THE 'N'ESTERN MEDITERRAJ\EAN KINGDOMS 1200-1500the lands of the Knights of the Temple, which were expropri-
ated by the crown-dominated Order of Montesa. Internal con-
solidation was a major theme of the reign; Aragon-Catalonia
recovered in significant measure from the effects of the War
of the Vespers, and the king wisely bided his time before
attempting renewed conquests in the Mediterranean towards
the end of the reign.
James well understood that the interests of the house
of Barcelona in the western Mediterranean could be fatally
compromised by internal conflict within his Spanish lands.
He began his reign as a conciliator, travelling widely to make
his presence felt at a time when political dissent within
Catalonia and his other realms was still simmering; he then
permitted regular sessions of the Corts in Catalonia and
the Cortes in Aragon, so that the internal opposition that had
been focused in the 'Unions' of Catalan and Aragonese
barons and towns against Peter III and Alfonso III was effect-
ively defused. Another sign of James's political abilities can
be found in his relationship with the other Spanish powers.
Casting envious eyes on Murcia, the Catalan-populated terri-
tory ruled by Castile to the immediate south of the kingdom
of Valencia, James conspired with a disaffected claimant to
Castile, and invaded Murcian territory, eventually winning
recognition of control over Alacant. He made up to the
Castilians by helping them in a campaign against the remain-
ing Muslim kingdom in Spain, Granada, in the vain hope of
acquiring control of the celebrated port of Almeria. Such
ambitious projects were not entirely successful, but they reveal
a constant urge to play a part in the management of Iberian
affairs equal to that of the kings of Castile.~^1
THE CATAlAN COMPANY IN GREECEElsewhere in the Muslim world James II of Aragon found a
chance to establish far more cordial relationships. The king
of Aragon pursued an intermittently vigorous Levant policy
which brought him recognition as the effective protector of- L.P. Harvey, Islamic Spain, 1250-1500 (Chicago, 1991), pp. 167-9,
171-80.