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Duchy of Naples Ducatus Neapolitanus (Latin) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 661–1137 | |||||||||
 Map of southern Italy, showing the Duchy of Naples, c. 1112 | |||||||||
| Status | Duchy | ||||||||
| Capital | Naples | ||||||||
| Common languages | Latin Byzantine Greek | ||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||
• 661–666 | Basil(first) | ||||||||
• 1123–1137 | Sergius VII(last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 661 | ||||||||
• Sergius I make the duchy hereditary | 850 | ||||||||
• Annexation to theKingdom of Sicily in the hands ofRoger II of Sicily | 1137 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Italy | ||||||||
TheDuchy of Naples (Latin:Ducatus Neapolitanus,Neapolitan:Ducato di Napule) began as aByzantine province inSouthern Europe that was constituted in the seventh century, in the lands roughly corresponding to the currentprovince of Naples that theLombards had not conquered during their invasion of Italy in the sixth century.
It was governed by a military commander (dux), and rapidly became ade facto independent state, lasting more than five centuries during theEarly andHigh Middle Ages.Naples remains a significantmetropolitan city in present-dayItaly.
In the 7th century the Duchy included, in addition to Naples, the areas that the Lombards had failed to conquer. It extended into the area of the currentmetropolitan City of Naples, including, theVesuvius zone, theSorrento Peninsula and theisland of Capri, thePhlegraean area and the islands ofIschia andProcida, theAfragola, the territories ofPomigliano d'Arco,Caivano,Sant'Antimo,Giugliano, theNola area, as well as areas of the currentprovince of Caserta. In 866 the island of Capri was donated toDuchy of Amalfi following a treaty. The population of the capital, Naples, fluctuated at that time between thirty thousand and thirty-five thousand inhabitants. The ducal palace was located in the ancient Nile district, between the current Monterone hill andSpaccanapoli. The complex was characterized by courtyards, porticoes and gardens.[1]
In 661, Naples obtained from the emperorConstans II the right to be ruled by a local duke, oneBasil, whose subjection to the emperor soon became merely nominal. Among his titles werepatrikios ("patrician") andhypatos ("consul"). At that time theDucatus Neapolitanus controlled an area corresponding roughly to the present dayProvince of Naples, encompassing the area ofVesuvius, theCampi Flegrei, theSorrentine Peninsula,Giugliano,Aversa,Afragola,Nola, and the islands ofIschia andProcida.Capri was later part of theduchy of Amalfi. He had authority over the neighbouring seaports ofGaeta,Amalfi, andSorrento, though each of these was largely autonomous, especially during the later years of the Neapolitan duchy.
In this era, the duchy coined monies with the effigy of the emperor and Greek inscriptions. Greek was the official language, though the population wasLatin-speaking.
The Neapolitan patriciate of the ducal era was represented by the so-called "magnate families", enrolled in the seats of the medieval city: among them the families of the Capece, Ferrario, Melluso, Piscicelli, Pappansogna, Boccia, de Gennaro, Russo and of the Morfisa, had particular importance in the civil life of the city starting from the 10th century.[2]
In 763, the dukeStephen II switched his allegiance fromConstantinople toRome, putting Naples underpapalsuzerainty. Already during the reign of the imperially appointedJohn I (711- ca 719), the papacy had come to the duke's aid against the Lombards, while Byzantine assistance seemed remote. Stephen II's reign is considered a period of transition in the history of Naples: it moved away from the iconoclastic East and towards the papal West. The Byzantine Greeks were soon to become as much a threat to the Neapolitans as the Lombards.
Sometime around the beginning of the ninth century, the dukes began striking coinage with Latin inscriptions, as Latin replaced Greek in official usage.[citation needed]Saint Januarius replaced the emperor on the coins. Acts were still dated by the imperial reign, but the emperor was of no consequence in regular Neapolitan affairs. In 813, whenLeo V the Armenian called for the fleet of the entireducatus to aid the Byzantine admiral in combating theSaracen pirates preying on Sicily, DukeAnthimus could ignore the order; only Amalfi and Gaeta responded with contingents. Apparently, the Neapolitans felt themselves practically independent already and their underlings felt themselves independent of Naples.
The duchy was not yet hereditary; in 818, the patrician ofSicily appointedTheoctistus without imperial approval. He revoked this appointment, and appointed oneTheodore II in 821, but he was chased from the city the same year in favour of the electedStephen III. This Stephen first began to mint pieces with his own initials on them and not those of the Eastern Emperor.
In 840, DukeSergius I made the succession to the duchy hereditary, and thenceforth Naples wasde facto independent. In this age, the city was mainly a military centre, ruled by an aristocracy of warriors and landowners, even though it had been compelled to surrender to the neighbouring Lombards much of its inland territory. Naples was not a merchant city as otherCampanian sea cities like Amalfi and Gaeta, but had a respectable fleet who took part in theBattle of Ostia against theArabs in 849. Anyway, Naples did not hesitate to ally with Muslims if this turned to its advantage: in 836, for example, it asked for support from theArabs in order to push off the siege ofLombard troops coming from the neighbouringDuchy of Benevento. After its dukes rose to highest prominence under theDuke-Bishop Athanasius and his successors—of whomGregory IV andJohn II participated at theBattle of the Garigliano in 915—Naples declined in importance in the tenth century, until it was captured by its traditional rival,Pandulf IV of Capua.
In 1027, dukeSergius IV donated thecounty of Aversa to a band ofNorman mercenaries led byRainulf Drengot, whose support he had needed in the war with theprincipality of Capua. In that period he could not imagine the consequences, but this settlement began a process which eventually led to the end of Naples' independence itself. Sergius cemented his position with marital alliances with the Normans, but when these broke down, he was abandoned by his mercenaries and retired to a monastery. His son,John V, cosied up toGuaimar IV of Salerno and eventually did homage to him.
Naples was the last of the southern Italian states which the Normans had met when they first entered Italy. It survived the fall of the Lombard principalities: Capua, Salerno, Benevento. It had survived the fall of its fellow Greek duchies: Amalfi, Gaeta, Sorrento. In 1137, DukeSergius VII was forced to surrender toRoger II of Sicily, who had had himself proclaimedKing of Sicily seven years earlier.[3] Under the new rulers the city was administered by acompalazzo (palatine count), with little independence left to the Neapolitan patriciate. In this period Naples had a population of 30,000 and yet got its sustenance from the inland country: commerce activities were mainly delegated to foreign people, mainly fromPisa andGenoa.
Apart from the church ofSan Giovanni a Mare, Norman buildings in Naples were mainly lay ones, notably castles (Castel Capuano andCastel dell'Ovo), walls, and fortified gates.
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