The
Aragonese Crusade or
Crusade of Aragon, a part of the larger
War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by
Pope Martin IV against the
King of Aragon,
Peter III the Great, in 1284 and 1285. Because of the recent conquest of
Sicily by Peter, the Pope declared a crusade against him and officially deposed him as king, on the grounds that Sicily was a papal fief: Peter's grandfather and namesake,
Peter II, had surrendered the kingdom as a fief to the
Holy See. Martin bestowed it on
Charles,
Count of Valois, son of the
French king,
Philip III, and nephew of Peter III.