The Aragonese victory at Sanluri broke the power of the Judicate of Arborea, enabling Aragon's full conquest of Sardinia the following year.
Key Facts
- Date
- 30 June 1409
- Location
- Sanluri, Sardinia
- Arborean commander
- Judge William III of Narbonne
- Aragonese commander
- King Martin I of Sicily
- Aftermath
- Arborean Judicate fell to Aragon the following year (1410)
- Notable site
- s'occidroxiu ('the slaughter') plain near Sanluri
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Judicate of Arborea had long resisted Aragonese domination of Sardinia. By 1409, King Martin I of Sicily led an Aragonese-Sicilian force to the island to decisively suppress Arborean resistance. The Arborean army, composed largely of mercenaries including Genoese crossbowmen and units from France and northern Italy, assembled to confront the invaders near the fortified village of Sanluri.
On 30 June 1409, the Aragonese and Arborean armies clashed at Sanluri. Although outnumbered, the better-trained Aragonese forces successfully split the Arborean army into two separate contingents and destroyed each in turn. William III of Narbonne escaped with a remnant to the castle of Monreale near Sardara, while many Sardinian troops were captured and much of the local population was killed in a plain thereafter called s'occidroxiu.
Although Martin I died shortly after the battle in Cagliari, reportedly from malaria, his victory proved decisive. The Battle of Sanluri did not immediately end the war, but it fatally weakened the Judicate of Arborea, which fell to Aragonese control the following year, completing Aragon's conquest of Sardinia.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Martin I of Sicily.
Side B
1 belligerent
William III of Narbonne.