Marianus II (Italian:
Mariano II; died
1297) was the
Judge of Arborea from
1241 to his death. With skilled military action, he came to control
more than half of the island of
Sardinia.
By his control of the vast central plains and the rich deposits of
precious metals, he increased the riches of his
giudicato and staved off the general economic
decline affecting the rest of Europe at the time.
He was the son and successor of
Peter II of Arborea of the
Bas-Serra family and local woman named
Sardinia. He succeeded to the throne at a young age under the
regency of
William of Capraia, a
distant relative.
William was the son of Bina de Lacon, widow
of Peter I, and Hugh of Capraia, Count of Prato
.
William and his brothers Anselm and Berthold were pupils at the
court of Peter II, who designated William regent for his son.
On William's death in 1264, Marianus did not take the full reins of
power, but instead had to recognise the co-dominion of William's
son
Nicholas. In 1270, he
imprisoned Nicholas, and in 1274 had him killed and began to govern
himself, though he was soon opposed by Berthold's son
Anselm, who held Cagliari.
Marianus was a close ally of the
Republic of Pisa, the most powerful force
on Sardinia in the mid-thirteenth century, and received Pisan
citizenship on 17 June 1265. He often lived in Pisa and there he
met his wife, a daughter of
Andreotto Saraceno Caldera. In
1287, he married his son
John with
Giacomina, daughter of
Ugolino
della Gherardesca, of whom he was a partisan. Marianus was
widowed by 1293.
In 1274, he embarked on a series of belligerent adventures to
extend his power into Cagliari and
Logudoro.
He conquered Monforte on the Nurra and
restored it, leaving an epigraph now in the museum of Sassari
. In
1277, his conquests were recognised by
Pope John XXI. He had annexed part of
Montiferru as far as
Monte
Acuto with all its castles. He thus divided the Logudorese
giudicato into a south and north. He was appointed
vicar general of Logudoro.
In 1284, Marianus solicited the aid of
Peter III of Aragon to retake Cagliari.
In 1287, Anselm was defeated and killed.
On 4 January 1295, he made a political about turn and left the
third part of Cagliari to Pisa. A little later, he took part with
his
Gherardeschi in-laws in the siege
of
Villa di Chiesa, defended by the
Guelphs of
Donoratico.
He was wounded and took refuge in San Leonardo di Siete Fuentes,
where, according to some sources, he was poisoned in 1297 by the
Pisans who wanted to extend their authority in Cagliari to the
Argentiera
of Cixerri
.
Asides from his son and successor, John, he left a daughter and an
illegitimate son named Barisone (died 1305).