENTE, Madrid,1979, p. 365 Tuesday, August 24th 942 (A.D.), a messenger of the Lord of the island of Sardinia appeared at the gate of al-Nasir ... asking for a treaty of peace and friendship. With him were the merchants, people Malfat, known in al-Andalus as from Amalfi, with the whole range of their precious goods, ingots of pure silver, brocades etc. ... transactions which drew gain and great benefits who probably reigned some time in the 10th and 11th centuries. They were still closely linked to the Byzantines, both by a pact of ancient vassalageTo the Archont of Sardinia: a bulla with two gold bisolida with this written: from the very Christian Lord to the Archont of Sardinia. (εὶς τὸν ἄρχοντα Σαρδανίας. βούλλα κρυσῆ δισολδία. "κέλευσις ὲκ τῶν φιλοχρίστων δεσποτῶν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα Σαρδανίας".) Reiske, Johann Jakob: Leich, Johannes Heinrich, eds. (1829). Constantini Porphyrogeniti Imperatoris De Ceremoniis Aulae Byzantinae libri duo graece et latini e recensione Io. Iac. Reiskii cum eiusdem commentariis integris. Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae 1 (Leipzig (1751-54) ed.). Bonn: Weber. pag. 690 and culturally, with the use of the Greek language (in a country of the Romance language) and Byzantine art. In the early 11th century, Muslims based in Spain attempted to conquer the island.F. CODERA, Mochéid, conquistador de Cerdeña, in Centenario della nascita di Michele Amari. Scritti di filologia e storia araba; geografia, storia, diritto della Sicilia medioevale; studi bizantini e giudaici relativi all’Italia meridionale nel medio evo; documenti sulle relazioni fra gli Stati italiani e il Levante, vol. II, Palermo 1910, pp. 115-33, p. 124 The only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles.B. MARAGONIS, Annales pisani a.1004-1175, ed. K. PERTZ, in MGH, Scriptores, 19, Hannoverae, 1861/1963, pp. 236-2 and Gli Annales Pisani di Bernardo Maragone, a cura di M. L.GENTILE, in Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, n.e., VI/2, Bologna 1930, pp. 4-7. 1017. Fuit Mugietus reversus in Sardineam, et cepit civitatem edificare ibi atque homines Sardos vivos in cruce murare. Et tunc Pisani et Ianuenses illuc venere, et ille propter pavorem eorum fugit in Africam. Pisani vero et Ianuenses reversi sunt Turrim, in quo insurrexerunt Ianuenses in Pisanos, et Pisani vicerunt illos et eiecerunt eos de Sardinea The Christians won but afterwards the previous Sardinian kingdom had been undermined and was divided into four small judicati: Cagliari (Calari), Arborea (Arbaree), Gallura, Torres or Logudoro. List of judges of Arborea, c. 1070–1410 List of judges of Cagliari, c. 1060–1258 List of judges of Gallura, c. 1070–1288 List of judges of Logudoro, c. 1060–1259
Occasionally, these rulers took the style of king (rex): 1113–1128 Constantine I, Judge of Torres 1128–1150 Gonario II, Judge of Torres
Nominal kings Some rulers obtained the title King of Sardinia (Rex Sardiniae) by grant of the Holy Roman Emperor, despite the emperor itself not having any sovereignty over the island, which made this a mere title with no effective authority over Sardinia: Barisone II of Arborea, who was the crowned King of Sardinia (1164–1165) by Emperor Frederick I but officially renounced his title in a peace treaty with the other judices in 1172. Enzo of Sardinia from the Hohenstaufen (1238–1245), who was the illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II and was appointed by his father as King of Sardinia (1238–1245). In 1249, he was captured by his enemies and imprisoned in Bologna, where he died 23 years later. Philip of Sicily, second son of Charles I of Anjou and his first wife Beatrice, was elected king of Sardinia by the local Guelphs in 1269, but without the pope's consent. He died childless in 1278.
Kings of Sardinia and Corsica In 1297, James II of Aragon received royal investiture from Pope Boniface VIII and obtained the title King of Sardinia and Corsica (Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae); however, the Aragonese did not take possession of the island until 1323, after a victorious military campaign against the Pisans. The Sardinian royal title did not have a specific line of succession and all kings used their own primary title. The kingdom was initially called (Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica), changed in 1460 to (Kingdom of Sardinia), in that it was originally meant to also include the neighbouring island of Corsica, which had been effectively ruled by Genoa since 1284 until its status as a Genoese land was eventually acknowledged by Ferdinand II of Aragon, who dropped the last original bit mentioning Corsica in 1479; since then, the coinage minted since the establishment of the kingdom also bore the reference to Sardinia only. From 1297 until 1861, there were 24 kings through seven dynasties that ruled Sardinia.
House of Barcelona (Aragon), 1323–1410
||James II of Aragon1323–1327||||10 August 1267Valenciason of Peter I and Constance of Sicily||Isabella of Castile1 December 1291 No childrenBlanche of Anjou29 October 129510 childrenMarie de Lusignan15 June 1315 No childrenElisenda de Montcada25 December 1322 No children||5 November 1327Barcelonaaged 60 |- | Alfonso IV of Aragon1327–1336|| ||1299Naplesson of James II of Aragon and Blanche of Anjou|| Teresa d'Entença13147 childrenEleanor of Castile2 children || 27 January 1336Barcelonaaged 37 |- | Peter IV of Aragon1336–1387 || ||5 October 1319Balaguerson of Alfonso IV and Teresa d'Entença||Maria of Navarre13382 children Leonor of Portugal1347No childrenEleanor of Sicily27 August 13494 children || 5 January 1387Barcelonaaged 68 |- | John I of Aragon1387–1396|| ||27 December 1350Perpignanson of Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily||Martha of Armagnac27 March 13731 childYolande of Bar13803 children || 19 May 1396Foixàaged 46 |- | Martin of Aragon1396–1410 || || 1356Gironason of Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily||Maria de Luna13 June 13724 childrenMargarita of Aragon-Prades17 September 1409No children||31 May 1410Barcelonaaged 54
Coat of arms
House of Trastámara, 1412–1516
| Ferdinand I of Aragon1412–1416 || || 27 November 1380Medina del Camposon of John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon||Eleanor of Alburquerque13948 children|| 2 April 1416Igualadaaged 36 |- | Alfonso V of Aragon1416–1458|| || 1396Medina del Camposon of Ferdinand I and Eleanor of Alburquerque||Maria of Castile1415No children|| 27 June 1458Naplesaged 52
Coat of arms
Kings of Sardinia House of Trastámara, 1412–1516