At the time when Ramón Berenguer I (1035-1076) became count of Barcelona, Catalonia was a federation of counties, acknowledging the ruler of Barcelona as overlord. Possessed already of Barcelona and Gerona, Ramón Berenguer soon acquired two more counties, which had been left by his father to other sons. He extended his frontiers at the expense of the Moslems, and laid the foundations of the later Catalonian power in southern France through marriage alliances with princes of that region. It was in his reign, too, that the Catalan code of the _Usáticos_, or _Usatges_ (Usages, or Customs), was compiled, though at the instance of his powerful vassals, who wanted their privileges reduced to writing. By the end of his reign he had united five Catalonian counties and many other territories under his rule, including almost as much land in southern France as he possessed in Spain. No further progress was made until the reign of Ramón Berenguer III (1096-1131), who, through inheritance, without civil wars, acquired all of the Catalonian counties but two and a great part of southern France. He also waged wars against the Moslems, though perhaps the most notable thing about them was that the Pisans fought as his allies. Indeed, he established commercial and diplomatic relations with the various Italian republics,--a beginning of Spain’s fateful connection with Italy. Ramón Berenguer IV (1131-1162) inherited only the Spanish portions of his father’s domain, but extended his authority over Tortosa, Lérida, and other Moslem regions, being a notable warrior. In 1150 he married the daughter of the king of Aragon, and in 1164 his son by this marriage united Aragon and Catalonia under a single rule. _Aragon_ [Sidenote: The beginnings of Aragon and the union with Catalonia.]