Counts of Provence - Counts, Within The Empire - House of Barcelona

House of Barcelona

With a lack of success in the Reconquista on their southern frontier, the Catalans turned towards the Mediterranean littoral and northwards. They coveted the region between the Cévennes and the Rhône, then under the control of Toulouse. In 1112, the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer III, married the heiress of Provence, Douce, who was the daughter of the Countess Gerberga of Provence, Gévaudan, Carladais, and part of Rodez. The marriage was probably taken at the urging of the church, which was then in conflict with house of Toulouse. In 1076, Count Raymond IV was excommunicated, but he still lent his support to Aicard, the deposed archbishop of Arles (since 1080). With the count away on the First Crusade, the church took the opportunity to seize the balance of power in the region. This marriage effectively put Provence under Catalan control.

In 1125, Raymond's heir, Alfonso Jordan, signed a treaty whereby his family's traditional claim to the title of "Margrave of Provence" was recognised and the march of Provence was defined as the region north of the lower Durance and on the right of the Rhône, including the castles of Beaucaire, Vallabrègues, and Argence. The region between the Durance, the Rhône, the Alps, and the sea was that of the county and belonged to the house of Barcelona. Avignon, Pont de Sorgues, Caumont and Le Thor remained undivided.

Internally, Provence was racked by uncertainties over the rights of succession. Douce and Ramon Berenguer signed all charters jointly until her death in 1127, after which he alone appears as count in all charters until his death in 1131. At that time, Douce's younger sister, Stephanie was married to Raymond of Baux, who promptly laid claim to the inheritance of her mother, even though Provence had peacefully passed into the hands of her nephew, Berenguer Ramon I.

• 1112–1131 Ramon Berenguer I the Great
• 1131–1144 Berenguer Ramon I, son of previous
• 1144–1166 Ramon Berenguer II, son of previous
  • 1144–1157 Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, as regent (Ramon Berenguer III)
• 1166–1167 Douce II, daughter of previous
• 1167–1173 Alfonso I the Chaste, son of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona, kept the title until his death in 1196

The County of Forcalquier was incorporated into the domains of Alfonso II upon his marriage with Gersande de Forcalquier (1193).

• 1173–1181 Ramon Berenguer III (IV), son of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona
• 1181–1185 Sancho, son of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona
• 1185–1209 Alfonso II, son of Alfonso I
• 1209–1245 Ramon Berenguer IV (V), son of previous
• 1245–1267 Beatrice, daughter of previous, married to Charles of Anjou

Ramon Berenguer IV left no male heirs, so he left the counties of Provence and Forcalquier to his fourth daughter, Beatrice, and her husband, Charles of Anjou.