Judicate of Cagliari Iudicatus Karalitanus Càlaris | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1020–1258 | |||||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||||
.svg) Judicate of Cagliari | |||||||||||
| Capital | Santa Igia | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Sardinian,Latin | ||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||||
| Government | Judicate (kingdom) | ||||||||||
| Judge | |||||||||||
• 1089 – 1102 | Constantine I of Cagliari | ||||||||||
• 1214–1232 | Benedetta of Cagliari | ||||||||||
• 1256 – 1258 | William III of Cagliari | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1020 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1258 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
TheJudicate of Cagliari (Sardinian:Judicadu de Càralis / Càlaris,Italian:Giudicato di Cagliari) was one of thefour kingdoms or judicates (iudicati, literally "judgeship") into whichSardinia was divided during theMiddle Ages.
The Judicate of Cagliari occupied the entire southern portion of the island and was composed of thirteen subdivisions calledcuratoriae. It bordered the judicates ofArborea to the northwest andLogudoro andGallura to the northeast.
The exact date of founding of the Judicate of Cagliari is unknown. After theByzantine Empire's conquest of Sardinia in 534 as part of theVandalic War, the island became one of the provinces of theExarchate of Africa and was governed by a magistrate,Iudex Provinciae, resident inCagliari.
Sardinia remained aByzantine province until the early 8th century, whenArab andBerber expansionism and piracy on the Mediterranean began to make communications with the Imperial government atConstantinople very difficult. The Arabsbegan their conquest ofSicily in 827, and Sardinia itself endured severalMoorish raids. As the Empire found it increasingly difficult to supply and defend its westernmost provinces, the Byzantineiudices (judges) heading the local administration in Sardinia were forced to govern autonomously and thus gradually becamede facto independent.
Cagliari, the capital in turn of theRoman,Vandal and Byzantine provinces of Sardinia, was historically the largest and most important of the cities on the island. However, starting from the 8th to 9th century the city was abandoned because it was too exposed to attacks byMoorishpirates. Apparently many inhabitants left Cagliari and founded a new town namedSanta Igia in an area close to the Santa Gilla swamp to the west of Cagliari, but distant from the sea. Santa Igia then became the capital of the Judicate of Cagliari, one of the four kingdoms that evolved when Imperial power receded in the West.
The Judicate of Cagliari comprised a large area of theCampidano plain, the mineral-richSulcis region, and the mountainousOgliastra.
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The firstgiudice well known to history isTorchitorio I of theLacon-Gunale family. His birth name was Orzocco, Torchitorio being a dynastic name. The first ruling dynasty, the Lacon-Gunale, probably arose from the merger of two families, theLacon and theGunale (or Unale). Perhaps in honor of two members of these families (Salusio de Lacon andTorchitorio de Gunale) all rulers of Cagliari traditionally adopted a moniker added to their birth name, alternating betweenSalusio andTorchitorio.[1] Torchitorio I was judge at a time whenWestern monasticism was being introduced into Sardinia as part of theGregorian reform of thePapacy. Cagliari, like the othergiudicati, was placed under papal andPisan authority. Torchitorio was a sponsor of the monks ofMonte Cassino who were arriving on the island to bring economic, technological, and religious renewal. Torchitorio succeeded in having his son succeed him around 1089, whenConstantine I appeared with the title ofrex et iudex Caralitanus: "King and Judge of Cagliari."
Among the traditions of these earlygiudici was that of confirming one of one's predecessor's acts, usually donations of land or grants of privileges.Constantine II patronised the monasteries founded by monks fromSaint-Victor inMarseille. However, surging Pisan religious houses came into conflict the Provençal monasteries, while thearchbishop of Cagliari came into conflict with not only thearchbishop of Pisa, but also Constantine. Nevertheless, the 1150s saw restoration and renovation of sacred art and edifices. Along withGonario II of Torres andComita I of Gallura, Constantine pledged fidelity to thearchbishop of Pisa. All this suggests strong allegiance to the reformed papacy despite the still near-autonomous status of Cagliari at the time.
Constantine II's daughter succeeded him with her husbandPeter. The Pisans tried to remove him after her death and they sentObert, Margrave of Massa, to conquer thegiudicato. The son of Obert and one of the daughter ofConstantine II of Cagliari,William I became then the new judge of Cagliari.
William spent his reign (1188 – 1214) in constant wars with Arborea, Gallura, and Logudoro. He arrested and imprisoned the judge of Arborea,Peter I and ruled Arborea in his name. He tried to conquer Gallura, but was rebuffed byLamberto Visconti. He was on fairly good terms with the Pisans throughout his career, but on his death, he left only daughters.Benedetta, his heiress, was married toBarisone III of Arborea and thus those twogiudicati were united, to be torn apart on his death (1217). Cagliari slowly declined thereafter, as various factions fought for the control of Benedetta. Pisan interference became stronger than ever. In 1256,John tried to throw off the Pisan yoke and allied with theRepublic of Genoa, but was assassinated by Pisan agents. John was succeeded by his cousinWilliam III of Cagliari; soon Pisa and the other Giudicati attacked Cagliari besieging Santa Igia. Cagliari lost the war and in 1258 the history of thegiudicato came to a sudden close; his territory was partitioned in three parts that were assigned to theDella Gherardesca family, Arborea and Gallura while Pisa maintained the control overCastel di Castro.
