Fighting the "Saracens"
1 2023-05-12T10:17:37-07:00 James J Walsh 82e88f44989398ce3da36e519ea57a917fadcc70 42813 1 The Normans had a multitude of experience fighting the Berbers and Arabs of North Africa due to their campaigns in Sicily and southern Italy. On top of that, the Normans of the Kingdom of Sicily had also fought in the Holy Land during the crusades, providing them with tactical and naval advantages from their experiences. plain 2023-05-12T10:17:39-07:00 James J Walsh 82e88f44989398ce3da36e519ea57a917fadcc70This page is referenced by:
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The Normans in North Africa
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The relationship between the Normans of Sicily and the Zirids of Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia, eastern Algeria and western Libya) is quite strange when looking at the history between the two domains. Two kingdoms that followed two different religions and who seemed to only fight in wars for economic benefits rather than religious calling. Based out of the Tunisian city of Mahdia, The Zirids at this time had been declining in power thanks to political divisions in their domain, as well as the collapse of their Sub-Saharan trade networks. When a famine struck the region in the 1130s, the Normans struck with an invading force. Seizing key cities across the Zirid domain, such as Tripoli (1142 CE), and Mahdia (1146 CE), the Normans under Roger II of Sicily eventually controlled the entire Zirid domain by 1150 CE.
Roger II and the Normans were now in control of a massive Muslim domain, where they were by far the minority in the equation. With that in mind, the Normans attempted to rule their new domain with a light touch. For one, local Muslim leaders were still allowed to rule their domains before the Zirid collapse, which avoided any conflicts with the locals and their new Christian rulers. On top of that, the economic and social situations of the North African domain became more stable. The famine ended with Norman aid, the economy stabilized with new trade in the region, and Muslims who wished to return to their native Ifriqiya were allowed to leave Sicily for the first time in generations.
Roger's death in 1154 CE was succeeded by his son William I, who continued to rule the Kingdoms of Sicily and Africa. Upon his ascension, local Muslim rulers began to cause revolts in the region, as well establishing support for their Almohads and their well-organized armies. The result of these bubbling issues resulted in an invasion of the Norman domain by the Almohads, who conquered all of the Kingdom of Africa by 1160 CE. The Norman Kingdom of Africa had only lasted roughly two decades, but it still established itself as the first Catholic kingdom in Africa since the days of the Roman Empire.
