279:, marched on Zaragoza intending to end the revolt. The Unionists, realizing they could not cope with the united forces of Peter IV and Lope de Luna, tried to cut them off, taking a central location that was in the hands of the royalists, the village of Épila. Lope de Luna understood that if the Unionists took Épila he would be blocked and unable to receive support from King Peter. Therefore, Lope de Luna immediately left the siege of Tarazona and force-marched towards Épila to stop the Unionist Army.
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the rebellious
Aragonese nobles who remained in reserve. Some of the Aragonese immediately took flight as the Unionist troops were unable to halt the cavalry. Only those most committed to the noble cause entered the battle with the intention of withstanding until nightfall. But eventually resistance broke, causing the deaths or capture of the principal leaders of the Aragonese Union.
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King Peter IV convened the Cortes in
Zaragoza and awarded the title of "Count" to Lope de Luna, the first nobleman in Aragon to get this title without belonging to the royal family. On October 4, 1348, the Parliament of Aragon revoked all privileges and rights of the Unionists and Peter IV destroyed
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The battle began on the morning of July 21 with an attempt by Union troops, led by Juan Ximénez de Urrea, Jr., to occupy Épila. Blasco de Alagon had taken refuge inside Épila, his mission was to defend the place until the core troops of Peter IV joined with those of Lope de Luna. The frontal attack
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river. Unionists tried to hold it until
Castilian mercenaries commanded by Gómez de Albornoz arrived. The inexperienced laborers of Zaragoza could not stop several hundred well-armed and experienced horsemen. The Castilian mercenaries not only made their way to the other side but directly attacked
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At first, Peter IV sought to resolve the situation by resorting to diplomacy: Cortes convened in
Zaragoza and gave their revocation of his decision and instead agreed to confirm the privileges of the Union of 1287. From that moment, the only possible solution was armed conflict.
168:, in which they pledged support for each other against the king of Aragon in the event he attempted to undermine their privileges. The first noble rebellion was later expanded to include the Union of Aragon and major cities, including the city of Zaragoza, capital of the
245:, possibly poisoned by order of Peter IV. At the end of 1287, fighting occurred in the two kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia: First, the Union of Valencia defeated the royalists at Largo and Bétera, but in Aragon, King Peter IV attracted major Aragonese nobles like
416:, Tramacet Jimen Gombal and Perez de Pina. The prisoners were: Juan Ximénez de Urrea, son of the former, who had led the Union army in the action at Valencia and was executed a few days later; and Pedro Fernandez, Lord of Híjar.
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and the village communities of Daroca and Teruel to his aid. In early 1348, Peter IV managed to reach an agreement with the
Valencian Union so that any military activity was concentrated thereafter in the Kingdom of Aragon.
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to mediate conflicts between the
Aragonese and the monarch, so that much of the rights that the nobles, which had been attributed to the Union, were safeguarded in the figure of Justice and extended to all the Aragonese.
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By the spring of 1348 the
Unionists had concentrated all their forces in Zaragoza, reluctant to work with the nobles who still supported the king. For his part, Lope de Luna attempted to take the city of
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was very intense but the
Unionists lacked sufficient troops to overcome the defenses and did not have time to prepare, knowing that Lope de Luna had left the siege of Tarazona and was marching towards
199:. His first major domestic problem occurred in 1347 with the reactivation of the Union of Aragon. The original purpose of the confrontation was in Peter IV's decision to acknowledge his daughter
218:, James immediately went to Zaragoza to seek the support of the Aragonese nobility against the royal decision. The rebelling nobles again swore allegiance to the Union in support of the
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The victory of the royalist troops at the battle of Épila was complete and final. Those killed were the chief supporters of the Union; Juan Ximénez de Urrea, Lord of
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The start of direct conflict between the King of Aragon and much of the nobility and the towns of the kingdom went back to the year 1282, following the conquest of
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to force a confrontation. Repulsed at their first assault, the
Unionists burned the crops and the suburbs in an attempt to force a showdown in the open.
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movement; to which the majority of municipalities soon joined, including the capital. There was also a similar Union organized in the
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Ferdinand himself, who had been captured by
Castilian soldiers, was sent to Castile, fearing that Peter IV would order him executed.
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136:. This battle was the culmination of a long confrontation between a large segment of the nobility and the people of
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the documents of the collected privileges. However, the king extended the powers of the
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Peter IV had become king of Aragon in 1336, following the death of his father
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in Zaragoza in 1283, Peter III was forced to accept the demands of the
448:, Vol.25, Ed. Hugh Chisholm, (Cambridge University Press, 1911), 548.
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against the king, ending with the decisive defeat of the Union.
528:, Vol.25, Ed. Hugh Chisholm, Cambridge University Press, 1911.
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The rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and in the New
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The rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and in the New
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15,000 men of mixed knights, men-at-arms and regular soldiery.
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124:, in what is now Spain, between the supporters of the
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281:There followed the final battle on July 21, 1348.
399:The center of the battle was the bridge over the
267:pacified and the support of the inhabitants of
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8:
376:Juan Ximénez de Urrea, captain of the Union.
474:, (Cambridge University Press, 1978), 909.
353:Alvar García de Albornoz with 600 knights.
15:
461:, Vol.1, (MacMillan Company, 1918), 445.
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187:regarding the privileges of the Union.
520:The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History
472:The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History
7:
207:, which infringed the rights of the
522:, Cambridge University Press, 1978.
120:was fought on July 21, 1348, near
14:
512:, Vol.1, MacMillan Company, 1918.
470:Previté-Orton, Charles William,
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369:Juan Ximénez de Urrea, lord of
350:Lope de Luna, with 400 knights.
237:Following the Cortes decision,
92:Juan Ximénez de Urrea, Lord of
516:Previté-Orton, Charles William
181:General Privilege of the Union
1:
340:Martin Lopez de Pomar-warden.
214:, his own brother. As acting
175:Following the meeting of the
366:Infante Ferdinand of Aragon.
230:remained loyal to the king.
526:The Encyclopædia Britannica
446:The Encyclopædia Britannica
156:and his excommunication by
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544:Battles of the Middle Ages
191:The Union against Peter IV
457:Merriman, Roger Bigelow,
228:Principality of Catalonia
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84:
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506:Merriman, Roger Bigelow
559:14th century in Aragon
345:'Army of Lope de Luna'
301:This section is empty.
85:Commanders and leaders
379:Laborers in Zaragoza.
285:The contending armies
224:Kingdom of Valencia
90:Ferdinand of Aragon
554:Medieval Catalonia
216:Governor of Aragon
203:as heiress to the
79:Peter IV of Aragon
58:Peter IV of Aragon
569:Conflicts in 1348
426:Justice of Aragon
334:Blasco de Alagon.
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170:Kingdom of Aragon
166:Oath of the Union
162:Aragonese Crusade
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99:Don Lope de Luna.
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56:Victory for King
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305:adding to it
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247:Lope de Luna
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185:Alphonso III
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134:Lope de Luna
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68:Belligerents
387:Development
538:Categories
500:References
361:Union Army
329:'In Épila'
324:Royal Army
254:The battle
197:Alfonso IV
144:Background
277:Calatayud
243:Barcelona
201:Constance
154:Peter III
128:and King
265:Valencia
261:Tarazona
130:Peter IV
122:Zaragoza
105:Strength
45:Zaragoza
36:Location
418:Infante
239:Infante
220:Infante
209:Infante
273:Daroca
269:Teruel
226:. The
177:Cortes
150:Sicily
138:Aragon
110:15,000
53:Result
433:Notes
414:Biota
401:Jalón
394:Jalón
371:Biota
212:James
94:Biota
41:Épila
275:and
116:The
28:Date
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152:by
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