Sardinia is traditionally known to have been initially ruled by the Nuragic civilization, which was followed by Greek colonization, conquest by the Carthaginians, and occupied by the Romans for around a thousand years, including the rule of the Vandals in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. Before the foundation of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was ruled by judices, and some rulers obtained the title of King of Sardinia by the Holy Roman Emperor but did not gain effective authority to rule it.
The title of as Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae (King of Sardinia and Corsica) was first established in 1297, when Pope Boniface VIII gave a royal investiture to James II of Aragon. The Crown of Aragon started effectively ruling Sardinia in 1323. Until 1479, when Ferdinand II of Aragon acknowledged Corsica as part of the Republic of Genoa, rulers of Sardinia used the nominal title of Rex Corsicae (King of Corsica). Corsica had been effectively ruled by Genoa since 1284 and the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica had been renamed simply Kingdom of Sardinia in 1460, when it was incorporated into a sort of confederation of states, each with its own institutions, called the Crown of Aragon, and united only in the person of the king.
Monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861 included the House of Barcelona (1323âÂÂ1410) and the House of Trastámara (1412âÂÂ1516), the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg (1516âÂÂ1700) and the House of Bourbon (1700âÂÂ1708), and the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg (1708âÂÂ1720). In 1720, the Kingdom of Sardinia was ceded to the House of Savoy, which ruled SardiniaâÂÂPiedmont until 1861, when it changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy (1861âÂÂ1946). During its existence from 1297 to 1861, 24 sovereigns from seven different dynasties succeeded one another on the throne of the kingdom.
Owing to the absence of written sources, little is known of the history of the Nuraghic civilization, which constructed impressive megalithic structures between the 18th and the 12th centuries BCE. The first accounts of Sardinia are from Greek sources but relate more to myth than to historical reality. An African or Iberian hero, Norax, named the city of Nora; Sardo, a son of Hercules, gave the island its name; and one of his nephews, Iolaus, founded the city of Olbia. Greek colonization of the city of Olbia has been confirmed by recent archaeological excavations. Towards the end of the 6th century BC, Sardinia was conquered by the Carthaginians and in 238 BC it was occupied by the Romans for c. 1,000 years, with a period under the dominion of the Vandals in the 5th and 6th centuries CE.
According to Procopius, Godas was a Vandal governor of Sardinia who rebelled against his king, Gelimer, who ruled northern Africa, Sardinia and Corsica. Procopius wrote that Godas behaved like a king but that it was a short-lived kingdom. Godas was defeated and killed after two years by an expedition from Carthage led by King Gelimer's brother, Tzazo. Shortly afterwards, Roman troops sent by Emperor Justinianus and led by General Belisarius, totally annihilated the Vandal kingdom and Sardinia returned to Roman administration.
Before the Kingdom of Sardinia was founded, the rulers of the island were known as archons (á¼ÂÃÂÃÂÿýÃÂõàin Greek) or "judges" (iudices in Latin, judices in Sardinian, giudici in Italian). The island was organized into one "judicatus" from the 9th century. After the Muslim conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, the Byzantines (who ruled Sardinia) could no longer defend their isolated far western province. In all likelihood a local noble family came to power, still identifying themselves as vassals of the Byzantines but in reality independent since communication with Constantinople was very difficult. Of those rulers, only two names are known: Salusios (ãñûÿÃÂÃÂùÿÃÂ) and the protospatharios Turcoturios (TÿàÃÂúÿÃÂÿÃÂÃÂùÿÃÂ), who probably reigned some time in the 10th and 11th centuries. They were still closely linked to the Byzantines, both by a pact of ancient vassalage and culturally, with the use of the Greek language (in a country of the Romance language) and Byzantine art. In the early 11th century, Muslims based in Spain attempted to conquer the island. The only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles. The Christians won but afterwards the previous Sardinian kingdom had been undermined and was divided into four small judicati: Cagliari (Calari), Arborea (Arbaree), Gallura, Torres or Logudoro.
Occasionally, these rulers took the style of king (rex):
Some rulers obtained the title King of Sardinia (Rex Sardiniae) by grant of the Holy Roman Emperor, despite the emperor itself not having any sovereignty over the island, which made this a mere title with no effective authority over Sardinia:
In 1297, James II of Aragon received royal investiture from Pope Boniface VIII and obtained the title King of Sardinia and Corsica (Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae); however, the Aragonese did not take possession of the island until 1323, after a victorious military campaign against the Pisans. The Sardinian royal title did not have a specific line of succession and all kings used their own primary title. The kingdom was initially called (Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica), changed in 1460 to (Kingdom of Sardinia), in that it was originally meant to also include the neighbouring island of Corsica, which had been effectively ruled by Genoa since 1284 until its status as a Genoese land was eventually acknowledged by Ferdinand II of Aragon, who dropped the last original bit mentioning Corsica in 1479; since then, the coinage minted since the establishment of the kingdom also bore the reference to Sardinia only. From 1297 until 1861, there were 24 kings through seven dynasties that ruled Sardinia.
|- ||James II of Aragon<br />1323–1327||||10 August 1267<br />Valencia<br />son of Peter I and Constance of Sicily||Isabella of Castile<br />1 December 1291 <br />No children<br /><br />Blanche of Anjou<br />29 October 1295<br />10 children<br /><br />Marie de Lusignan<br />15 June 1315 <br />No children<br /><br />Elisenda de Montcada<br />25 December 1322 <br />No children||5 November 1327<br />Barcelona<br />aged 60 |- | Alfonso IV of Aragon<br />1327–1336|| ||1299<br />Naples<br />son of James II of Aragon and Blanche of Anjou|| Teresa d'Entença<br />1314<br />7 children<br /><br />Eleanor of Castile<br />2 children || 27 January 1336<br />Barcelona<br />aged 37 |- | Peter IV of Aragon<br />1336–1387 || ||5 October 1319<br />Balaguer<br />son of Alfonso IV and Teresa d'Entença||Maria of Navarre<br />1338<br />2 children<br /><br /> Leonor of Portugal<br />1347<br />No children<br /><br />Eleanor of Sicily<br />27 August 1349<br />4 children || 5 January 1387<br />Barcelona<br />aged 68 |- | John I of Aragon<br />1387–1396|| ||27 December 1350<br />Perpignan<br />son of Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily||Martha of Armagnac<br />27 March 1373<br />1 child<br /><br />Yolande of Bar<br />1380<br />3 children || 19 May 1396<br />FoixÃÂ<br />aged 46 |- | Martin of Aragon<br />1396–1410 || || 1356<br />Girona<br />son of Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily||Maria de Luna<br />13 June 1372<br />4 children<br /><br />Margarita of Aragon-Prades<br />17 September 1409<br />No children||31 May 1410<br />Barcelona<br />aged 54
|- | Ferdinand I of Aragon<br />1412–1416 || || 27 November 1380<br />Medina del Campo<br />son of John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon||Eleanor of Alburquerque<br />1394<br />8 children|| 2 April 1416<br />Igualada<br />aged 36 |- | Alfonso V of Aragon<br />1416–1458|| || 1396<br />Medina del Campo<br />son of Ferdinand I and Eleanor of Alburquerque||Maria of Castile<br />1415<br />No children|| 27 June 1458<br />Naples<br />aged 52
|- | John II of Aragon<br />1458–1479|| || 29 June 1398<br />Medina del Campo<br />son of Ferdinand I and Eleanor of Alburquerque|| Blanche I of Navarre<br />6 November 1419<br />4 children<br /><br />Juana EnrÃÂquez<br />April 1444<br />2 children ||20 January 1479<br />Barcelona<br />aged 80 |- | Ferdinand II of Aragon<br />1479–1516|| || 10 March 1452<br />son of John II of Aragon and Juana Enriquez|| Isabella I of Castile<br />19 October 1469<br />5 children<br /><br />Germaine of Foix<br />1505<br />No children ||23 January 1516<br />Madrigalejo<br />aged 63 |- | Joanna of Castile<br />1516–1555|| || 6 November 1479<br />daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile|| Philip IV of Burgundy, <br />1496<br />6 children|| 12 April 1555<br />Madrigalejo<br />aged 75
Nominally co-monarch of her son Charles, Joanna was kept imprisoned almost during her whole reign.
|- | Charles I of Spain<br />co-king with his mother Joanna<br />1516–1556 || || 24 February 1500<br />Ghent<br />son of Philip I of Castile and Joanna of Castile||Isabella of Portugal<br />10 March 1526<br />3 children ||21 September 1558<br />Yuste<br />aged 58 |- | Philip II of Spain<br />1556–1598 || || 21 May 1527<br />Valladolid<br />son of Charles IV and Isabella of Portugal||Maria of Portugal<br />1543<br />1 child<br /><br />Mary I of England<br />1554<br />No children<br /><br />Elisabeth of Valois<br />1559<br />2 children<br /><br />Anna of Austria<br />4 May 1570<br />5 children||13 September 1598<br />Madrid<br />aged 71 |- | Philip III of Spain<br />1598–1621|| || 14 April 1578<br />Madrid<br />son of Philip I and Anna of Austria||Margaret of Austria<br />18 April 1599<br />5 children||31 March 1621<br />Madrid<br />aged 42 |- | Philip IV of Spain<br />1621–1665|| || 8 April 1605<br />Valladolid<br />son of Philip II and Margaret of Austria||Elisabeth of Bourbon<br />1615<br />7 children<br /><br />Mariana of Austria<br />1649<br />5 children<br /><br />||17 September 1665<br />Madrid<br />aged 60 |- | Charles II of Spain<br />1665–1700|| || 6 November 1661<br />Madrid<br />son of Philip III and Mariana of Austria||Maria Luisa of Orléans<br />19 November 1679<br />No children<br /><br />Maria Anna of Neuburg<br />14 May 1690<br />No children<br /><br />||1 November 1700<br />Madrid<br />aged 38
|- | Philip V of Spain<br />1700–1708|| || 19 December 1683<br />Versailles<br />son of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Anna of Bavaria||Maria Luisa of Savoy<br />2 November 1701<br />4 children<br /><br />Elisabeth of Parma<br />24 December 1714<br />7 children<br /><br />||9 July 1746<br />Madrid<br />aged 62
Sardinia was taken over by Habsburg troops in 1708 during the War of the Spanish Succession in the name of the Habsburg claimant to the Spanish throne, "Charles III". At the end of the war, Sardinia remained in Charles' possession and, by the Treaty of Rastatt, was ceded to him.
| Emperor Charles VI<br />1708–1720 || || 1 October 1685<br />Vienna<br />son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleonore-Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg||Elisabeth Christine<br />1 August 1708<br />4 children|| 20 October 1740<br />Vienna<br />aged 55
Spanish forces invaded the kingdom in 1717 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. The island was under Spanish military occupation until 1720, when it was given back to Emperor Charles VI, who in turn ceded it to the Duke of Savoy by the Treaty of The Hague.
The monarchs of the House of Savoy ruled from their mainland capital of Turin but styled themselves primarily with the royal title of Sardinia as superior to their original lesser dignity as Dukes of Savoy; however, their numeral order continued the Savoyard list.
| Victor Amadeus II of Savoy<br />17 February 1720 Р3 September 1730|| || 14 May 1666<br />Turin<br />son of Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy, and Marie Jeanne of Savoy||Anne Marie d'Orl̩ans, Princess of France<br />10 April 1684<br />6 children||31 October 1732<br />Moncalieri<br />aged 66 |- | Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy<br />3 September 1730 Р20 February 1773|| || 27 April 1701<br />Turin<br />son of Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia and Anne Marie d'Orl̩ans, Princess of France||Anne Christine of Sulzbach<br />15 March 1722<br />1 child<br /><br />Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg<br />20 August 1724<br />6 children<br /><br />Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine<br />5 March 1737<br />3 children||20 February 1773<br />Turin<br />aged 72 |- | Victor Amadeus III of Savoy<br />20 February 1773 Р16 October 1796|| ||26 June 1726<br />Turin<br />son of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia and Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg||Maria Antonietta of Spain<br />31 May 1750<br />12 children||16 October 1796<br />Moncalieri<br />aged 70 |- | Charles Emmanuel IV of Savoy<br />16 October 1796 Р4 June 1802|| ||24 May 1751<br />Turin<br />son of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonietta of Spain||Marie Clotilde of France<br />27 August 1775<br />No children||6 October 1819<br />Rome<br />aged 68 |- | Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy<br />4 June 1802 Р12 March 1821|| ||24 July 1759<br />Turin<br />son of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonietta of Spain||Maria Teresa of Austria-Este<br />21 April 1789<br />7 children||10 January 1824<br />Moncalieri<br />aged 64 |- | Charles Felix of Savoy<br />12 March 1821 Р27 April 1831|| ||6 April 1765<br />Turin<br />son of Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Maria Antonietta of Spain||Maria Cristina of Naples and Sicily<br />7 March 1807<br />No children||27 April 1831<br />Turin<br />aged 66 |- | Charles Albert of Savoy<br />27 April 1831 Р23 March 1849|| ||2 October 1798<br />Turin<br />son of Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Carignan and Maria Cristina of Saxony||Maria Theresa of Austria<br />30 September 1817<br />3 children||28 July 1849<br />Porto<br />aged 50 |- | Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy<br />23 March 1849 Р17 March 1861 || ||14 March 1820<br />Turin<br />son of Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria||Adelaide of Austria<br />12 April 1842<br />8 children<br /><br />Rosa Vercellana<br />18 October 1869<br />2 children||9 January 1878<br />Rome<br />aged 57
In 1861, after the annexation of other states in the Italian peninsula, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia passed a law (Legge n. 4671, 17 marzo 1861) adding to the style of the sovereign the title of King of Italy, although the monarchs retained the designation of King of Sardinia. The Savoy-led Kingdom of Sardinia was thus the legal predecessor state of the Kingdom of Italy, which in turn is the predecessor of the present-day Italian Republic.
| Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy<br />17 March 1861 Р9 January 1878 || ||14 March 1820<br />Turin<br />son of Charles Albert of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria||Adelaide of Austria<br />12 April 1842<br />8 children<br /><br />Rosa Vercellana<br />18 October 1869<br />2 children||9 January 1878<br />Rome<br />aged 57 |- | Umberto I of Italy<br />9 January 1878 Р29 July 1900 || || 14 March 1844<br />Turin<br />son of Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy and Adelaide of Austria||Margherita of Savoy<br />21 April 1868<br />1 child||29 July 1900<br />Monza<br />aged 56 |- | Victor Emmanuel III of Italy<br />29 July 1900 Р9 May 1946 || || 11 November 1869<br />Naples<br />son of Umberto I of Italy and Margherita of Savoy||Elena of Montenegro<br />24 October 1896<br />5 children|| 28 December 1947<br />Alexandria<br />aged 78 |- |Umberto II of Italy<br />9 May 1946 Р12 June 1946 || || 15 September 1904<br />Racconigi<br />son of Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Elena of Montenegro || Marie Jos̩ of Belgium<br />8 January 1930<br />4 children|| 18 March 1983<br />Geneva<br />aged 78
The Kingdom of Italy was disestablished by the 1946 Italian institutional referendum, which was held on 2 June 1946, and the Italian Republic was proclaimed.