Charles III Anjouski

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Charles III of Anjou, also known as Charles III and as Charles of Durres (; * 1345 in Corrigno Calabro, † 24 February 1386, Visegrad, Kingdom of Hungary), was the Duke of Durres, King of Naples, and King of Jerusalem (1382 In 1381 he created the knight's Order on the ship. In 1383, he inherited the Principality of Ahea after the death of Jacques de Beau.

Origin
Charles was the son of Ludwig Anjouski (* 1324,† 1364), Count of Gravine and Morone of 1336, and of his wife Margarita di Sanseverino. On his father's side, he is the great-grandson of Neapolitan King Charles II of Anjou.

Biography

Initial years
After his father's death, Charles proved to be the oldest male representative of the Sicilian branch of the Anjou dynasty. As a child, therefore, he was adopted by his cousin, the childless Neapolitan queen. Giovanna I, and has been declared legitimate heir to the Neapolitan Crown. His position as successor to the Neapolitan throne was confirmed after the negotiations that ended the Hungarian-Neapolitan wars that began after the murder of Hungarian Prince Andrei Anjouski, who was the first husband of the Neapolitan queen.

At the pope's insistence with the education and upbringing of little Charles Anjouski, Hungarian King Lajos I must take over, therefore in 1365. 11-year-old Charles left Naples and settled in Hungary.

In Hungary
In 1369, the Neapolitan queen arranged a marriage between her successor and his first cousin Margarita of Durres. In Hungary, the young Anjou earns the trust of the Hungarian king, who entrusts him with the rule of Croatia and Dalmatia. So between 1371 and 1378 Charles Anjouski, now Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia, managed to win numerous supporters among local tycoons. In 1379 he was appointed ambassador to Venice and led the negotiations to end the Hungarian-Venezia war.

Conflicts and thrones

Conflict with Giovanna I
In 1381 a conflict between the pope and Neapolitan Queen Giovanna I led to the excommunication of the last and the proclamation of Charles Anjouski as the legitimate king of Naples. In response, the Neapolitan queen adopted Louis of Anjou, a brother of French King Jean II, recognized him as the legitimate heir to the throne and asked him for help against the Pope of Rome. Charles must fight for his legacy in Naples, for which he received support from the Hungarian king. With the help of his Hungarian troops, Charles managed to invade Naples and smash the troops of King Oton von Braunschweig-Luneburg, Giovanna I's new husband, in the Battle of San German. The queen herself is besieged in Castel del Ovo. After a long siege of the castle and an unsuccessful attempt to release it, the Neapolitan queen was captured by Charles and imprisoned at the San Felle Castle. Having failed to persuade her to dissolve the act by which she adopted and recognized as her successor Louis Anjouski, who had arrived and news that she was gathering troops to conquer Naples, Charles Anjouski commanded in 1382