TheNorman conquest ofsouthern Italy lasted from 999 to 1194, involving many battles and independent conquerors. In 1130, the territories in southern Italy united as theKingdom of Sicily, which included the island ofSicily, the southern third of theItalian Peninsula (includingBenevento, which was briefly held twice), the archipelago ofMalta, and parts ofNorth Africa.
Itinerant Norman forces arrived in southern Italy as mercenaries in the service ofLombard andByzantine factions, communicating swiftly back home news about opportunities in theMediterranean.[1][2] These groups gathered in several places, establishingfiefdoms and states of their own, uniting and elevating their status tode facto independence within 50 years of their arrival.[2]
Unlike theNorman Conquest of England (1066), which took a few years afterone decisive battle, the conquest of southern Italy was the product of decades and a number of battles, few decisive. Many territories were conquered independently, and only later were unified into a single state. Compared to the conquest of England, it was unplanned and disorganised, but equally complete.
There is little evidence of Viking activity in Italy as a precursor to the arrival of the Normans in 999, but some raiding is recorded.Ermentarius of Noirmoutier, theAnnales Bertiniani, and several additionalMoorish sources provide accounts of Vikings based in Frankia (France), raiding in Iberia, then proceeding to raid in other parts of the Mediterranean around 860.[3][4] In 860, according to an account by the Norman monkDudo of Saint-Quentin, a Viking fleet co-commanded by Alstignus, believed to beHastein, andBjörn Ironside, landed in Italy seeking to sack the city of Rome.[5] The Viking force arrived at the town ofLuna, whose walls were too heavily defended for an outright assault. The force devised a plan to trick the town’s bishop into converting Hastein to Christianity. Once converted, Hastein faked his death with the final wish to be buried in the town's church.[5] Entering with a small force with concealed weapons in the funeral procession, the force surprised the town guards and opened the city gates for the remaining Viking force.[5] Upon learning that the town was not Rome, the Viking force raided the surrounding countryside before ultimately sailing back to Frankia.[5]
Many Norsemen fought as mercenaries in Southern Italy, including theVarangian Guard led byHarald Hardrada, who later becameking of Norway, who conquered Sicily between 1038 and 1040, with the help ofNorman mercenaries, underWilliam de Hauteville, who won his nicknameIron Arm by defeating theemir ofSyracuse in single combat, and aLombard contingent, led byArduin.[6][7] The Varangians were first used as mercenaries in Italy against the Arabs in 936.[8]Runestones were raised in Sweden in memory of warriors who died in Langbarðaland (Land of the Lombards), the Old Norse name for southern Italy.[9]
Later, several Anglo-Danish and Norwegian nobles participated in the Norman conquest of southern Italy, likeEdgar the Ætheling, who left England in 1086,[10] and JarlErling Skakke, who won his nickname("Skakke", meaning bent head) after a battle against Arabs in Sicily.[11] On the other hand, many Anglo-Danish rebels fleeingWilliam the Conqueror joined the Byzantines in their struggle againstRobert Guiscard,duke of Apulia, in Southern Italy.[12]
The earliest reported date of the arrival of Norman knights in southern Italy is 999, although it may be assumed that they had visited before then. In that year, according to some traditional sources of uncertain origin, Norman pilgrims returning from theHoly Sepulchre inJerusalem via Apulia stayed withPrince Guaimar III inSalerno. The city and its environs were attacked bySaracens from Africa demanding payment of an overdue annual tribute. While Guaimar began to collect the tribute, the Normans ridiculed him and his Lombard subjects for cowardice, and they assaulted their besiegers. The Saracens fled. Booty was confiscated and a grateful Guaimar asked the Normans to stay. They refused, but promised to bring his rich gifts to their compatriots in Normandy and tell them about possibly lucrative military service in Salerno. Some sources have Guaimar sending emissaries to Normandy to bring back knights, and this account of the arrival of the Normans is sometimes known as the "Salerno (or Salernitan) tradition".[13][14]
The Salerno tradition was first recorded byAmatus of Montecassino in hisYstoire de li Normant between 1071 and 1086.[14] Much of this information was borrowed from Amatus byPeter the Deacon for his continuation of theChronicon Monasterii Casinensis ofLeo of Ostia, written during the early 12th century. Beginning with theAnnales Ecclesiastici ofBaronius in the 17th century, the Salernitan story became the accepted history.[15] Although its factual accuracy was questioned periodically during the following centuries, it has been accepted (with some modifications) by most scholars since.[16]
Another historical account of the arrival of the first Normans in Italy, the "Gargano tradition", appears in primary chronicles without reference to any previous Norman presence.[13] According to this account Norman pilgrims at the shrine toMichael the Archangel atMonte Gargano in 1016 met the LombardMelus of Bari, who persuaded them to join him in an attack on the Byzantine government of Apulia.
As with the Salerno tradition, there are two primary sources for the Gargano story: theGesta Roberti Wiscardi ofWilliam of Apulia (dated 1088–1110) and theChronica monasterii S. Bartholomaei de Carpineto of a monk named Alexander, written about a century later and based on William's work.[17] Some scholars have combined the Salerno and Gargano tales, andJohn Julius Norwich suggested that the meeting between Melus and the Normans had been arranged by Guaimar.[18] Melus had been in Salerno just before his visit to Monte Gargano.
Another story involves the exile of a group of brothers from theDrengot family. One of the brothers,Osmund (according toOrderic Vitalis) orGilbert (according to Amatus and Peter the Deacon), murdered William Repostel (Repostellus) in the presence ofRobert I, Duke of Normandy after Repostel allegedly boasted about dishonouring his murderer's daughter. Threatened with death, the Drengot brother fled with his siblings toRome and one of the brothers had an audience with thepope before joining Melus (Melo) of Bari. Amatus dates the story to after 1027, and does not mention the pope. According to him, Gilbert's brothers were Osmund,Ranulf,Asclettin andLudolf (Rudolf, according to Peter).[19]Between 1016 and 1024, in a fragmented political context, the LombardCounty of Ariano [it] was usurped by a group of Norman knights headed by Gilbert and hired by Melus. The County, which replaced the pre-existing chamberlainship, is considered to be the first political body established by the Normans in the South of Italy.[20][21]
Repostel's murder is dated by all the chronicles to the reign of Robert the Magnificent and after 1027, although some scholars believe "Robert" was a scribal error for "Richard" (Richard II of Normandy, who was duke in 1017).[22] The earlier date is necessary if the emigration of the first Normans was connected to the Drengots and the murder of William Repostel. In theHistories ofRalph Glaber, "Rodulfus" leaves Normandy after displeasing Count Richard (Richard II).[23] The sources disagree about which brother was the leader on the southern trip. Orderic andWilliam of Jumièges, in the latter'sGesta Normannorum Ducum, name Osmund; Glaber names Rudolph, and Leo, Amatus andAdhemar of Chabannes name Gilbert. According to most southern-Italian sources, the leader of the Norman contingent at theBattle of Cannae in 1018 was Gilbert.[24] If Rudolf is identified with the Rudolf of Amatus' history as a Drengot brother, he may have been the leader at Cannae.[25]
A modern hypothesis concerning the Norman arrival in the Mezzogiorno concerns the chronicles of Glaber, Adhemar and Leo (not Peter's continuation). All three chronicles indicate that Normans (either a group of 40 or a much-larger force of around 250) under "Rodulfus" (Rudolf), fleeing Richard II, came toPope Benedict VIII of Rome. The pope sent them toSalerno (orCapua) to seek mercenary employment against the Byzantines because of the latter's invasion of papal Beneventan territory.[26] There, they met the Beneventanprimates (leading men):Landulf V of Benevento,Pandulf IV of Capua, (possibly) Guaimar III of Salerno and Melus of Bari. According to Leo's chronicle, "Rudolf" wasRalph of Tosni.[19][27] If the first confirmed Norman military actions in the south involved Melus' mercenaries against the Byzantines in May 1017, the Normans probably left Normandy between January and April.[28]
On 9 May 1009, an insurrection erupted inBari against theCatapanate of Italy, the regional Byzantine authority based there. Led byMelus, a local Lombard, the revolt quickly spread to other cities. Late that year (or early in 1010) thekatepano,John Curcuas, was killed in battle. In March 1010 his successor,Basil Mesardonites, disembarked with reinforcements and besieged the rebels in the city. The Byzantine citizens negotiated with Basil and forced the Lombard leaders, Melus and his brother-in-lawDattus, to flee. Basil entered the city on 11 June 1011, reestablishing Byzantine authority. He did not follow his victory with severe sanctions, only sending Melus' family (including his son,Argyrus) toConstantinople. Basil died in 1016, after years of peace in southern Italy.
Leo Tornikios Kontoleon arrived as Basil's successor in May of that year. After Basil's death, Melus revolted again; this time, he used a newly arrived band of Normans, sent by Pope Benedict, who met him (with or without Guaimar's aid) at Monte Gargano. Tornikios sent an army, led byLeo Passianos, against the Lombard-Norman coalition. Passianos and Melus met on theFortore atArenula; the battle was either indecisive (William of Apulia) or a victory for Melus (Leo of Ostia and Amatus). Tornikios then took command, leading his forces into a second encounter nearCivita.[29] This second battle was a victory for Melus, althoughLupus Protospatharius and the anonymous chronicler of Bari recorded a defeat.[29] A third battle (a decisive victory for Melus) took place at Vaccaricia, modernVaccareccia [it] inRieti;[29] the region from the Fortore toTrani was in his hands, and in September Tornikios was replaced byBasil Boioannes (who arrived in December). According to Amatus, there were five consecutive Lombard and Norman victories by October 1018.[29]
AtBoioannes' request, a detachment of the eliteVarangian Guard was sent to Italy to fight the Normans. The armies met at theOfanto nearCannae, the site ofHannibal's victory over the Romans in 216 BC, and theBattle of Cannae was a decisive Byzantine victory;[29] Amatus wrote that only ten Normans survived from a contingent of 250.[29] After the battle, Ranulf Drengot (one of the Norman survivors) was elected leader of their company.[29] Boioannes protected his gains by building a fortress at theApennine pass, guarding the entrance to theApulian plain. In 1019Troia (as the fortress was known) was garrisoned by Boioannes' Norman troops, an indication of Norman willingness to fight on either side. With Norman mercenaries on both sides, they would obtain good terms for the release of their brethren from their captors regardless of outcome.[29]
Alarmed by the shift in momentum in the south, Pope Benedict (who may have initiated Norman involvement in the war) went north in 1020 toBamberg to confer withHoly Roman EmperorHenry II. Although the emperor took no immediate action, events the following year persuaded him to intervene. Boioannes (allied with Pandulf of Capua) marched on Dattus, who was garrisoning a tower in the territory of theDuchy of Gaeta with papal troops. Dattus was captured and, on 15 June 1021, received the traditional Romanpoena cullei: he was tied up in a sack with a monkey, a rooster and a snake and thrown into the sea.[contradictory] In 1022, a large imperial army marched south in three detachments under Henry II,Pilgrim of Cologne andPoppo of Aquileia to attack Troia. Although Troia did not fall, the Lombard princes were allied with the Empire and Pandulf removed to a German prison; this ended the Lombard revolt.
In 1024, Norman mercenaries underRanulf Drengot were in the service ofGuaimar III when he andPandulf IV besiegedPandulf V in Capua. In 1026, after an 18-month siege, Capua surrendered and Pandulf IV was reinstated as prince. During the next few years Ranulf would attach himself to Pandulf, but in 1029 he joinedSergius IV of Naples (whom Pandulf expelled fromNaples in 1027, probably with Ranulf's assistance).
In 1029, Ranulf and Sergius recaptured Naples. In early 1030 Sergius gave Ranulf theCounty of Aversa as a fief;[29] that seigniory was long considered to be the first Norman lordship in southern Italy, although this primacy is currently attributed to thecounty of Ariano [it] which was officially recognized by the EmperorHenry II since 1022.[21] Sergius also gave his sister, the widow of the duke of Gaeta, in marriage to Ranulf.[29] In 1034, however, Sergius' sister died and Ranulf returned to Pandulf. According to Amatus:
For the Normans never desired any of the Lombards to win a decisive victory, in case this should be to their disadvantage. But now supporting the one and then aiding the other, they prevented anyone being completely ruined.
Norman reinforcements and local miscreants, who found a welcome in Ranulf's camp with no questions asked, swelled Ranulf's numbers.[29] There, Amatus observed that theNorman language and customs welded a disparate group into the semblance of a nation. In 1035, the same yearWilliam the Conqueror would becomeDuke of Normandy,Tancred of Hauteville's three eldest sons (William "Iron Arm",Drogo andHumphrey) arrived in Aversa fromNormandy.[30]
In 1037, or the summer of 1038[29] (sources differ), Norman influence was further solidified whenEmperor Conrad II deposed Pandulf and invested Ranulf as Count of Aversa. In 1038 Ranulf invaded Capua, expanding his polity into one of the largest in southern Italy.[29]
In 1038 Byzantine EmperorMichael IV launched a military campaign into Muslim Sicily, with GeneralGeorge Maniaches leading the Christian army against theSaracens. The future king of Norway,Harald Hardrada, commanded theVarangian Guard in the expedition and Michael called onGuaimar IV of Salerno and other Lombard lords to provide additional troops for the campaign. Guiamar sent 300 Norman knights from Aversa, including the three Hauteville brothers (who would achieve renown for their prowess in battle). William of Hauteville became known as William Bras-de-Fer ("William Iron Arm") for single-handedly killing the emir of Syracuse during that city's siege. The Norman contingent would leave before the campaign's end due to the inadequate distribution of Saracen loot.[30]
After the assassination of CatapanNikephoros Dokeianos atAscoli in 1040 the Normans electedAtenulf, brother of Pandulf III of Benevento, their leader. On 16 March 1041, nearVenosa on theOlivento, the Norman army tried to negotiate with CatapanMichael Dokeianos; although they failed, they still defeated the Byzantine army in theBattle of Olivento. On 4 May 1041 the Norman army, led by William Iron Arm, defeated the Byzantines again in theBattle of Montemaggiore near Cannae (avenging the Norman defeat in the 1018 Battle of Cannae[30]). Although the catapan summoned a large Varangian force from Bari, the battle was a rout; many of Michael's soldiers drowned in theOfanto while retreating.[31]
On 3 September 1041 at theBattle of Montepeloso, the Normans (nominally under Arduin and Atenulf) defeated Byzantine catepanExaugustus Boioannes and brought him toBenevento. Around that time, Guaimar IV of Salerno began to attract the Normans. In February 1042, Atenulf negotiated the ransom of Exaugustus and then fled with the ransom money to Byzantine territory. He was replaced byArgyrus, who was bribed to defect to the Byzantines after a few early victories.
The revolt, originally Lombard, had become Norman in character and leadership. In September 1042, the three principal Norman groups held a council inMelfi which includedRanulf Drengot,Guaimar IV and William Iron Arm. William and the other leaders petitioned Guaimar to recognize their conquests, and William was acknowledged as the Norman leader in Apula (which included Melfi and the Norman garrison atTroia). He received the title ofCount of Apulia from Guiamar, and (like Ranulf) was his vassal. Guaimar proclaimed himself Duke of Apulia and Calabria, although he was never formally invested as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. William was married to Guida (daughter ofGuy,Duke of Sorrento and Guaimar's niece), strengthening the alliance between the Normans and Guaimar.[32]
At Melfi in 1043, Guaimar divided the region (except for Melfi itself, which was to be governed on a republican model) into twelve baronies for the Norman leaders. William receivedAscoli,Asclettin Drengot receivedAcerenza,Tristan receivedMontepeloso,Hugh Tubœuf receivedMonopoli,Peter receivedTrani,Drogo of Hauteville receivedVenosa and Ranulf Drengot (now the independent Duke of Gaeta) received Siponto andMonte Gargano.[32]
During their reign William and Guaimar began the conquest ofCalabria in 1044, and built the castle of Stridula (nearSquillace). William was less successful in Apulia, where he was defeated in 1045 nearTaranto by Argyrus (although his brother, Drogo, conqueredBovino). At William's death, the period of Norman mercenary service ended with the rise of two Norman principalities owing nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire: the County of Aversa (later thePrincipality of Capua) and the County of Apulia (later theDuchy of Apulia).
In 1046 Drogo entered Apulia and defeated the catepan,Eustathios Palatinos, nearTaranto while his brotherHumphrey forcedBari to conclude a treaty with the Normans. Also that year,Richard Drengot arrived with 40 knights from Normandy andRobert "Guiscard" Hauteville arrived with other Norman immigrants.[33]
In 1047 Guaimar (who had supported Drogo's succession and the establishment of a Norman dynasty in the south) gave him his daughter,Gaitelgrima, in marriage.Emperor Henry III confirmed the county of Aversa in its fidelity to him and made Drogo his vassal, granting him the titledux et magister Italiae comesque Normannorum totius Apuliae et Calabriae (duke and master of Italy and count of the Normans of all Apulia and Calabria, the first legitimate title for the Normans of Melfi).[33] Henry did not confirm the other titles given during the 1042 council; he demoted Guiamar to "prince of Salerno", and Capua was bestowed uponPandulf IV for the third (and final) time.[33] Henry, whose wifeAgnes had been mistreated by the Beneventans, authorised Drogo to conquerBenevento for the imperial crown; he did so in 1053.
In 1048 Drogo commanded an expedition into Calabria via the valley ofCrati, nearCosenza. He distributed the conquered territories in Calabria and gave his brother,Robert Guiscard, a castle atScribla to guard the entrance to the recently conquered territory; Guiscard would later abandon it for a castle atSan Marco Argentano.[33] Shortly thereafter he married the daughter of another Norman lord, who gave him 200 knights (furthering his military campaign in Calabria).[34] In 1051 Drogo was assassinated by Byzantine conspirators[34] and was succeeded by his brother, Humphrey.[35] Humphrey's first challenge was to deal with papal opposition to the Normans.[35] The Norman knights' treatment of the Lombards during Drogo's reign triggered more revolts.[35] During the unrest, the Italo-NormanJohn, Abbot of Fécamp was accosted on his return trip from Rome;[35] he wrote toPope Leo IX:
The hatred of the Italians for the Normans has now reached such a pitch that it is almost impossible for any Norman, albeit a pilgrim, to journey in the towns of Italy, without being assailed, abducted, robbed, beaten, thrown in irons, even if fortunate enough not to die in a prison.[36]
The pope and his supporters, including the futureGregory VII, called for an army to oust the Normans from Italy.[35]
On 18 June 1053, Humphrey led the Norman armies against the combined forces of the pope and theHoly Roman Empire. At theBattle of Civitate the Normans destroyed the papal army and captured Leo IX, imprisoning him in Benevento (which had surrendered). In 1054Peter II, who succeeded Peter I in the region ofTrani, captured the city from the Byzantines. Humphrey died in 1057; he was succeeded by Guiscard, who ended his loyalty to the Empire and made himself a papal vassal in return for the title of duke.[35]
During the 1050s and 1060s, there were two centres of Norman power in southern Italy: one at Melfi (under the Hautevilles) and another at Aversa (under the Drengots).Richard Drengot became ruler of the County of Aversa in 1049, beginning a policy of territorial aggrandisement to compete with his Hauteville rivals. At first he warred with his Lombard neighbours, who includedPandulf VI of Capua,Atenulf I of Gaeta andGisulf II of Salerno. Richard pushed back the borders of Salerno until there was little left of the once-great principality but the city ofSalerno itself. Although he tried to extend his influence peacefully by betrothing his daughter to the oldest son of Atenulf of Gaeta, Richard later demanded the Lombarddower from the boy's parents when the boy died before the marriage. When the duke refused, Richard seizedAquino (one of Gaeta's few remaining fiefs) in 1058. However, the chronology of his conquest of Gaeta is confusing. Documents from 1058 and 1060 refer toJordan (Richard's oldest son) asDuke of Gaeta, but these have been disputed as forgeries (since Atenulf was still duke when he died in 1062).[37] After Atenulf's death, Richard and Jordan took over the rule of the duchy and allowed Atenulf's heir—Atenulf II—to rule as their subject until 1064 (when Gaeta was fully incorporated into the Drengot principality). Richard and Jordan appointed puppet, usually Norman, dukes.[38]
When the prince ofCapua died in 1057, Richard immediately besieged thecomune. This chronology is also unclear. Pandulf was succeeded at Capua by his brother,Landulf VIII, who is recorded as prince until 12 May 1062. Richard and Jordan took the princely title in 1058, but apparently allowed Landulf to continue ruling beneath them for at least four years more. In 1059Pope Nicholas II convened asynod at Melfi confirming Richard as Count of Aversa and Prince of Capua, and Richard swore allegiance to the papacy for his holdings. The Drengots then made Capua their headquarters for ruling Aversa and Gaeta.
Richard and Jordan expanded their new Gaetan and Capuan territories northwards towardLatium, into thePapal States. In 1066 Richard marched on Rome, but was easily repelled. Jordan's tenure as Richard's successor marked an alliance with the papacy (which Richard had attempted), and the conquests of Capua ceased. When Jordan died in 1090, his young sonRichard II and his regents were unable to hold Capua. They were forced to flee the city by a Lombard,Lando, who ruled it with popular support until he was forced out by the combinedHauteville forces in thesiege of Capua in 1098; this ended Lombard rule in Italy.
In 1077 the last Lombard prince ofBenevento died, and in 1078 the pope appointed Robert Guiscard to succeed him. In 1081, however, Guiscard relinquished Benevento. By then, the principality comprised little more than Benevento and its environs; it had been reduced in size by Norman conquests during the previous decades, especially after the Battle of Civitate and after 1078.[39] At Ceprano in June 1080 the pope again gave Guiscard control of Benevento, an attempt to halt Norman incursions into it and associated territory in the Abruzzi (which Guiscard's relatives had been appropriating).
After the Battle of Civitate, the Normans began the conquest of the Adriatic coast of Benevento.Geoffrey of Hauteville, a brother of the Hauteville counts of Melfi, conquered the Lombard county ofLarino and stormed the castleMorrone in the region ofSamnium-Guillamatum. Geoffrey's son,Robert, united these conquests into a county,Loritello, in 1061 and continued his expansion into Lombard Abruzzo. He conquered the Lombard county of Teate (modernChieti) and besiegedOrtona, which became the goal of Norman efforts in that region. Loritello soon reached as far north as thePescara and the Papal States. In 1078 Robert allied with Jordan of Capua to ravage the Papal Abruzzo, but after a 1080 treaty withPope Gregory VII they were obligated to respect papal territory. In 1100 Robert of Loritello extended his principality across theFortore, takingBovino andDragonara.[40]
The conquest of theMolise is poorly documented.Boiano (the principal town) may have been conquered the year before the Battle of Civitate by Robert Guiscard, who had encircled theMatese massif. The county of Boiano was bestowed onRudolf of Moulins. His grandson,Hugh, expanded it eastward (occupyingToro andSan Giovanni in Galdo) and westward (annexing the Capuan counties ofVenafro,Pietrabbondante andTrivento in 1105).
After roughly a century of Arab control (following the Saracen defeat of Byzantine forces in 965), Sicily was inhabited by a mix of Christians, Arab Muslims, and Muslim converts at the time of its conquest by the Normans. It had originally been under the rule of theAghlabids and then theFatimids, but in 948 theKalbids wrested control of the island and held it until 1053. During the 1010s and 1020s, a series of succession crises paved the way for interference by theZirids ofIfriqiya. Sicily was wracked by turmoil as petty fiefdoms battled each other for supremacy. Into this, the Normans under Robert Guiscard and his younger brotherRoger Bosso came intending to conquer; the pope had conferred on Robert the title of "Duke of Sicily".[41]
Robert and Roger first invaded Sicily in May 1061, crossing fromReggio di Calabria and besiegingMessina for control of the strategically vitalStrait of Messina. Roger crossed the strait first, landing unseen overnight and surprising the Saracen army in the morning. When Robert's troops landed later that day, they found themselves unopposed and Messina abandoned. Robert immediately fortified the city and allied himself with theemir, Ibn al-Timnah, against his rival Ibn al-Hawas. Robert, Roger, and at-Timnah then marched into the centre of the island by way ofRometta, which had remained loyal to at-Timnah. They passed throughFrazzanò and thePianura di Maniace (Plain of Maniakes), encountering resistance to their assault ofCenturipe.Paternò fell quickly, and Robert brought his army toCastrogiovanni (modern Enna, the strongest fortress in central Sicily). Although the garrison was defeated the citadel did not fall, and with winter approaching Robert returned to Apulia. Before leaving, he built a fortress atSan Marco d'Alunzio.[42] Roger returned in late 1061 and capturedTroina. In June 1063 he defeated a Muslim army at theBattle of Cerami, securing the Norman foothold on the island.
Robert returned in 1064, bypassing Castrogiovanni on his way toPalermo; this campaign was eventually called off. In 1068 Roger struck another defeat against the Muslims at theBattle of Misilmeri. In August 1071, the Normans began a second and successful siege of Palermo. The city of Palermo was entered by the Normans on 7 January 1072 and three days later the defenders of the inner-city surrendered.[43] Robert invested Roger asCount of Sicily under the suzerainty of the Duke of Apulia. In a partition of the island with his brother Robert retained Palermo, half of Messina, and the largely ChristianVal Demone (leaving the rest, including what was not yet conquered, to Roger).
In 1077 Roger besiegedTrapani, one of the two remaining Saracen strongholds in the west of the island.[44] His son,Jordan, led a sortie which surprised guards of the garrison's livestock. With its food supply cut off, the city soon surrendered. In 1079Taormina was besieged, and in 1081 Jordan, Robert de Sourval and Elias Cartomi conqueredCatania (a holding of the emir ofSyracuse) in another surprise attack.
Roger left Sicily in the summer of 1083 to assist his brother on the mainland; Jordan (whom he had left in charge) revolted, forcing him to return to Sicily and subjugate his son. In 1085, he was finally able to undertake a systematic campaign. On 22 May Roger approached Syracuse by sea, while Jordan led a small cavalry detachment 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of the city. On 25 May, the navies of the count and the emir engaged in the harbour – where the latter was killed – while Jordan's forcesbesieged the city. The siege lasted throughout the summer, but when the city capitulated in March 1086 onlyNoto was still under Saracen dominion. In February 1091 Noto yielded as well, and the conquest of Sicily was complete.[45]
In 1091, Rogerinvaded Malta and subdued the walled city ofMdina. He imposed taxes on the islands, but allowed the Arab governors to continue their rule. In 1127 Roger II abolished the Muslim government, replacing it with Norman officials. Under Norman rule, the Arabic spoken by the Greek Christian islanders for centuries of Muslim domination becameMaltese.[46]
The fall of Amalfi and Salerno to Robert Guiscard were influenced by his wife,Sichelgaita. Amalfi probably surrendered as a result of her negotiations,[47] and Salerno fell when she stopped petitioning her husband on behalf of her brother (the prince of Salerno). The Amalfitans unsuccessfully subjected themselves to Prince Gisulf to avoid Norman suzerainty, but the states (whose histories had been joined since the 9th century) ultimately came under Norman control.
By summer 1076, through piracy and raids Gisulf II of Salerno incited the Normans to destroy him; that season, under Richard of Capua and Robert Guiscard the Normans united to besiege Salerno. Although Gisulf ordered his citizens to store two years' worth of food, he confiscated enough of it to starve his subjects. On 13 December 1076, the city submitted; the prince and his retainers retreated to the citadel, which fell in May 1077. Although Gisulf's lands and relics were confiscated, he remained at liberty. The Principality of Salerno had already been reduced to little more than the capital city and its environs by previous wars withWilliam of the Principate, Roger of Sicily and Robert Guiscard.[48] However, the city was the most important in southern Italy and its capture was essential to the creation of a kingdom fifty years later.
In 1073Sergius III of Amalfi died, leaving the infantJohn III as his successor. Desiring protection in unstable times, the Amalfitans exiled the young duke and summonedRobert Guiscard that year.[49] Amalfi, however, remained restless under Norman control. Robert's successor, Roger Borsa, took control of Amalfi in 1089 after expelling Gisulf (the deposed Prince of Salerno, whom the citizens had installed with papal aid). From 1092 to 1097 Amalfi did not recognise its Norman suzerain, apparently seeking Byzantine help;[47]Marinus Sebaste was installed as ruler in 1096.
Robert's sonBohemond I of Antioch and his brother Roger of Sicily attacked Amalfi in 1097, but were repulsed. During this siege, the Normans began to be drawn by theFirst Crusade. Marinus was defeated after Amalfitan noblemen defected to the Norman side and betrayed him in 1101. Amalfi revolted again in 1130, whenRoger II of Sicily demanded its loyalty. It was finally subdued in 1131 whenAdmiral John marched on it by land andGeorge of Antioch blockaded it by sea, establishing a base onCapri.
The Normans' initial military involvement in southern Italy was on the side of theLombards against the Byzantines. Eventually, some Normans, including the powerful de Hauteville brothers, served in the army ofGeorge Maniakes during the attempted Byzantine reconquest of Sicily, only to turn against their employers when the emirs proved difficult to conquer.[50][51] By 1030,Rainulf became count of Aversa, marking the start of permanent Norman settlement in Italy.[50] In 1042,William de Hauteville was made a count, taking Lombard princeGuaimar IV of Salerno as his liege.[50] To further strengthen ties and legitimacy,Robert Guiscard also married Lombard PrincessSikelgaita in 1058.[50] Following the death of Guaimar, the Normans were increasingly independent actors on the south Italian scene, which brought them into direct conflict with Byzantium.
During the time that the Normans had conquered southern Italy, the Byzantine Empire was in a state of internal decay; the administration of the Empire had been wrecked, the efficient government institutions that providedBasil II with a quarter of a million troops and adequate resources by taxation had collapsed within a period of three decades. Attempts byIsaac I Komnenos andRomanos IV Diogenes to reverse the situation proved unfruitful. The premature death of the former and the overthrow of the latter led to further collapse as the Normans consolidated their conquest of Sicily and Italy.
Reggio Calabria, the capital of thetagma of Calabria, was captured by Robert Guiscard in 1060. At the time, the Byzantines held a few coastal towns in Apulia, including Bari, the capital of thecatepanate of Italy. In 1067–68, they gave financial support to a rebellion against Guiscard. In 1068, the Normans besiegedOtranto; in the same year, they began thesiege of Bari itself. After defeating the Byzantines in a series of battles in Apulia, and after two major attempts to relieve the city had failed, the city Bari surrendered in April 1071, ending the Byzantine presence in southern Italy.[52]
In 1079–80, the Byzantines again gave their support to a rebellion against Guiscard. This support came largely in the form of financing smaller Norman mercenary groups to assist in the rebellion[52]
Over a thirty-year period (1061–1091), Norman factions also completed the initial Byzantine attempt to retake Sicily. However, it would not be until 1130 that both Sicily and southern Italy were united into one kingdom, formalized byRoger II of Sicily.[53]
TheDuchy of Naples, nominally a Byzantine possession, was one of the last southern Italian states to be attacked by the Normans. Since Sergius IV asked for Ranulf Drengot's help during the 1020s, with brief exceptions the dukes of Naples were allied with the Normans of Aversa and Capua. Beginning in 1077, the incorporation of Naples into the Hauteville state took sixty years to complete.
In summer 1074, hostilities flared up between Richard of Capua and Robert Guiscard.Sergius V of Naples allied with the latter, making his city a supply centre for Guiscard's troops. This pitted him against Richard, who was supported by Gregory VII. In June Richard briefly besieged Naples; Richard, Robert and Sergius soon began negotiations with Gregory, mediated byDesiderius of Montecassino.
In 1077 Naples was again besieged by Richard of Capua, with a naval blockade by Robert Guiscard. Richard died during the siege in 1078, after the deathbed lifting of his excommunication. The siege was ended by his successor, Jordan, to insinuate himself with the papacy (which had made peace with Duke Sergius).
In 1130, theAntipope Anacletus II crowned Roger II of Sicily king and declared the fief of Naples part of his kingdom.[54] In 1131, Roger demanded from the citizens of Amalfi the defences of their city and the keys to their castle. When they refused,Sergius VII of Naples initially prepared to aid them with a fleet; George of Antioch blockaded Naples' port with a large armada and Sergius, cowed by the suppression of the Amalfitans, submitted to Roger. According to the chroniclerAlexander of Telese, Naples "which, since Roman times, had hardly ever been conquered by the sword now submitted to Roger on the strength of a mere report (i.e. Amalfi's fall)."
In 1134 Sergius supported the rebellion ofRobert II of Capua andRanulf II of Alife, but avoided direct confrontation with Roger and paid homage to the king after the fall of Capua. On 24 April 1135 aPisan fleet with 8,000 reinforcements, captained by Robert of Capua, anchored in Naples and the duchy was the centre of the revolt against Roger II for the next two years. Sergius, Robert and Ranulf were besieged in Naples until the spring of 1136, by which time starvation was widespread. According to historian (and rebel sympathiser)Falco of Benevento Sergius and the Neapolitans did not relent, "preferring to die of hunger than to bare their necks to the power of an evil king." The naval blockade's failure to prevent Sergius and Robert from twice bringing supplies from Pisa exemplified Roger's inadequacy. When a relief army commanded byEmperor Lothair II marched to Naples, the siege was lifted. Although the emperor left the following year, in return for a pardon Sergius re-submitted to Roger in Norman feudal homage. On 30 October 1137, the last Duke of Naples died in the king's service at theBattle of Rignano.
The defeat at Rignano enabled the Norman conquest of Naples, since Sergius died without heir and the Neapolitan nobility could not reach a succession agreement. However, it was two years between Sergius' death and Naples' incorporation by Sicily. The nobility apparently ruled during the interim, which may have been the final period of Neapolitan independence from Norman rule.[54] During this period Norman landowners first appear in Naples, although the Pisans (enemies of Roger II) retained their alliance with the duchy and Pisa may have sustained its independence until 1139. That year, Roger absorbed Naples into his kingdom;Pope Innocent II and the Neapolitan nobility acknowledged Roger's young son,Alfonso of Hauteville, as duke.
Although the conquest of Sicily was primarily military, Robert and Roger also signed treaties with the Muslims to obtain land. Hindered by Sicily's hilly terrain and a relatively small army, the brothers sought influential, worn-down Muslim leaders to sign the treaties (offering peace and protection for land and titles). Because Sicily was conquered by a unified command, Roger's authority was not challenged by other conquerors and he maintained power over his Greek, Arab, Lombard and Norman subjects. Latin Christianity was introduced to the island, and its ecclesiastical organisation was overseen by Roger with papal approval.Sees were established at Palermo (withmetropolitan authority), Syracuse andAgrigento. After its elevation to aKingdom of Sicily in 1130, Sicily became the centre of Norman power withPalermo as capital. The Kingdom was created on Christmas Day, 1130, byRoger II of Sicily, with the agreement ofPope Innocent II, who united the lands Roger had inherited from his fatherRoger I of Sicily.[55]
These areas included theMaltese Archipelago, which was conquered from theArabs of the Emirates of Sicily; theDuchy of Apulia and theCounty of Sicily, which had belonged to his cousinWilliam II, Duke of Apulia, until William's death in 1127; and the other Norman vassals.[56]
When the invasion ofHenry VI, Holy Roman Emperor on behalf of his wife,Constance, the daughter of Roger II, eventually prevailed, the kingdom fell in 1194 to theHouse of Hohenstaufen. Through Constance, theHauteville blood was passed toFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who succeeded as King of Sicily in 1198.
The Norman conquest of southern Italy began an infusion ofRomanesque (specificallyNorman) architecture. Some castles were expanded on existing Lombard, Byzantine or Arab structures, while others were original constructions. Latin cathedrals were built in lands recently converted from Byzantine Christianity or Islam, in a Romanesque style influenced byByzantine andIslamic designs.Public buildings, such as palaces, were common in larger cities (notably Palermo); these structures, in particular, demonstrate the influence of Siculo-Norman culture.
The Normans rapidly began the construction, expansion and renovation of castles in southern Italy. By the end of the Norman period, mostwooden castles were converted to stone.
After the Lombard castle at Melfi, which was conquered by the Normans early and augmented with a surviving, rectangulardonjon late in the 11th century, Calabria was the first province affected by Normanencastellation. In 1046 William Iron Arm began construction of Stridula (a large castle nearSquillace), and by 1055 Robert Guiscard built three castles: atRossano, on the site of a Byzantine fortress; at Scribla, the seat of his fief guarding the pass of theVal di Crati, and atSan Marco Argentano (donjon built in 1051) nearCosenza.[57] In 1058,Scalea was built on a seaside cliff.
Guiscard was a major castle-builder after his accession to the Apulian countship, building a castle atGargano with pentagonal towers known as the Towers of Giants. Later,Henry, Count of Monte Sant'Angelo built a castle at nearbyCastelpagano. In theMolise the Normans built many fortresses into the naturally defensible terrain, such as Santa Croce and Ferrante. The region of a line running fromTerracina toTermoli has the greatest density of Norman castles in Italy.[58] Many sites were originallySamnite strongholds reused by theRomans and their successors; the Normans called such a fortress acastellum vetus (old castle). Many Molisian castles have walls integrated into the mountains and ridges, and much of the quickly erected masonry demonstrates that the Normans introduced theopus gallicum into the Molise.[59]
The encastellation of Sicily was begun at the behest of the native Greek inhabitants.[60] In 1060, they asked Guiscard to construct a castle atAluntium. The first Norman building on Sicily, San Marco d'Alunzio (named after Guiscard's first castle at Argentano in Calabria), was erected; its ruins survive. Petralia Soprana was then built nearCefalù, followed by a castle atTroina in 1071; in 1073 a castle was built atMazara and another atPaternò .[60] AtAdrano (or Aderno) the Normans built a plain, rectangular donjon whose floor plan illustrates 11th-century Norman design. An outside stairway leads to the first-storey entrance, and the interior is divided lengthwise down the middle into agreat hall on one side and two rooms (a chapel and chamber) on the other.[61]
The kind of Arabic used in the Maltese language is most likely derived from the language spoken by those that repopulated the island from Sicily in the early second millennium; it is known as Siculo-Arab. The Maltese are mostly descendants of these people.
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