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• 1 2023-05-03T19:52:07-07:00 The Normans in Southern Italy 12 plain 2023-05-12T08:58:49-07:00

  When the Normans entered Italy around the early 11th century, they entered a world where all three Abrahamic religions sought to control the decentralized southern territories. To the north, the continuous struggles of the Christian world were split between the churchly kingdom of the Papal States and the feudal realm of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite having a massive Catholic presence in southern Italy, the two factions had bitter rivalries brewing that bled into the rest of Italy. On one hand, the Lombardic Duchies of Capua and Salerno backed their Germanic allies in the Holy Roman Empire. On the other hand, the domains of Benevento backed the Pope. The faction that kept the two forces at bay from attacking one another was the southern claims of the Byzantine Empire, which held key cities and ports across the Apulian and Calabrian realms. While that was going on, the rest of southern Italy was either controlled by independent Italian merchant republics or by Sunni Berbers on the islands of Sicily and Malta.
  The Normans immediately made themselves available as mercenaries, aiding in many petty skirmishes on behalf of the different domains of the Lombards, Italians, and Byzantines. Eventually, two Normans were given different domains in the Italian Peninsula, with Robert Guiscard de Hauteville receiving the County of Melfi in 1046 CE and Richard Drengot receiving the County of Aversa in 1049 CE. With a place to call their own, the Normans began to expand rapidly across the Italian Peninsula. Mainly under the command of Robert Guiscard (roughly translated to Robert “the Cunning”), the Normans expanded and conquered the domains of Salerno, Benevento, and Amalfi, eventually being crowned Duke of Apulia and Calabria in 1059 CE. The title of Duke was given to Robert de Hauteville by Pope Nicholas II during the same year.
  The Norman domains continued to expand in the Norman wars against the Byzantines, who were allied with the Venetians and the Holy Roman Empire. With the conclusion of the Siege of Bari in 1071 CE, the Normans did the unthinkable and defeated both the Byzantines and the Germans in a war where they were outmatched. Their victory solidified their claims to all Byzantine holdings in Apulia and Calabria, ending the Byzantine’s 500-year reign and presence in the region. With their neighbors subdued, the Normans began to focus more on their remaining neighbors in Naples and Capua. More importantly, the stage was being set to conclude one of many conflicts with the Berbers on the island of Sicily, where the Normans had already captured key Sicilian ports and cities in the region.

• 1 2023-05-03T19:53:10-07:00 The Normans in Sicily 8 plain 2023-05-12T09:13:02-07:00

  Since the beginning of 1061 CE, the Normans began to skirmish with the Sunni Taifas that ruled in Sicily and Malta. Not even a year after the conclusion of the Siege of Bari, resulting in the Norman annexation of Byzantine holdings in Italy, the Normans found themselves about to conquer one of the most important cities in the Mediterranean at the time, the economic and culturally diverse port city of Palermo. The Normans, who were once again led by Robert Guiscard, captured the city of Palermo and forced the city’s surrender on the seventh of January in 1072 CE. With Palermo captured, the Normans continued to expand across the island, eventually capturing the entirety of the island in 1091 CE. At the same time, Robert’s brother Roger de Hauteville (also known as Roger Bosso, or Roger “the Great”), who had become Roger I of Sicily in 1071 CE, conquered Malta around the same time as Sicily fell entirely to the Normans.
  
  With the Sicilian campaign finished, Robert Guiscard wouldn’t see it through, as he passed in 1085 CE due to age and disease. His succession went to his brother Roger Bosso, who now controlled the Duchies of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily. Eventually, he too would pass, with his domain passing on to his son Simon de Hauteville, who was still too young to rule and thus had his mother Adelaide del Vasto acting as his regent. However, Simon passed away four years later on the twenty-eighth of September, 1105 CE, giving his domain to his brother Roger II of Sicily. With the Norman domain under control, Roger II de Hauteville established the Norman Kingdom of Sicily on Christmas Day of 1130 CE with the blessing of Pope Innocent II. The capital of the kingdom was then established in the Sicilian city of Palermo, where the kingdom endured until its defeat in 1194 CE.
  
  The seizure and control of Sicily and Malta proved to be pivotal for the Normans. For one, they controlled what was arguably the most important port city in the region economically. The flow of trade was seemingly guaranteed to enter the region, with merchants having connections across all aspects of the Mediterranean world. The island was also a strategic point for the Normans and their future endeavors into regions like North Africa and the Balearic Islands of Spain. On top of that, the Normans had a massive population from all aspects of the Mediterranean world under their control for political and military use. Everyone from Lombards, Italians, Greeks, and Berbers found themselves serving different roles in the kingdom, ranging from political advisors to standard infantry units for future Norman conquests.