Pope Martin IV

Reign: 1281 – 1285
Life: 1220–1285

He was the last French pope to hold his court in Rome before the papacy moved to Avignon. Before his election, Simon de Brion was a prominent French cleric who served as chancellor to Louis IX of France and was made a cardinal by Pope Urban IV in 1261. His papacy was marked by close dependence on Charles of Anjou, whom he appointed Senator of Rome, and by significant political conflicts, including the excommunication of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, which ended the fragile union between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches established at the Second Council of Lyon in 1274. Martin IV also faced the Sicilian Vespers uprising and excommunicated Peter III of Aragon, declaring a crusade against him in an unsuccessful attempt to maintain Angevin control over Sicily. Due to political instability and hostility in Rome and Orvieto, Martin IV spent much of his pontificate outside the city and died in Perugia in 1285.

During Pope Martin IV's reign, Edward I of England ruled England, Denis I of Portugal ruled Portugal, and Kublai Khan ruled China.

The World During Their Reign

The most notable rulers who held power elsewhere at the same time, from European courts to Ottoman, Mughal, and Chinese thrones.

Meanwhile in history

One “meanwhile in history” story each week: who ruled where, and what was happening on thrones across the world.

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