William I of Cagliari

William I (c. 1160–1214), royal name Salusio IV, was the judike of Cagliari, meaning "King", from 1188 to his death. His descendants and those of his immediate competitors intermarried to form the backbone of the Italian Aristocracy, and ultimately their descendants in the Medici clan are precursors to, and definers of later royalty and claims thereto.^{[citation needed]}

William was an infamous politician and warlord in medieval Sardinia. A member in the medieval Sardinian "Judges", he consolidated his power through both military force and political intrigue. He was a soldier, a military man, and a merchant. He assisted his father in the conquest of Cagliari, and later accompanied his Archbishop (Ubaldo Lanfranchi, Archbishop of Pisa) on the Third Crusade. He claims to have led the force defeating the Visconti in a civil war, only to later hand Pisa back to them while marrying into the Visconti family. Being closely related to many high ranking clerics, he maintained close relations with the papacy until his death. Allegedly, he was a man of some culture, as he was in reportedly in contact with the Provençal troubadours Peire de la Caravana and Peire Vidal, likely to contract their services on behalf of his wealthy patrons.^[1]