The following is a list of rulers of Sardinia, in particular, of the monarchs of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica from 1323 and then of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1479 to 1861.

Owing to the absence of written sources, little is known of the history of the Nuraghic civilization which constructed impressive megalithic structures between the 18th and the 12th centuries BCE. The first accounts of Sardinia are from Greek sources, but relate more to myth than to historical reality; an African or Iberian hero, Norax, named the city of Nora; Sardo, a son of Hercules, gave the island its name; one of his nephews, Iolaus, founded the city of Olbia.^[1] Greek colonization of the city of Olbia has been confirmed by recent archaeological excavations.^[2] Towards the end of the 6th century BC, Sardinia was conquered by the Carthaginians and in 238 BC it was occupied by the Romans for c.1000 years, with a period under the dominion of the Vandals in the 5th and 6th centuries CE.

• Godas 533–535

According to Procopius,^[3] Godas was a Vandal governor of Sardinia who rebelled against his king, Gelimer, who ruled northern Africa and Sardinia. Procopius wrote that Godas behaved like a king, but it was a short-lived kingdom.^[4] Godas was defeated and killed after two years by an expedition from Carthage led by King Gelimer's brother, Tzazo. Shortly afterwards, Roman troops sent by Emperor Justinianus and led by General Belisarius, totally annihilated the Vandal kingdom and Sardinia returned to Roman administration.

• Vandal coin found in Sardinia depicting Godas (REX CVDA).

Before the Kingdom of Sardinia was founded, the rulers of the island were known as archons (ἄρχοντες in Greek) or "judges" (iudices in Latin, judices in Sardinian, giudici in Italian).^[5][6] The island was organized into one "judicatus" from the 9th century. After the Muslim conquest of Sicily in the 9th century, the Byzantines (who ruled Sardinia) could no longer defend their isolated far western province. In all likelihood a local noble family came to power, still identifying themselves as vassals of the Byzantines but in reality independent since communication with Constantinople was very difficult.

Of those rulers, only two names are known: Salusios (Σαλούσιος) and the protospatharios Turcoturios (Tουρκοτούριος),^[7][8][9] who probably reigned some time in the 10th and 11th centuries. They were still closely linked to the Byzantines, both by a pact of ancient vassalage^[10] and culturally, with the use of the Greek language (in a country of the Romance language) and Byzantine art.

In the early 11th century, Muslims based in Spain attempted to conquer the island.^[11] The only records of that war are from Pisan and Genoese chronicles.^[12] The Christians won but afterwards the previous Sardinian kingdom had been undermined and was divided into four small judicati: Cagliari (Calari), Arborea (Arbaree), Gallura, Torres or Logudoro.

• List of judges of Arborea, c. 1070–1410
• List of judges of Cagliari, c. 1060–1258
• List of judges of Gallura, c. 1070–1288
• List of judges of Logudoro, c. 1060–1259

Occasionally, these rulers took the style of king (rex):

• 1113–1128 Constantine I, Judge of Torres
• 1128–1150 Gonario II, Judge of Torres

Some rulers obtained the title King of Sardinia (Rex Sardiniae) by grant of the Holy Roman Emperor, despite the emperor itself not having any sovereignty over the island, which made this a mere title with no effective authority over Sardinia:^[13]

• Barisone II of Arborea,^[14] 1164–1165 (by Emperor Frederick I, who officially renounced his title in a peace treaty with the other judices in 1165);
• Enzo of Logudoro Hohenstaufen, 1238–1245, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II and was appointed by his father. In 1249, he was captured by his enemies and imprisoned in Bologna, where he died 23 years later.

James II of Aragon received royal investiture from Pope Boniface VIII in 1297 as Rex Sardiniae et Corsicae. The Aragonese did not take possession of the island until 1323, after a victorious military campaign against the Pisans. However, the Sardinian royal title did not have a specific line of succession and all kings used their own primary title.^{[citation needed]}