The Marquisate of Montferrat (in brick red) in the context of late 15th century Italy.

Arms of Montferrat (House of Aleramo): Argent a chief gules

The March (also margraviate or marquisate) of Montferrat was frontier march of the Kingdom of Italy during the Middle Ages. It was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Western Liguria was constituted as the marca Aleramica ("Aleramic march") for Aleram in 961. Originally a county, it was raised to become the Duchy of Montferrat in 1574. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1135x1625, 471 KB) Political map of Italy in early 1494, before the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII of France, created by MapMaster. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1135x1625, 471 KB) Political map of Italy in early 1494, before the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII of France, created by MapMaster. ... Mark or march (or various plural forms of these words) are derived from the Frankish word marka (boundary) and refer to a border region, e. ... The medieval Kingdom of Italy was a state originally comprising the northern two thirds of Italy, which formed from the break-up of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... This article is about the medieval empire. ... Events Byzantine Empire recaptures Crete from Muslim control Ani made the capital of Armenia by the Bagratid dynasty Haakon I of Norway squashed the rebelling forces of Eric Bloodaxes sons but was killed in the Battle of Fitje. ... The Duchy of Montferrat was created out of what was left of the March of Montferrat after the last Palaeologus heir had died (1533) and the margraviate been briefly controlled by Spain (until 1536). ... Year 1574 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ...

After Otto I of Germany displaced Berengar of Ivrea in Italy, he began, in a manner much like his predecessors Berengar and Hugh of Arles, to redefine the great fiefs of Italy. He reorganised the northwest into three great marches. Western Liguria he gave to Aleram, Eastern Liguria or the marca Januensis he gave to Oberto I, and Turin he made a march for Arduin Glaber. For others with the same name, see Otto I (disambiguation). ... Berengar of Ivrea (?-966), sometimes also referred to as Berengar II of Italy was marquess of Ivrea, and later King of Italy. ... Hugh of Arles was born sometime before 887, the son of Theobald of Arles and of Bertha, illegitimate daughter of Lothar II of Lotharingia. ... Oberto I (also Otbert) (died 15 Oct 975) was Count palatine of Italy. ...

Aleram's descendants were relatively obscure until the time of Rainier in the early twelfth century. Rainier's son William V married a sister of Conrad III of Germany and so greatly increased his family's prestige. He entered into the Italian policies of Conrad and Manuel I Comnenus, setting a Ghibelline precedent for his successors, and with his sons became involved in the Crusades. Boniface I of Montferrat was the leader of the Fourth Crusade and established the Kingdom of Thessalonica in the Latin Empire of Greece. Reuniting Thessalonic, inherited by Boniface' Greek son Demetrius, with Montferrat became a goal of Boniface' Italian heirs, though nothing ever came of their endeavours. Rainier I of Montferrat (1084-c. ... William V of Montferrat (occ. ... King Conrad III (Cunradus rex) in a 13th-century miniature. ... Manuel I Comnenus (Greek: Μανουήλ Α ο Κομνηνός; November 28, 1118 – September 24, 1180), was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. ... The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... Coat of Arms of Montferrat. ... The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (Eugène Delacroix, 1840). ... The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Greek lands. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ...

In the thirteenth century, Montferrat waffled between the Guelph and Ghibelline parties under Boniface II and William VII. They had to wage several long wars against the independence-minded communes of Asti and Alessandria and they became the standard-bearers of a renewed Lombard League forged to fight the spread of Angevin influence into northern Italy. The capital of Montferrat at this time was Chivasso, the centre of the margraves' power. The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in central and northern Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries. ... Boniface II (July 1202 – 12 June 1253), called the Giant, was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1225 until his death. ... William VII (circa 1240 – 6 February 1292), called the Great (Italian: il Gran Marchese), was the twelfth Margrave of Montferrat from 1253 to his death. ... Asti is a city and comune in the Piemonte or Piedmont region, in north-western Italy, about 80 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. ... For the Alessandria meteorite of 1860, see Meteorite falls. ... The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy (although its membership changed in time), including, among others, Milan, Piacenza, Cremona, Mantua, Bergamo, Brescia, Bologna, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Verona, Lodi, and Parma, and even some lords, such as... Original coat of arms of the Capetian House of Anjou. ... Chivasso is a common of 23. ...

In 1305, the last Aleramici margrave died and Montferrat passed to a Greek imperial dynasty, the Palaeologi, who held it until 1533, during a period of diminishing territoriality. In that year, Montferrat was occupied by the Spanish before passing to the illustrious House of Gonzaga in the person of Frederick II. In 1574, the Gonzaga margrave was made a duke and the "march" ceased to exist as an entity, though it had already undergone the significant change from a feudal collection of frontier counties to one of the petty states of Renaissance Italy, divided into two separated territories. Events August 5 - English troops capture William Wallace Wenceslas III becomes king of Bohemia Archbishop of Bordeaux, Bertrand de Got, was elected as Pope Clement V. Philip IV of France accused the Knights Templar of heresy. ... The Aleramici were a medieval family of Italian nobility which ruled various northwestern counties and marches from the tenth to the fourteenth century. ... The Palaeologus family was the last dynasty ruling the Byzantine Empire. ... Events January 25 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne Boleyn, his second Queen consort. ... The Gonzaga family ruled Mantua in Northern Italy from 1328 to 1708. ... Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga by Titian. ... The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ...

See also

• Rulers of Montferrat, for a list of margraves and dukes