Catalan counties

The Catalan counties were those surviving counties of the Hispanic March and the southernmost part of the March of Gothia that were later united to form the Principality of Catalonia.
In 778, Charlemagne led the first military Frankish expedition into Hispania to create a military buffer zone between the Frankish Empire and the Emirate of Córdoba, occasionally known as the "Hispanic March". The territory that he subdued would in later centuries become the kernel of Catalonia. In 781, Charlemagne made his 3-year-old son Louis the Pious king of Aquitaine, who was sent there with regents and a court in order to secure the southern border of his kingdom against the Arabs and Moors and to expand southwards into Muslim territory.
These counties were originally primitive feudal entities ruled by a small military elite. Counts were appointed directly by and owed allegiance to the Carolingian emperor. The appointment of heirs could not be taken for granted. However, with the rise of the importance of the Bellonids and strong figures among them such as, Sunifred and Wilfred the Hairy, and the weakening of Carolingian royal power, the appointment of heirs eventually become a formality. This trend resulted in the counts becoming independent of the Carolingian crown under Borrell II in 987, and began calling themselves dei gratia comes and dux catalanensis or even Hispaniae subjogator and propugnator et murus christiani populi.
The many counties were to be soon absorbed into the County of Barcelona. The Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV, married the heiress of the Kingdom of Aragon, Petronilla of Aragon, in 1150, uniting as equals the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona. Thus, their son, Alfonso II of Aragon, became the king of the Crown of Aragon.

Creation

The Frankish conquest of the area from Muslim control began in 759, shortly after the capture of Narbonne, with the establishment of the County of Rosselló, the first of what would later become the Catalan counties to be established. In 785, Rostany was made Count of Girona, the first one south of the Pyrenees. Besalú and Empúries were originally part of Girona. When Urgell and Cerdanya were conquered by Carolingian forces around 798, they were also made counties of the Hispanic March and Borrell was made count. He took a very active part in the subsequent conquest of Osona in 799 and the successful siege of Barcelona in 801. He was made count of Osona in 799, perhaps as a reward for his services. In 801, in the greatest military triumph of his long career, Louis the Pious, son of Charlamagne, took Barcelona from its Muslim rulers, making it the greatest city of the Hispanic March's littoral. The County of Barcelona was established and Bera was made its count. In 812, Count dilo of Girona died and the county also passed to Bera.
In 804 and 805, Borrell participated in the expeditions to Tortosa, but not in the subsequent campaigns of 808 and 809. On Borrell's death in 820, Osona was given to Rampon and Urgell and Cerdanya went to Aznar Galíndez. Also in 820, Bera went into political disfavour and lost the countships of Barcelona and Girona, which also went to Rampon.
Around 813, Empúries became a separate county under Ermenguer, and in 817, it was united to the County of Roussillon. From 835 to 844, Sunyer I was count of Empúries and Peralada while Alaric I was count of Roussillon and Vallespir.
Besalú was made a separate county in 878 for Radulf on the condition that it pass to the heirs of Wilfred the Hairy on his death. It went to Miro I the Younger in 912.
Barcelona soon overshadowed the other counties in importance, especially during the reign of Wilfred the Hairy in the late 9th century. At that time, the power of the Carolingian Empire was waning and the neglected Hispanic March counties were practically independent of its royal authority. In the early 11th century, Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona, was able to submit to Sancho III of Navarre as his suzerain, even though he was still legally a vassal of Robert II of France. With the accession of Robert's father, Hugh Capet, the first non-Carolingian king, in 987, most of the counts refused to pay homage to the new dynasty. Over the next century, most of the counties were absorbed or became vassals of the County of Barcelona. In 1137, the Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV married the heiress of the Kingdom of Aragon Petronella, daughter of the Aragonese king Ramiro II, thus uniting the County of Barcelona and its vassals with the Kingdom of Aragon to create the Crown of Aragon. After 1173, the Catalan counties, including the vassals of Barcelona, fell under the legal definition of Catalonia, which was officially defined as a principality in 1343. Several of the later Aragonese kings re-created some of the counties as appanages for younger sons.

Catalan Counties and Viscounties

Appointed rulers

Ruler	Born	Reign	County	Death	Family	Notes
Rostany	?	785–801/11	Girona	?	?
Borrell I	?	798–820	Cerdanya Urgell Osona	820	?	After his death his counties were annexed by the County of Aragon.
Odilon	?	801/11–817	Girona	?	?
Beggo	755 Son of Gerard I of Paris and Rotrude	806 – 28 October 816	Pallars Ribagorça	28 October 816 aged 60-61
Bera	770	790–820	Razès Conflent	844 aged 73-74?	?	Nominated to three different counties in the Hispanic March. Conflent merged in Razès.
Bera	770	801–820	Barcelona	844 aged 73-74?	?	Nominated to three different counties in the Hispanic March. Conflent merged in Razès.
Bera	770	817–820	Girona Besalú	844 aged 73-74?	?	Nominated to three different counties in the Hispanic March. Conflent merged in Razès.
Ermenguer	?	813–817	Empúries	?	?
Gaucelm	796 Second son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde	817–832	Roussillon Empúries	834 aged 37-38
Gaucelm	796 Second son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde	828–832	Razès	834 aged 37-38
Rampon	770	820–825	Girona Besalú Barcelona Razès	825 aged 54-55?	?	Osona merged in Barcelona from 820.
Bernard of Septimania	795 First son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde	825–832 835–844	Girona Besalú Barcelona Razès	844 aged 48-49		Married Dhuoda of Gascony, daughter of the Duke of Gascony.
Bernard of Septimania	795 First son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde	835–844	Pallars Ribagorça	844 aged 48-49		Married Dhuoda of Gascony, daughter of the Duke of Gascony.
Berengar the Wise	790 Son of Unruoch II of Friuli and Ingeltrude	28 October 816 – 835	Pallars Ribagorça	835 aged 44-45	Unrochids
Berengar the Wise	790 Son of Unruoch II of Friuli and Ingeltrude	832–835	Girona Besalú Barcelona Roussillon Empúries Razès	835 aged 44-45	Unrochids
Sunifred I	? First son of Bello of Carcassonne	834–848	Cerdanya	848	Bellonids	Married Ermesinde, and had offspring, which succeeded him; See Hereditary period below.
Sunifred I	? First son of Bello of Carcassonne	838–848	Urgell	848	Bellonids	Married Ermesinde, and had offspring, which succeeded him; See Hereditary period below.
Sunifred I	? First son of Bello of Carcassonne	844–848	Girona Besalú Barcelona	848	Bellonids	Married Ermesinde, and had offspring, which succeeded him; See Hereditary period below.
Sunyer I	? Second son of Bello of Carcassonne	835–848	Roussillon	?	Bellonids	Brother of Sunifred I.
Sunyer I	? Second son of Bello of Carcassonne	835–842 843–848	Empúries	?	Bellonids	Brother of Sunifred I.
Alaric	?	842–843	Empúries	?	?
Argila	? Son of Bera	844–846	Razès	846	?	Son of Count Bera I.
Bera II	?	846–849	Razès	849	?	Also Count of Carcassonne.
Miro Eutili	?	849–850	Razès	850	?	Also Count of Carcassonne.
Fredelo	? Son of Fulcoald of Rouergue and Senegund	844–852	Pallars Ribagorça	852	?	Also Count of Carcassonne.
Fredelo	? Son of Fulcoald of Rouergue and Senegund	850–852	Razès	852	?	Also Count of Carcassonne.
Wilfred	?	848–852	Girona	?	?
William of Septimania	826 Son of Bernard of Septimania and Dhuoda of Gascony	848–850	Barcelona Roussillon Empúries	850 aged 24-25		Also Duke of Gascony.
Aleran of Troyes	?	850–852	Barcelona Roussillon Empúries	?	House of Blois	Joint rulers.
Isembard of Vergy	?	850–852	Barcelona Roussillon Empúries	?	House of Vergy	Joint rulers.
Odalric	? Son of Hunfrid, Margrave of Istria	852–858	Girona	864	?
Humfrid	?	858–864	Roussillon Barcelona	864	Hunfridings
Humfrid	?	858-862	Empúries Girona	864	Hunfridings
Otger	?	862–870	Empúries Girona	?	?
Bernard of Gothia	? Son of Bernard II, Count of Poitiers and Belihildis	864–878	Roussillon Barcelona	After 879		Also Count of Poitiers.