county · Iberia

County of Barcelona

801 CE – 1162 CE · capital Barcelona

The leading Catalan county, whose counts united Catalonia and, through marriage with Aragon in 1137, founded the Crown of Aragon.

Origins

Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine, captured Barcelona from the Muslims in 801 after a long siege, and Charlemagne made it the main county of the Marca Hispanica. Its first count, the Goth Bera, was deposed in 820. In 878 Wilfred the Hairy received it, and after his death in 897 his heirs inherited it without royal appointment.

Rule and society

The counts gradually gathered Girona, Osona and other counties into their hands. After Almanzor sacked Barcelona in 985, Borrell II stopped seeking Frankish protection. Ramon Berenguer I is traditionally credited with the first Usatges of Barcelona, the core of Catalan law, and bought rights over Carcassonne. Ramon Berenguer III gained Provence by marriage, and the city prospered through trade and tribute from the taifas.

Decline and legacy

In 1137 Ramon Berenguer IV was betrothed to Petronilla, heiress of Aragon, and governed both lands. Their son Alfonso II succeeded in Barcelona in 1162 and in Aragon in 1164, and the county became the core of the Crown of Aragon.

Lineage

County of Girona 785 CE – 897 CEMarca Hispanica 795 CE – 987 CECounty of Cerdanya 798 CE – 1117 CECounty of Osona 798 CE – 1111 CECounty of Besalú 878 CE – 1111 CECounty of BarcelonaPrincipality of Catalonia 1162 CE – 1716 CECrown of Aragon 1162 CE – 1716 CE

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Barcelona. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-barcelona
MLA
“County of Barcelona.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-barcelona. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “County of Barcelona.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-barcelona.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Barcelona’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-barcelona (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻