The reign of Jaime II was especially interesting from the standpoint of foreign affairs. Having been king in Sicily, Jaime was not disposed to surrender the island to the pope, and left his son, Fadrique, there to govern for him. Soon he changed his mind, and made a similar agreement to that of Alfonso III, whereby the island was to be given to the pope, and Jaime was to employ force, if necessary, to achieve this end. Jaime was soon afterward granted Sardinia and Corsica in compensation for Sicily, although they were to be held as a fief from the pope, and he was to make good his claim by conquering them. The Sicilians were not favorable to Jaime’s agreement, and proceeded to elect Fadrique king, resisting Jaime’s attempts to enforce his treaty. After a long war, peace was made in 1302 on terms whereby Fadrique married the daughter of the Angevin claimant, the papal candidate, and promised the succession to his father-in-law. Toward the close of Jaime’s reign Sardinia was conquered, in 1324, by the king’s eldest son. It was at this time, too, that a body of Catalan mercenaries set up their rule in the duchy of Athens, thus extending Catalan influence to the eastern Mediterranean.[32] [Sidenote: Alfonso “the Benign.”] Alfonso IV “the Benign” (1327-1335) had a brief, not very eventful reign, marked by wars with Pisa and Genoa for the possession of Sardinia, but more especially interesting as a preparation for the reign to follow. Alfonso’s second wife tried to procure a kingdom for her son by a partition of the realm, thus depriving the king’s eldest son, Pedro, of his full inheritance. Alfonso was willing to accede to her wishes, but the energetic character of Pedro, backed by popular sentiment, obliged him to desist from the project. [Sidenote: Pedro “the Ceremonious” and the overthrow of seigniorial anarchy.]