Roger II of Sicily 79075 222839452 2008-07-01T10:56:04Z EstherLois 6084914 /* External links */ [[Image:Martorana RogerII.jpg|right|thumb|Detail of the [[mosaic]] with Roger II receiving the crown by Christ, [[Martorana]], Palermo. The mosaic carries an inscription ''Rogerios Rex''.]] '''Roger II''' ([[22 December]] [[1095]]<ref> Houben, p. 30.</ref> &ndash; [[26 February]] [[1154]]) was King of [[Sicily]], son of [[Roger I of Sicily]] and successor to his brother [[Simon, Count of Sicily|Simon]]. He began his rule as [[Count of Sicily]] in [[1105]], later became [[Duke of Apulia|Duke of Apulia and Calabria]] ([[1127]]), then [[King of Sicily]] ([[1130]]). It is Roger II's distinction to have united all the [[Normans|Norman]] conquests in Italy into one kingdom with a strong centralized government. ==Background== {{seealso|Norman conquest of southern Italy}} [[Image:RogerIIofSicilySilverDucaleBrindisiMint.jpg|thumb|Coin of Roger II of Sicily, silver Ducale, Brindisi mint.]] In the early decades of the 11th century, [[Normans|Norman]] adventurers came to southern Italy, initially to fight against the [[Saracens]] or the [[Byzantine Empire]]. These mercenaries not only fought the enemies of the Italian city-states, but in the following century they gradually became the rulers of the major [[polity|polities]] south of Rome At the time of the birth of his youngest son, in 1093, Roger I ruled the [[List of monarchs of Naples and Sicily|County of Sicily]], his nephew, [[Roger Borsa]], was the [[List of Counts and Dukes of Apulia and Calabria|Duke of Apulia and Calabria]], and a distant nephew, [[Richard II of Capua]], was the [[Principality of Capua|Prince of Capua]]. Alongside these three major rulers were a large number of minor [[count]]s, who effectively exercised sovereign power in their own localitites. These counts at least nominally owed their allegiance to one of these three Norman rulers, but such allegiance was usually weak and often ignored.<ref>Mathew, p. 21.</ref> When Roger I, Count of Sicily, died in 1101 the throne was assumed by his young son, [[Simon of Hauteville]], who himself died but four years later. ==Reign== [[Image:Southern Italy 1112.svg|right|thumb|Southern Italy in 1112 [[Common Era|CE]], at the time of Roger II's coming of age, showing the major states and cities. Numerous smaller city-states, usually under the [[suzerainty]] or [[vassalage]] of the larger states, are not shown.<br><small> The border of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1154, at the time of Roger's death, is shown by a thicker black line encircling most of southern Italy.</small>]] ===Rise to power in Sicily=== On the death of his elder brother, Simon of Hauteville, in 1105, Roger inherited the County of Sicily under the [[Regent|regency]] of his mother, [[Adelaide del Vasto]]. During this time the mother was assisted by such notables as [[Christodulus]], the [[emir]] of [[Palermo]]. In the summer of 1110, he was visited by the Norwegian king [[Sigurd I of Norway|Sigurd Jorsalfare]] on his way to [[Jerusalem]]. In 1112, Roger attained his [[age of majority]] and began his personal rule, being named "now knight, now Count of Sicily and Calabria" in a charter document dated June 12, 1112.<ref> Houben, p. 30.</ref> In 1117, his mother, who had married [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem]], returned to Sicily, and Roger married his first wife, [[Elvira of Castile, wife of Roger II|Elvira]], daughter of [[Alfonso VI of Castile]] and his Moorish concubine or wife, Zaida. In 1122, [[William II of Apulia|William II]], the [[Duke of Apulia]] and Roger's first cousin once removed, offered to renounce his remaining claims to Sicily as well as part of [[Calabria]]. Roger, in exchange, crossed the [[Straits of Messina]] to subjugate the duke's vassal, Count [[Jordan of Ariano]]. In doing so, he penetrated the [[Basilicata]] and took [[Montescaglioso]]. ===Rise to power in southern Italy === When William II of Apulia died childless in July 1127, Roger claimed all [[Hauteville family]] possessions in the peninsula as well as the overlordship of the [[Principality of Capua]], which had been nominally given to Apulia almost thirty years earlier. However, the union of [[Sicily]] and Apulia was resisted by [[Pope Honorius II]] and by the subjects of the duchy itself. ====Royal investiture==== [[Image:Pluviale of the holy roman empire.jpg|thumb|right|Coronation mantle of Roger II. It bears an inscription in Arabic with the [[Hegira]] date of 528 (1133&ndash;34).]] The popes had long been suspicious of the growth of Norman power in southern Italy and at Capua in December, the pope preached a [[crusade]] against Roger, setting [[Robert II of Capua]] and [[Ranulf II of Alife]] (his own brother-in-law) against him. After this coalition failed, in August 1128 Honorius invested Roger at [[Benevento]] as Duke of Apulia. The baronial resistance, which was backed by [[Naples]], [[Bari]], [[Salerno]], and other cities whose aim was civic freedom, gave way. In September 1129 Roger was generally recognized as duke of Apulia by [[Sergius VII of Naples]], Robert of Capua, and the rest. He began at once to enforce order in the duchy, where the ducal power had long been fading. Upon the death of Pope Honorius in February 1130 there were two claimants to the papal throne. Roger supported [[Antipope Anacletus II]] against [[Pope Innocent II|Innocent II]]. The reward was a crown, and, on [[27 September]] [[1130]], Anacletus' [[papal bull]] made Roger king of Sicily. He was crowned in [[Palermo]] on the [[Christmas Day]] 1130. ====Peninsular rebellions==== This plunged Roger into a ten-year war. The famous [[Bernard of Clairvaux]], Innocent's champion, organized a coalition against Anacletus and his "half-heathen king." He was joined by [[Louis VI of France]], [[Henry I of England]], and the [[Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor]]. Meanwhile southern Italy revolted. In 1130, the [[Duchy of Amalfi]] revolted and in 1131, Roger sent [[John (Sicilian admiral)|John of Palermo]] across the [[Strait of Messina]] to join up with a royal troop from Apulia and Calabria and march on [[Amalfi]] by land while [[George of Antioch]] blockaded the town by sea and set up a base on [[Capri]].<ref>Houben, 60. Norwich, 11.</ref> Amalfi soon capitulated. In 1132, Roger sent [[Robert II of Capua]] and [[Ranulf II of Alife]] to [[Rome]] in a show of force in support of Anacletus. While they were away, Roger's half-sister Matilda, the wife of Ranulf, fled to Roger claiming abuse. Simultaneously, Roger annexed Ranulf's brother's County of [[Avellino]]. Ranulf demanded the restitution of both wife and countship. Both were denied, and Ranulf left Rome against orders, with Robert following. [[Image:Roger II Sicily.jpg|thumb|left|Roger II riding to war, from ''Liber ad honorem Augusti'' of [[Peter of Eboli|Petrus de Ebulo]], [[1196]].]] First Roger dealt with a rebellion in Apulia, where he defeated and deposed [[Grimoald, Prince of Bari]], replacing him with his second son [[Tancred, Prince of Bari|Tancred]]. Meanwhile, Robert and Ranulf took papal [[Benevento]]. Roger went to meet them but was defeated at the [[Battle of Nocera]] on [[25 July]], [[1132]]. Roger retreated to Salerno. The next year, Lothair III came down to Rome for his imperial coronation. The rebel leaders met with him there, but they were refused help because Lothair's force was too small.<ref>Houben, p. 63.</ref> With the emperor's departure, divisions in his opponents' ranks allowed Roger to reverse his fortunes. By July 1134, Roger's troops had forced Ranulf, Sergius, and the other ringleaders to submit. Robert was expelled from Capua and Roger installed his second son, [[Alfonso of Hauteville]] as Prince of Capua. Roger II's eldest son [[Roger III, Duke of Apulia|Roger]] was given the title of Duke of Apulia. Meanwhile, Lothair's contemplated attack upon Roger had gained the backing of [[Pisa]], [[Genoa]], and the [[Byzantine emperor]], each of whom feared the growth of a powerful Norman kingdom. A Pisan fleet led by the exiled prince of Capua laid anchor in Naples (1135). Ranulf joined Robert and Sergius there, encouraged by news coming from Sicily that Roger was fatally ill or even already dead. The important fortress of [[Aversa]], among others, passed to the rebels, and only Capua resisted under the royal chancellor, [[Guarin]]. On [[June 5]], however, Roger disembarked in Salerno, much to the surprise of the whole mainland provinces. The royal army, split in several forces, easily conquered Aversa and even Alife, the base of the natural rebel leader, Ranulf. Most of the rebels took refuge in Naples, which was besieged in July, but despite the poor health conditions within the city, Roger was not able to take it, and returned to [[Messina]] late in the year. ====Imperial invasion==== [[Image:TabulaRogeriana.jpg|thumb|The [[Tabula Rogeriana]], a [[ancient world map]] drawn by [[Al-Idrisi]] for Roger II of Sicily in 1154.]] In 1136, the long-awaited imperial army, led by Lothair and the [[duke of Bavaria]], [[Henry the Proud]], descended the peninsula to support the three rebels. Henry, Robert, and Ranulf took a large contingent of troops to besiege the peninsular capital of the kingdom, [[Salerno]]. Roger remained in Sicily, leaving its mainland garrisons helpless under the chancellor [[Robert of Selby]], while even the Byzantine emperor [[John II Comnenus]] sent subsidies to Lothair. Salerno surrendered, and the large army of Germans and Normans marched to the very south of Apulia. There, in June 1137, Lothair besieged and took [[Bari]]. At [[San Severino]], after the victorious campaign, he and the pope jointly invested Ranulf as duke of Apulia (August 1137), and the emperor then retired to Germany. Roger, freed from the utmost danger, immediately disembarked in Calabria, at [[Tropea]], with 400 knights and other troops, probably mostly Muslims. After having been welcomed by the Salernitans, he recovered ground in [[Campania]], sacking [[Pozzuoli]], Alife, Capua, and Avellino. Sergius, terrified, was forced to acknowledge him as overlord of Naples and sway his allegiance to Anacletus: that moment marked the fall of an independent Neapolitan duchy, and thereafter the ancient city was fully integrated into the Norman realm. Thence Roger moved to Benevento and northern Apulia, where Duke Ranulf, although steadily losing his bases of power, had some German troops plus some 1,500 knight from the cities of [[Melfi]], [[Trani]], [[Troia (Italy)|Troia]], and Bari, who were "ready to die instead to lead a miserable life." On [[30 October]] [[1137]], at the [[Battle of Rignano]] (next to [[Monte Gargano]]), the younger Roger and his father, with Sergius of Naples, met the defensive army of Duke Ranulf. It was the greatest defeat of Roger II's career. His son fought with courage, and Sergius died honourably in battle, but Roger himself fled the field to Salerno. It capped the meteoric career of Ranulf: twice victor over Roger. Anacietus II died in January 1138, but Innocent II refused to reconcile with the King. In Spring 1138, the royal army invaded the [[Principality of Capua]], with the precise intent of avoiding a pitched battle and of dispersing Ranulf's army with a series of marches along sharp terrain. While the count of Alife lacked decision, Roger, now supported by Benevento, destroyed all the rebels' castles in the region, capturing an immense booty. Ranulf himself, who had taken refuge in Troia, his capital, was killed by a malaric fever on [[30 April]] [[1139]]. Later, Roger exhumed him from the Troian cathedral in which he was buried and threw him in a ditch, only to later repent and rebury him decently. At this time, Sergius being dead, Alfonso was elected in his place and together with his brother Roger, went off to conquer the [[Abruzzi]]. [[Image:Scifato ducale .jpg|left|thumb|250px|AR Scyphate Ducalis. Dated year 10 (1140), after the king's victory on [[July 25]]. Obverse: Christ. Reverse: King Roger and Duke Roger.]] ====Consolidation of kingship==== After the death of Anacletus in January 1138, Roger had sought the confirmation of his title from Innocent. However, the pope wanted an independent Principality of Capua as a buffer state between the Kingdom of Sicily and the [[Papal States]], something Roger would not accept.<ref>Houben et al., p.71</ref> In the summer of 1139, Innocent II invaded the kingdom with a large army, but was ambushed at [[Galluccio]] on ([[22 July]] 1139),<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911.</ref> southeast of present-day [[Cassino, Italy|Cassino]], by Roger's son and was captured. Three days later, by the [[Treaty of Mignano]], the pope proclaimed Roger II as ''rex Siciliae ducatus Apuliae et principatus Capuae''. The boundaries of his ''regno'' were only later fixed by a truce with the pope in October 1144. These lands were for the next seven centuries to constitute the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. In 1139, Bari, where during the wars of the past year 50,000 inhabitants had remained unscathed behind the massive walls, decided to surrender: the ''excellentissimus princeps'' [[Jaquintus, Prince of Bari|Jaquintus]], who had led the rebellion of the city, was hanged together with many of his followers, but the city avoided a sack. His execution of the prince and his counsellors was perhaps the most violent act of Roger's life. While his sons overcame pockets of resistance on the mainland, on [[5 November]] [[1139]] Roger returned to Palermo to plan a great act of legislation: the [[Assizes of Ariano]] an attempt to establish his dominions in southern Italy as a coherent state. He returned to check up on his sons' progress in [[1140]] and then went to [[Ariano]], a town central to the peninsular possessions (and a centre of rebellion under his predecessors). There he promulgated the great law regulating all Sicilian affairs. It invested the king and his bureaucracy with absolute powers and reduced the authority of the often rebellious vassals. While there, centralising his kingdom, Roger declared a new standard coinage, named after the duchy of Apulia: the ''[[ducat]].'' ===Later reign: the peaceful years=== [[Image:Chapelle Palatine.jpg|thumb|"The [[Cappella Palatina]], at Palermo, the most wonderful of Roger's churches, with Norman doors, Saracenic arches, Byzantine dome, and roof adorned with Arabic scripts, is perhaps the most striking product of the brilliant and mixed civilization over which the grandson of the Norman Trancred ruled" ([[EB1911]]).]] Roger had now become one of the greatest kings in Europe. At Palermo, Roger drew round him distinguished men of various races, such as the famous Arab geographer [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|Idrisi]] and the Greek historian [[Nilus Doxopatrius]]. The king welcomed the learned, and he practised toleration towards the several creeds, races and languages of his realm. To administer his domain he hired many Greeks and Arabs, who were trained in long-established traditions of centralized government.<ref>[[Maurice Keen]], Pelican History of Medieval Europe, Routledge Kegan & Paul 1968</ref> He was served by men of nationality as dissimilar as the Englishman [[Thomas Brun]], a ''[[kaid]]'' of the ''Curia'', and, in the fleet, first by Christodulus and then [[George of Antioch]], whom he made in 1132 ''ammiratus ammiratorum'' or "Emir of Emirs," in effect prime [[vizier]]. This title gave way to the English word [[admiral]]. Roger made Sicily the leading maritime power in the [[Mediterranean]]. A powerful fleet was built up under several admirals, or "emirs", of whom the greatest was George, formerly in the service of the Muslim prince of [[Mahdia]]. Mainly thanks to him, a series of conquests were made on the African coast (1135&ndash;1153). [[Tripoli]] was captured in 1146 and [[Bône|Cape Bona]] in 1148. These conquests were lost in the reign of Roger's successor William and never formed an integral part of the kingdom. The [[Second Crusade]] (1147&ndash;1148) offered Roger an opportunity to revive the attacks against the [[Byzantine Empire]], the traditional Norman enemy to the East. It also afforded him an opportunity, through the agency of [[Theodwin]], a cardinal ever-vigilant for Crusade supporters, to strike up a correpondance with [[Conrad III of Germany]] in an effort to break his alliance with [[Manuel I Comnenus]]. Roger never went himself on an expedition against [[Byzantium]], handing over the command to the skillful George. In 1147, George set sail from [[Otranto]] with seventy galleys to assault [[Corfu]]. According to [[Nicetas Choniates]], the island capitulated thanks to George's bribes (and the tax burden of the imperial government), welcoming the Normans as their liberators. Leaving a garrison, George sailed on to the [[Peloponnesus]]. He sacked [[Athens]] and quickly moved on to the [[Ionian Islands]]. He ravaged the coast all along [[Euboea]] and the [[Gulf of Corinth]] and penetrated as far as [[Thebes, Greece]], where he pillaged the silk factories and carried off the Jewish damask, brocade, and silk weavers, taking them back to Palermo where they formed the basis for the Sicilian silk industry. George capped the expedition with a sack of [[Corinth]], in which the relics of [[Saint Theodore]] were stolen, and then returned to Sicily. In 1149, however, Corfu was retaken. George went on a punitive expedition against Constantinople, but could not land and instead defied the Byzantine emperor by firing arrows against the palace windows. Yet the attack on the empire had no enduring results. The king died at [[Palermo]] on [[26 February]] [[1154]], and was buried in the [[Cathedral of Palermo]]. He was succeeded by his fourth son [[William I of Sicily|William]]. Roger II's elaborate coronation cloak, later used by the Holy Roman Emperors, is now in the [[Schatzkammer|Imperial Treasury]] (Schatzkammer) in [[Vienna]]. Roger is the subject of ''[[King Roger]]'', a 1926 opera by Polish composer [[Karol Szymanowski]]. ==Family== [[Image:DSC00533 - Cattedrale - Tomba di Ruggero II (1095-1154) - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-09-2006.jpg|thumb|Roger's tomb in the Cathedral of Palermo.]] Roger's first marriage was in [[1117]] to [[Elvira of Castile (Sicilian queen)|Elvira of Castile]], a daughter of King [[Alfonso VI of Castile]]. When she died, rumors flew that Roger had died as well, as his grief had made him a recluse. They had six children: # [[Roger III, Duke of Apulia|Roger]] (b. [[1118]] - d. [[12 May]] [[1148]]), heir, [[Duke of Apulia]] (from 1135), possibly also Count of [[Lecce]]; # [[Tancred, Prince of Bari|Tancred]] (b. [[1119]] - d. [[1138]]), Prince of Bari (from 1135). # [[Alfonso of Hauteville|Alfonso]] (b. [[1120]]/[[1121]] - d. [[10 October]] [[1144]]), [[Prince of Capua]] (from 1135) and [[Duke of Naples]]; # Adelisa (b. ca.[[1126]]? - d. aft.[[1184]]), Countess di Florenzia in her own right; married firstly with Joscelin, Conte di Loreto, and secondly with Robert, Conte di Loritello e Conversano. # [[William I of Sicily|William]] (b. [[1131]] - d. [[7 May]] [[1166]]), his successor, [[Duke of Apulia]] (from 1148); # Henry (b. [[1135]] - d. young). Roger's second marriage was in [[1149]] to [[Sibyl of Burgundy|Sybille of Burgundy]], daughter of [[Hugh II, Duke of Burgundy]]. They had two children: # Henry (b. [[29 August]] [[1149]] - d. young); # Stillborn child ([[16 September]] [[1150]]). Roger's third marriage was in [[1151]] to [[Beatrix of Rethel]], a grandniece of King [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem]]. They had a daughter: # [[Constance of Sicily|Constance]] (b. posthumously [[2 November]] [[1154]] - d. [[28 November]] [[1198]]), married with the Emperor [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], who became King of Sicily in his right. Roger also had several illegitimate children. One illegitimate daughter, Marina, married the great admiral [[Margaritus of Brindisi]]. Another illegitimate child, [[Simon of Taranto|Simon]], became the [[Prince of Taranto]]. ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== {{Commonscat|Roger II of Sicily}} *Aubé, Pierre. ''Roger II de Sicilie''. 2001. *Matthew, Donald. ''The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks)'', 1992. *[[John Julius Norwich|Norwich, John Julius]]. ''The Normans in the South 1016-1130''. Longmans: [[London]], [[1967]]. *[[John Julius Norwich|Norwich, John Julius]]. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194''. Longman: [[London]], [[1970]]. *Houben, Hubert (translated by Graham A. Loud and Diane Milburn). ''Roger II of Sicily: Ruler between East and West''. [[Cambridge University Press]], [[2002]]. *Rowe, John Gordon. "[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-6407%28195909%2928%3A3%3C310%3ATPATG%28%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J The Papacy and the Greeks (1122-1153) (Part II).]" ''Church History'', Vol. 28, No. 3. (Sep., 1959), pp 310-327. *Wieruszowski, Helen. "[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0038-7134%28196301%2938%3A1%3C46%3ARIOSRI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3 Roger II of Sicily, Rex-Tyrannus, In Twelfth-Century Political Thought.]" ''Speculum'', Vol. 38, No. 1. (Jan., 1963), pp 46-78. ==External links== *[http://www.paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Sicily%20&%20S%20Italy/Montages/Sicily/Palermo/Palermo%20&%20First%20Normans.htm Adrian Fletcher’s Paradoxplace – Palermo and the First Normans – Photos] {{start box}} {{succession box two to one|title1=[[Count of Sicily]]|before1=[[Simon, Count of Sicily|Simon]]|years1=1105&ndash;1130|title2=[[Duke of Apulia]]|before2=[[William II, Duke of Apulia|William II]]|years2=1127&ndash;1130|after=became King of Sicily}} {{succession box|title=[[King of Sicily]]|before=&mdash;|after=[[William I of Sicily|William I]]|years=1130&ndash;1154}} {{succession box|title=[[Principality of Taranto|Prince of Taranto]]|before=[[Bohemond II of Antioch|Bohemond II]]|after=[[Tancred, Prince of Bari|Tancred]]|years=1128&ndash;1132}} {{end box}} [[Category:Kings of Sicily]] [[Category:Medieval child rulers]] [[Category:1095 births]] [[Category:1154 deaths]] [[Category:Burials at Palermo Cathedral]] [[de:Roger II. (Sizilien)]] [[es:Rogelio II de Sicilia]] [[fr:Roger II de Sicile]] [[ko:루지에로 2세]] [[id:Ruggeru II dari Sisilia]] [[it:Ruggero II di Sicilia]] [[nl:Rogier II van Sicilië]] [[ja:ルッジェーロ2世]] [[nap:Ruggiero II 'e Sicilia]] [[no:Roger II av Sicilia]] [[pl:Roger II]] [[pt:Rogério II da Sicília]] [[ru:Рожер II]] [[scn:Ruggeru II di Sicilia]] [[sl:Rogerij II.]] [[sr:Руђер II Сицилијански]] [[fi:Roger II]] [[sv:Roger II av Sicilien]]