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CHARLES (APLES) 299 Joseph I., having previously renounced all rights arising from this marriage to the Austrian do- minions, and adhered to the pragmatic sanc- tion. Four years afterward he succeeded his father as elector of Bavaria. His first act now was to protest against the pragmatic sanction, and after the death of Charles VI. in 1740 he put forth his claims to the Austrian succession, which had already been urged by his father, immediately on the accession of Maria Theresa. In the midst of the general opposition to which this accession gave rise, he succeeded in form- ing an alliance with France and Spain, at Nymphenburg, May 18, 1741. With the assist- ance of French troops he captured Linz, where he was proclaimed archduke of Austria; and ad- vancing further, surprised and captured Prague, where he caused himself to be proclaimed king of Bohemia. Almost immediately afterward he was unanimously chosen German emperor, and proceeded to Frankfort, where, on Feb. 21, 1742, he was crowned by his brother, the elector of Cologne. The Hungarians, how- ever, rose in favor of Maria Theresa, whose army occupied Munich, reconquered Upper Austria and Bohemia, and compelled Charles to resort to flight. The efforts of his general, Seckendorf, enabled him to return to Munich, April 19, 1743 ; but in June he was again ex- pelled by the victories of Maria Theresa's troops. About the same time his allies, the French, were defeated near Dettingen by the English allies of Maria Theresa. Only by his alliance with Frederick of Prussia (May 22, 1744), who invaded Bohemia, and by the ex- ploits of Seckendorf, was he enabled to turn the tide and regain his capital ; a success which he accomplished just before his death. IV. NAPLES. CHARLES OF ANJOU, king of Naples and Sic- ily, count of Anjou and Provence, born about 1220, died in 1285. He was the youngest brother of Louis IX. of France, and married Beatrix, the heiress of Provence, thus becom- ing related to Henry III. of England and Rich- ard of Cornwall, the king elect of Germany, who had married the two eldest sisters of Bea- trix. He accompanied his brother in his first crusade, landing with him in Egypt in 1249, and being taken with him a prisoner by the Saracens. On his liberation he came back to Provence, where he had first to reestablish his authority in some of the large cities. He great- ly assisted his mother, Blanche of Castile, in her regency during the king's absence in Pal- estine. After the death of the emperor Conrad IV. the kingdom of the Two Sicilies was offer- ed to him by Pope Urban IV., in defiance of the rights of the Hohenstaufen. Crowned at Rome, he marched against Manfred, the natural brother of Conrad IV., who had been proclaim- ed king by the Sicilians. At Grandella, near Benevento, he won a great battle in 1266. Here his rival was slain, and he assumed at once over the reluctant Italians a power which he maintained by unmitigated severity. The numerous adherents of the Hohenstaufens, aware of the popular feeling, invited young Conradin, son of Conrad, to Italy. This prince, then scarcely 16 years old, entered his hereditary states, where he was enthusiastically received. Everything seemed to promise him victory ; his army was numerous and full of confidence ; but Charles, with forces comparatively small, suc- ceeded in defeating his opponent in 1268, at the battle of Tagliacozzo, and making him his prisoner. He subsequently had him executed on the principal square of Naples, after going through the mockery of a trial. The friends and adherents of the prince were also unmer- cifully dealt with, and the unpopularity of the conqueror was still further increased by the in- solence of his French soldiery. In 1270 Charles sailed for Tunis, to join his brother Louis IX. in his second crusade. On his arrival he found Louis dead ; but he succeeded in compelling the bey of Tunis to acknowledge himself his tribu- tary. On his return he planned the conquest of the eastern empire, but his schemes were baffled by the insurrection commonly called the "Sicilian vespers," March 30, 1282. Sicily placed itself under the protection of Don Pedro of Aragon, and Charles tried in vain to recon- quer the island. He was overpowered by the superior cunning of Pedro and the prowess of the admiral Roger de Loria. During this hard contest it was proposed that a duel should take place at Bordeaux between the two princes, a proposal eagerly accepted by Charles, although he was already 60 years old ; but the offer was only made by Pedro to gain time, and the Ara- gonese did not appear on the appointed day. Charles repaired in haste to Italy, hoping to take revenge on the battle field ; but on arri- ving at Gaeta he learned that his son had been defeated and taken prisoner in a naval engage- ment with the Aragonese admiral. This mis- fortune preyed heavily upon his mind ; the in- flexible warrior now became as wavering as he had been resolute. His death soon followed. He was succeeded by his son, Charles II., call- ed the Lame, who began to reign in 1289, after his liberation. He also tried in vain to recon- quer Sicily, and died in 1309. CHARLES III., of Durazzo, king of Naples and Hungary, born in 1345, assassinated in Buda, February, 1386. He was the son of Louis de Duras, or Durazzo, count of Gravina, who had rebelled against Queen Joanna I. of Naples, and died in prison. The queen had adopted Charles as her son, but in 1380 set him aside in favor of Louis duke of Anjou, father of Charles V. of France. Charles of Durazzo then entered into an alliance with Louis the Great, king of Hun- gary, the bitter enemy of Joanna. At the in- stigation of Pope Urban VI. and of the king of Hungary, Charles levied an army and set out to invade Naples. Passing through Rome, he was crowned by the pope, entered Naples in July, 1381, defeated the troops of the queen, and made a prisoner her fourth husband, Otho