Carlos IV Emperor of the Spanish, was one of many in the long line of the Caroline monarchs. Carlos IV in particular was named in the memory of Carlos II, conqueror of the Moors, who completed the reconquista. Such prestige attached to the names, Carlos, Muno and Guzmán ensured they were used frequently throughout early Spanish history. Yet soon the name Carlos became tainted and cursed among the line of Spanish Emperors. After all, every Spanish monarch named Carlos had perished to wounds on the battlefield, one way or another...
The ascension of Carlos IV to the throne would have been seen as natural for the Spanish nobility by 1161. For 130 years, the succession had passed down the direct line of the Cantabrian monarchs. However it seemed as though not all were thrilled with the prospect of Carlos as Emperor. Princess Ermengarda of France, Carlos sister was an ambitious little brat, married off to the new King of France in the final days of Carlos III's reign. It seemed she had numerous backers in court as well.
If not for the intrigue of Carlos' spymaster Rodrigo, the plot may have grown. But now each member was under supervision. Many were directly confronted about their participation, whilst others were blackmailed and slandered behind the scenes. Carlos gave Rodrigo all the power he required to break the conspiracy.
Even Carlos' uncle Rosendo was involved in the plot. Such an influential noble must be dealt with before the entire court turns against their Emperor. With direct orders from Carlos, Rodrigo imprisoned Rosendo with help from the Santa Hermandad. No longer would he plot his kinslaying regicide.
Carlos was still without an heir for the longest period of time into his reign. It wasn't until 1193 that his wife Gerbega gave birth to a healthy baby daughter, Anderquina. Yet the succession was not yet secure. A female heir would give the nobility just cause to intervene. Only chaos could come from a Queen, a male heir was what Carlos desired.
Yet Anderquina was still better than nothing and to mark the joyous occasion, Carlos announced the organisation of a Grand Tournament to be held for the first time not in the capital, but in Granada. The transformation of the Alhambra fortress into a palace was finished, complete with water gardens and all manner of other luxuries. Carlos spent an increasing amount of time away from the capital Leon in Alhambra palace instead, and so demanded the tournament come to him.
The tournament had Ayyub II of the Algarve declared victor in the melee, whilst Henrique of Náxera earned a commendable second and Arias Vela third.
During the tournament, a group of Holy Knights from Rome greeted the Emperor. The Knights claimed to be from the Order of the Knights of Calatrava. The Order, recently patronised by a papal bull, declared its intentions to defend the Holy Land Spain from the infidel. Carlos granted the Knights privileges to build castles throughout Hispania in order to build up the strength of the Holy Knights of the faith.
The celebrations were cut short however when news from the East reached Granada, Caliph Fadl II, a boy of 11, on the advice of his zealous court had marched his troops into the Holy Land, declaring a jihad to reclaim Jerusalem. The Pope urged all righteous Christians to defend the Crusader State, in what became the Fourth Crusade.
Emperor Carlos IV was quick to pledge to the defence of Jerusalem. Thousands of righteous Spanish souls began to march to ports such as Barcelona or Lisbon to board ships destined for the Holy Land in the Orient.
But news from the East was grave. Mujahideen had overwhelmed the Christian defence, leaving only around 8000 knights loyal to King Manuel of Jerusalem. Spanish and Papal reinforcements were required to fend off the invading hordes of the infidel.
By winter of 1165 the Spanish relief force had arrived in Acre, making a headway for Jerusalem. 11,000 troops would defend the city, whilst 8,000 would guard the crossing into Egypt under the command of Carlos, with another 13,000 scouting out into St. Abraham. Turkish Sipahi proved a new deadly addition to the Islamic armies, bolstering the Caliph's forces to new heights.
Although, Spanish forces looked able to hold St. Abraham, a new force had invaded from Egypt. An army of 23,000 Algerian soldiers burst into Darom, overwhelming the puny Spanish defence and forcing the army to rout north to Ascalon.
The Algerian forces then advanced on the Christian position at St. Abraham, outnumbering the Spanish forces near 2:1. The defeated army had nowhere to go but east towards Monreal, where they were slaughtered to a man by Turkish horsemen.
The situation was unsustainable, hundreds of thousands of Mujahid had joined the fight against Jerusalem and the Spanish forces had been slaughtered. Carlos had to flee. The Navy docked at Ascalon, picking up any remaining Spanish forces. Yet the infidel was not done yet. 8,000 Sipahi ambushed Carlos' troops.
Tired and beaten, Carlos united his troops and held off the infidel miraculously, allowing himself and his remaining troops to flee to their ships. Jerusalem was lost, but not forgotten...
With the defeat of the Spanish forces, and limited aid coming from the rest of the Christian world, King Manuel of Jerusalem formally surrendered his kingdom to Caliph Fadl II, who granted him amnesty to return to his family in Spain. The Fadlid Caliphate had won, but their conquests were not yet complete...
Some good news did brighten Carlos' day however. Soon after his return to Spain, in 1169 Empress Gerbega gave birth to a baby son named Alonso. Carlos now had the male heir he craved and so the succession was secure.
Spurred on by the success of the Caliphate, a prominent Moorish landholder in Andalusia declared his intention to liberate Al-Andalus from Emperor Carlos IV, calling upon all Muslim faithful to answer the call to arms.
With much difficulty the rebels were defeated at Baeza, as 20,000 Mujahid clashed with the Santa Hermandad and Carlos' knights. Without the reinforcements from Carlos' levies it would have been unlikely that the Brotherhood could have held on against the Moors.
With the loss of Jerusalem resting upon Carlos' shoulders, a heavy burden hung over the Emperor. No longer did he wish to be seen around court. The Emperor gradually attended less and less of his council meetings, allowing Duke Juan-Alfonso, his most trusted vassal to take his place. Instead, Carlos dedicated his time to hunting. News of the fabled
white stag lurking in the woods near Leon caught Carlos' attention and so the Emperor set out to find the creature.
After many months of searching, Carlos finally came across the most noble beast. Completely at his mercy, the stag had no way of escape. But Carlos did not strike. He would not slay such a noble animal, whose only fault was being different to its coloured brethren.
With hunting out of the picture, Carlos turned instead to board games, his friend Juan-Alfonso introduced the Emperor to a game called
'Chess'. The game was particularly popular among the Moors, and some of the southern nobility, however the game had never interested the Spanish Emperor. After many days of lessons and intense study, Carlos became quite a master at the so-called 'Game of Kings', defeating his tutor with surprising ease.
Carlos had found his passion in board games and so dedicated much of his time to the craft, becoming something of a game master, renowned through court for his skill at Chess and other such games like Backgammon. The Emperor then commissioned the
Libro de los jeugos detailing a various number of games played around the Spanish court.
One day whilst venturing around the gardens of the Palacio del Duero, Carlos spied a group of toads lining the path through the gardens towards the river. The toads numbered around 10 to 15. Such a sight signaled a bad omen, something was wrong.
It didn't take long for the evil to reveal itself. News from Rome reached Carlos. The King of Lombardy had been visited by a prominent English scholar called John Wycliffe, who had preached his doctrines of church reform onto the Italian king. Soon all of Italy was in an uproar of religious strife as Lollardy griped the populace, driven on by the tales of the Cathar struggle.
Further east the Caliphate had grown, taking much of Eastern Anatolia. This moved the Caliph one step closer to taking Constantinople. Although the Byzantines were heretics they will still Christians overall and far better than having the Caliphate in control of Greece and the Bosphorus. The omen was true. These indeed were dark times for all.
The Emperor dared not strike against the Caliph, he had neither the drive, nor the manpower. However Lombardy was a much more realistic target. Diplomatically isolated and in civil war, Corsica was a ripe fruit waiting to be hand picked by Carlos. The island would also improve trade links with Arles, benefiting both Spanish and Arlesean merchant vessels.
Spanish troops marched over the Alps to Padania, where only a handful of Lombard troops defended their lands. Half of the army was to besiege Milan, whilst the rest would take Montferato. Lombard forces had regrouped however and launched an attack on Carlos' troop besieging the Castello di Gabian.
The battle was tough as the Lombard heretics held on to defend their island. The renowned knight Tranquillo, known as the
'Drunk Knight' was present at the battle. Tranquillo was known to dive into battle as drunk as a newt. He would charge in headlong, smashing all those in his way without a second thought. It just so happened that Emperor Carlos IV was in the way of Tranquillo...
The Emperor yielded, hoping the knight was spare the life of an Emperor to take back to his lord for a reward, ending the war. However the knight was too inebriated to act straight or even contemplate Carlos' response...
And so Emperor Carlos IV was slain on the field of battle by famed the
'Drunk Knight' of Novellara. The death of Carlos meant the throne passed to his son, Alonso, a mere boy of 8.
The death of Carlos IV ended an era of powerful monarchs within Spain. The subjects of the Empire began to take advantage of their positions of new-found power, with a mere 8 year old boy on the throne. The real question now had to be answered, who was the real master, the ruler, or his subjects?
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