Ferdinand II (Naples)

Ferdinand II of Naples on a medal (before 1495)

Ferdinand II "Ferrantino" (born July 26, 1469 in Naples ; † October 7, 1496 ibid) was King of Naples and heir to Brienne.

Life

Ferdinand II was the older son of Alfonso II and grandson of King Ferdinand I of Naples . Alfons, feeling unsafe because of the approaching invasion of Charles VIII of France and the general discontent, abdicated in 1495 in favor of his son. The treason of a party in Naples made it impossible to defend the city against the attack of Charles VIII.

With the help of the Neapolitan nobility, Charles VIII quickly took possession of the empire in 1495 and was crowned in Naples on May 12, while Ferdinand fled to Ischia . But when Charles VIII left Naples with most of the army, Ferdinand returned, after the formation of an Italian unit against him, and defeated the French garrisons. After the terrible behavior of the French during the occupation of the city, the Neapolitans received him with enthusiasm.

It was first defeated in the battle of Seminara of d'Aubigny . However, with the help of the Spanish general Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba y Aguilar , he forced the viceroy Gilbert de Bourbon-Montpensier to capitulate Atella in 1496 , which brought the empire back into the power of Ferdinand. But he died shortly afterwards on September 7th, 1496. He is considered a very talented, energetic, but tough prince.

Ferdinand II married Johanna von Neapel (1478-1518) shortly before his death in 1496 . She was the daughter of his grandfather Ferdinand I from his second marriage to Johanna von Aragón (1454-1517) and thus a half-sister of his father, but 30 years younger than him. The very short marriage remained childless. Ferdinand II was therefore replaced by his uncle Frederick IV of Aragón, who was crowned King Frederick I of Naples . He was soon dethroned and imprisoned. Ferdinand's main heir, however, was his sister Isabella of Naples , Dowager Duchess of Milan.

literature

• Giampiero Brunelli:  Ferdinando II. In: Fiorella Bartoccini (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 46:  Feducci-Ferrerio. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1996, pp. 189-194.
• Claudia Vultaggio: Ferdinand II. Vincent of Aragón . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 4, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-7608-8904-2 , column 366 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Alfonso II	King of Naples 1495–1496	Friedrich I.