List of monarchs of Sardinia

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; one of his nephews, Iolaus, founded the city of Olbia.[1] Greek colonization of the city of Olbia has been confirmed by recent archaeological excavations.[2] 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.1000 years, with a period under the dominion of the Vandals in the 5th and 6th centuries CE.

• Godas 533–535

According to Procopius,[3] Godas was a Vandal governor of Sardinia who rebelled against his king, Gelimer, who ruled northern Africa and Sardinia. Procopius wrote that Godas behaved like a king, but it was a short-lived kingdom.[4] 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.

• 
  Vandal coin found in Sardinia depicting Godas (REX CVDA).

Before the Kingdom of Sardinia was founded, the rulers of the island were known as archons (ἄρχοντες in Greek) or "judges" (iudices in Latin, judices in Sardinian, giudici in Italian).[5][6] 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 (Σαλούσιος) and the protospatharios Turcoturios (Tουρκοτούριος),[7][8][9] 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[10] 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.[11] The only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles.[12] 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.

• List of judges of Arborea, c. 1070–1410
• List of judges of Cagliari, c. 1060–1258
• List of judges of Gallura, c. 1070–1288
• List of judges of Logudoro, c. 1060–1259

Occasionally, these rulers took the style of king (rex):

• 1113–1128 Constantine I, Judge of Torres
• 1128–1150 Gonario II, Judge of Torres

Some rulers obtained the title King of Sardinia (Rex Sardiniae) by grant of the Holy Roman Emperor:

• Barisone II of Arborea,[13] 1164–1165 (by Emperor Frederick I, who officially renounced his title in a peace treaty with the other judices in 1165);
• Enzo of Logudoro Hohenstaufen, 1238–1245, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II and was appointed by his father. In 1249, he was captured by his enemies and imprisoned in Bologna, where he died 23 years later.

None of these rulers had effective authority over the whole island. In 1269, an anti-imperial faction in Logudoro elected Philip of Sicily as king of all Sardinia, but this was never confirmed by the emperor or the pope and Philip never visited the island.

• 
  Attributed Coat of Arms of Enzo of Sardinia, according to Matthew Paris.

James II of Aragon received royal investiture from Pope Boniface VIII in 1297 as Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae. The Aragonese did not take possession of the island until 1323, after a victorious military campaign against the Pisans. However, the Sardinian royal title did not have a specific line of succession and all kings used their own primary title.

House of Barcelona (Aragon), 1323–1410

Main articles: Kings of Aragon and Crown of Aragon

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
James II of Aragon 1323–1327		10 August 1267 Valencia son of Peter I and Constance of Sicily	Isabella of Castile 1 December 1291 No children Blanche of Anjou 29 October 1295 10 children Marie de Lusignan 15 June 1315 No children Elisenda de Montcada 25 December 1322 No children	5 November 1327 Barcelona aged 60
Alfonso IV of Aragon 1327–1336		1299 Naples son of James II of Aragon and Blanche of Anjou	Teresa d'Entença 1314 7 children Eleanor of Castile 2 children	27 January 1336 Barcelona aged 37
Peter IV of Aragon 1336–1387		5 October 1319 Balaguer son of Alfonso IV and Teresa d'Entença	Maria of Navarre 1338 2 children Leonor of Portugal 1347 No children Eleanor of Sicily 27 August 1349 4 children	5 January 1387 Barcelona aged 68
John I of Aragon 1387–1396		27 December 1350 Perpignan son of Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily	Martha of Armagnac 27 March 1373 1 child Yolande of Bar 1380 3 children	19 May 1396 Foixà aged 46
Martin of Aragon 1396–1410		1356 Girona son of Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily	Maria de Luna 13 June 1372 4 children Margarita of Aragon-Prades 17 September 1409 No children	31 May 1410 Barcelona aged 54

House of Trastámara, 1412–1516

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Ferdinand I of Aragon 1412–1416		27 November 1380 Medina del Campo son of John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon	Eleanor of Alburquerque 1394 8 children	2 April 1416 Igualada aged 36
Alfonso V of Aragon 1416–1458		1396 Medina del Campo son of Ferdinand I and Eleanor of Alburquerque	Maria of Castile 1415 No children	27 June 1458 Naples aged 52