Bera

Bera was the count of Barcelona who governed from 801 to 820

He was the son of Guillermo I, count of Toulouse (cousin of Chalemagne) and his first wife, the Goth Khunegunda. After 790 his father entrusted him with the areas of Rasez and Conflent, giving those of Rosellon to his son by a second marriage, Gaucelmo. He was married to a woman named Romilla.

The French conquest and Bera's instalation

From 796 Sa'dun al-Ruayni governed Barcelona opposite to the emir of Cordoba. In April of 797 he came to Chalemagne and offered the submission of Barcelona in return for assistance against Cordoba. Charlemagne conviened the Assembly in Toulouse in the spring of 800 and decided to send his son Ludovico Pio to Barcelona with an army which included the nobles Rostany de Genoa, Ademar de Narbona, and Guillermo I de Toulouse. When they arrived at Barcelona to recieve the submission of the city and secure control, they found that Sa'dun had decided to renege his promise. The result was a long seige, probably in the autumn of 800. Sa'dun tried to escape to Cordoba to ask for help, but he was captured, and his position was taken by Harun. The population was badly affected by hunger and the difficulties of the siege and the Christian Goths finally decided to hand over Harun and the city, probably April 3, 801. Ludovico Pio entered the city the next day. Not long after, Bera, the son of Guillermo I de Toulouse, who had particpated in the conquest with his father, was established as count.