The Kingdom of Sardinia comprised initially the island of Sardinia, first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire (1297–1720), and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy (1720–1861), giving his name to the entire State. Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the mainland. The kingdom was formed by Pope Boniface VIII from a papal claim to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia in 1297 and bestowed, as a vassal of the Holy See, on James II of Aragon. It was not until 1324 that James launched a military campaign to take control of his kingdom, and not until 1448 that the last resistance fell. In 1416 the first of a long line of viceroys was appointed, and in 1420 the main competing claim to the island was bought out.

From 1516 the Aragonese and by extension the Sardinian crown were in personal union with the Kingdom of Castile and thus formed a part of the much larger Spanish Empire. During this period the Spanish language was introduced for administration. In 1713, following the War of the Spanish Succession, the Kingdom of Sardinia was ceded to the Habsburgs by the Treaty of Utrecht for the loss of their Spanish kingdoms. By the same treaty Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, received the Kingdom of Sicily, supplying him with the coveted royal rank. By 1720 the balance of power had shifted again and the House of Savoy was forced to exchange Sicily with the Habsburgs for Sardinia (Treaty of The Hague). At that time the Kingdom of Sardinia refers to the states of the House of Savoy from 1720 or 1723 onwards (also known as Piedmont-Sardinia), following the award of the crown of Sardinia to King Victor Amadeus II of Savoy under the Treaty of The Hague (1720).

Sardinia ( /sɑrˈdɪniə/, Italian: Sardegna [sarˈdeɲɲa], Sardinian: Sardigna [sarˈdinja]) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus). It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are (clockwise from north) the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.

The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[], romanised as sardus (feminine sarda); that the name had a religious connotation is suggested from its use also as the adjective for the ancient Sardinian mythological hero-god Sardus Pater "Sardinian Father" (misunderstood by many modern Sardinians/Italians as being "Father Sardus"), as well as being the stem of the adjective "sardonic". Sardinia was called Ichnusa (the Latinised form of the Greek Hyknousa), Sandalion, Sardinia and Sardo by the ancient Greeks and the Romans.

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 23,821 km². It is situated between 38° 51' and 41° 15' latitude north and 8° 8' and 9° 50' east longitude. To the west of Sardinia is the Sea of Sardinia, a unit of the Mediterranean Sea; to Sardinia's east is the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is also an element of the Mediterranean Sea.

Josef Strauss (German: Josef Strauß) (August 20, 1827 – July 22, 1870) was an Austrian composer.

He was born in Vienna, the son of Johann Strauss I and Maria Anna Streim, and brother of Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss. His father wanted him to choose a career in the Austrian Habsburg military. He studied music with Franz Dolleschal and learned to play the violin with Franz Anton Ries.

He received training as an engineer, and worked for the city of Vienna as an engineer and designer. He designed a horse-drawn revolving brush street-sweeping vehicle and published two textbooks on mathematical subjects. Strauss had talents as an artist, painter, poet, dramatist, singer, composer and inventor.

He joined the family orchestra, along with his brothers, Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss in the 1850s. His first published work was called "Die Ersten und Letzten" (The First and the Last). When Johann became seriously ill in 1853 Josef led the orchestra for a while. The waltz-loving Viennese were appreciative of his early compositions so he decided to continue in the family tradition of composing dance music. He was known as 'Pepi' by his family and close friends, and Johann once said of him: "Pepi is the more gifted of us two; I am merely the more popular..."