Siege of Villa di Chiesa

1323 battle in Sardinia
Siege of Villa di Chiesa

Medieval walls of Iglesias
Date28 June 1323-7 February 1324
Location
Iglesias, Sardinia
Result Aragonese victory
Belligerents
Crown of Aragon
Giudicato of Arborea		 Republic of Pisa
Commanders and leaders
Alfonso IV of Aragon
Hugh II of Arborea		 Vico Ronselmini
Iacopo da Settimo
Strength
1,000+
several siege engines		 250 knights
272 men-at-arms
128 archers
600 townsfolk
Casualties and losses
heavy unknown
  • v
  • t
  • e
Conquest of Sardinia
  • Villa di Chiesa
  • Portoscuso
  • Lucocisterna
  • Gulf of Cagliari

The siege of Villa di Chiesa (today Iglesias) was carried out by the army of the Crown of Aragon (under the command of Alfonso IV of Aragon) and of the giudicato of Arborea, between the summer of 1323 and the winter of 1324. It represented the first act of the Aragonese conquest of Pisan Sardinia, for the creation of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Siege

The siege was launched on the 28 June 1323. The Aragonese-Arborea army could count on thousand men and several siege engines, while the Pisan town of Villa di Chiesa provided for his defence of 250 knights, 1,000 troops, which included 128 crossbowmen, and 600 "townspeople", as well as of massive defensive walls.[1]

Soon the hot and humid weather and the malaria epidemics decimated the besieging army. The Aragonese also suffered numerous defections;[1] many in fact, given the unexpected long duration of the war, returned to the Iberian lands well before the end of the military operations.

For months the crossbowmen of Villa di Chiesa inflicted heavy losses on the Aragonese army that could not penetrate inside the walls. The Aragonese-Arborense alliance, to force the defenders to surrender by attrition, decided to cut all forms of supply to the besieged city.

The city surrendered on 7 February 1324, after eight months of siege. At the entrance of the Iberian troops in the city everything edible had been consumed, according to reports, the besieged ate even mice, cats, dogs, and birds before capitulating.

Aftermath

The Aragonese continued with their march to Castel di Castro, defeating another Pisan army at the battle of Lucocisterna, on the 29 February.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Casula 2012.

Bibliography

  • Casula, Francesco Cesare (1994). La storia di Sardegna.
  • Casula, Francesco Cesare (2012). Il Regno di Sardegna-Vol.01.
  • Ramon Muntaner, La conquista della Sardegna nelle cronache catalane, a cura di Giuseppe Meloni, Ilisso, 1999, ISBN 88-85098-88-6.
  • Antonio Arribas Palau, La conquista de Cerdeña por parte de Jaime II de Aragón, 1952.

39°19′00″N 8°32′00″E / 39.3167°N 8.5333°E / 39.3167; 8.5333