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• 1 2023-04-20T09:49:50-07:00 Greeks and Jews in Sicily 3 plain 2023-05-11T08:59:27-07:00 While the Sunni Berbers of the region were by far the most dominant religious and culture group on Sicily, there were a large number of Greeks and a decent number of Jews that still lived on the island. The Greeks who lived there were holdovers from Byzantine rule after they lost control of the island in the early-mid 9th century. By the time the Normans conquered and ruled Sicily, many Greeks were able to speak Arabic, which helped with translating Arabic and Greek text for their Norman rulers. On top of that, many Greeks played a key role in Norman art, architecture, and even military strategy during their rule under the Norman kings of Sicily. When the Normans entered conflicts with the Byzantine Empire, Sicilian Greeks often fought against their Byzantine counterparts, both as foot soldiers and military officers.
  As for the Jews of Sicily, their communities remained relatively undisturbed since Arab rule in the 9th century. Similarly to the Italians living on the island, Sicilian Jews lived within their respective communities and had an emphasis on trade throughout the Mediterranean. While there are no evidence of independent Jewish city-states, Jewish regions of Sicily acted relatively autonomous in regards to trade similarly to Italian city-states across the Italian Peninsula, as long as they paid taxes on goods and the jizyah. The impact of trade from Jewish communities helped the Normans by providing an even bigger economic web for them to trade goods and acquire capital. These economic contributions were a big part of the wealth and success of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily.