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Principality of Capua Principatus Capuae (Latin) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 861–1139 | |||||||||
 The Principality of Capua shown within Italy in 1000 | |||||||||
| Status | Originally part of the Duchies of Benevento and Salerno, vassal states of the Lombard Kingdom | ||||||||
| Capital | Capua | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Prince | |||||||||
• 887–910 | Atenulf I (first) | ||||||||
• 1127–1156 | Robert II (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• After Pando's proclamation, Capua acts independently | 861 | ||||||||
• Atenulf is victorious in a war of succession and becomes the Prince of Capua | 887 | ||||||||
• Atenulf declares Capua and Benevento inseparable and introduced the principle of co-rule | 899 | ||||||||
• Richard of Aversa conquers Capua | 1058 | ||||||||
• Roger II, the Count of Sicily claims overlordship of Capua | 1127 | ||||||||
• The Normans defeat Pope Innocent. Roger II becomes King of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, and commander of Capua | 1139 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Italy | ||||||||
ThePrincipality of Capua (Latin:Principatus Capuae orCapue, ModernItalian:Principato di Capua) was aLombard (and laterNorman) state centred onCapua inSouthern Italy. Towards the end of the 10th century the Principality reached its apogee, occupying most of theTerra di Lavoro area. It was originally agastaldate, then acounty, within theprincipality of Salerno.[1]
Old Capua was an ancient Italian city, the greatest Roman city of the south. It was the centre of Lombard gastaldate in theduchy of Benevento, although little is known of this part of its history. It first enters history as a Lombard state underLandulf the Old with the assassination of theBeneventan dukeSicard in 839. Landulf and his sons were partisans ofSiconulf of Salerno. In 841, Capua was sacked and completely destroyed bySaracens in the pay ofRadelchis I of Benevento. Landulf and his eldest son,Lando I, took the initiative infortifying the nearby hill of Triflisco on which was built "New Capua": theCapua of today.
A civil war between Benevento and Salerno ensues.[2] In 849,Emperor Louis II ends the civil war by decreeing that Benevento be split into two distinct principates - Benevento and Salerno. In 851, as a part of theDivisio of Louis II, Capua is included as a part of Salerno.[3]
In 861,Pando the Rapacious declared Capua independent of Salerno.[4] On his death in the following year, the succession to the county was thrown into dispute. His son was deposed byBishop Landulf who thus united the ecclesiastical and secular rule of the region asAthanasius was to do near-contemporaneously inNaples. Disputes over the bishopric and the countship befell Capua on Landulf's death and a civil war enveloped the principality betweenPandenulf, the earlier deposed son of Pando, andLando III, another grandson of Landulf I. Salerno allied with Lando and Benevento with Pandenulf. A succession crisis followed in 887 andAtenulf I established himself and his princely status with the aid of the aforementioned Athanasius of Naples. Atenulf would try to avert future succession crises and to vindicate the independent pretensions of Capuaà la those of Benevento and Salerno.
In 899, Atenulf defeatedRadelchis II and conqueredBenevento. He declared Capua and Benevento inseparable and introduced the principle ofco-rule, whereby sons would be associated with their fathers and brothers with each other, a principle soon borrowed by Salerno. Atenulf associated his son,Landulf, as co-prince and built up alliances with the local Greek states, likeNaples andGaeta, which alliances were continued under his successor.
Atenulf also began planning the eventual reconquest of Muslim-occupied territory in the region, but died before his plans came to fruition at theBattle of the Garigliano in 915. Landulf mostly continued the policies of his father and spent most of his career after Garigliano trying to weaken the Byzantine authority in Apulia and the Campania. In this, he was only moderately successful. His son,Landulf II, allied against the Lombard principality of Salerno, but failed to oustGisulf I. Like his father, he attacked Byzantine possessions, but was defeated and forced to submit to nominal Byzantine suzerainty.
Under Landulf's sons, the union of Capua and Benevento broke down although they remained legally bound. During this time,Pandulf Ironhead ruled separately in Capua whileLandulf III ruled in Benevento.Langobardia minor was unified one last time, however, when Pandulf usurped his brother's share from his nephew on Landulf's death in 969 and becamePrince of Salerno in 978. Before his death in 981, Pandulf gained the title ofDuke of Spoleto from EmperorOtto I. Afterward, Pandulf split his dominion between his sons,Landulf IV receiving Benevento-Capua andPandulf II receiving Salerno.[5]
Shortly thereafter, Benevento and Capua split legally, withLandulf IV keeping a Capua much reduced in power. In the 990s, Capua experienced debilitating turmoil as one prince was assassinated, another deposed by theEmperor Otto III, and a third deposed by the citizens.
The old dynasty was reinstalled in 1000 underLandulf VII, who made his brother,Pandulf II of Benevento, regent for his heir,Pandulf II of Capua. Thus, Capua and Benevento were briefly united for the last time.
The chief interest of Lombard Capua in this, its declining period, was the control of a seaport, especially a large and important one, such asGaeta orNaples. Capua experienced a new zenith underPandulf IV, who was deposed twice between his succession in 1016 and his death in 1050. He was originally an ally of the Byzantines and remained allied with them against all his neighbours until the end. His reign was occupied by constant disputes with the church, whose bishops and abbots he treated with disdain, and with the coastal duchies of Naples, Gaeta, andAmalfi. He desired to give Capua a seaport and deposed bothSergius IV of Naples andJohn V of Gaeta. His personal character, however, soon involved him in a war withGuaimar IV of Salerno, who had him deposed by theHoly Roman Emperor, and took his principalities. Despite the importance of Capua in the region, the city declined under Pandulf's successors until it was eventually taken by theNorman allies of Guaimar.
In 1058, a year after the death of Pandulf's weak successor, the Norman countRichard of Aversa conquered Capua, but left the city itself in the control ofLandulf VIII for another four years. Richard immediately increased his prestige with the princely title and his power by the territory which came under his authority. He became a neighbour of thepopes and was both their protector and supporter and also an enemy who spent his last years in excommunication, as did his son and successor,Jordan I, who carved out a chunk of papal territory for the principality. At Richard's death, his family, theDrengot, had a prestige and power to match that of theHauteville family, but they acted in a different sphere of influence: thePapal States andcentral Italy primarily.
With the death of Jordan I, the principality declined fast. From 1090 to 1098, the city of Capua itself was in the hands ofLando, a Lombard count who was raised by the citizens in opposition to the youngRichard II. The latter was only reinstalled with the aid of his fellow Normans and thus Capua became dependent on the Hautevilles and their duchy, though the princes continued to try and influence papal elections and act as papal protectors. With the death of the religiousJordan II in 1127, the principality became the object of desire ofRoger II, who in 1130 united the Sicilian and peninsular domains of his family into the Kingdom of Sicily.
More than a decade of constant war followed thereafter between the Normans and the Lombard principalities, the Papal States, and the Holy Roman Empire.[6] Ultimately during the summer of 1139, Pope Innocent II invaded the kingdom of Sicily with a large army. On 22 July 1139, at Galluccio, Pope Innocent was captured by Roger's son, Roger III. Days later, by means of the Treaty of Mignano, the pope proclaimed Roger II rex Siciliae ducatus Apuliae et principatus Capuae (King of Sicily, Duke of Apulia and commander of Capua).[7][8]
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41°10′00″N14°17′00″E / 41.1667°N 14.2833°E /41.1667; 14.2833
