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Kingdom of Sicily

The Kingdom of Sicily (Latin: Regnum Siciliae; Italian: Regno di Sicilia; Sicilian: Regnu di Sicilia[2][3][4][5]) was a state that existed in Sicily and the south of the Italian Peninsula plus, for a time, in Northern Africa from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. The island was divided into three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto.

This article is about the Norman kingdom founded in 1130 and its successors based on the island of Sicily. For the mainland southern Italian kingdom after 1282, see Kingdom of Naples.

Kingdom of Sicily

Sovereign state
(1130–1282, 1806–1816)
Part of the Crown of Aragon
(1282–1479)
Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire (1479–1713)
Personal union with the Duchy of Savoy
(1713–1720)
Under Habsburg rule
(1720–1735)
Personal union with the Kingdom of Naples
(1735–1806)

Roman Catholicism (official)

 

Roger II (first)

Ferdinand III (last)

 

1282

1816

After a brief rule by Charles of Anjou, a revolt in 1282 known as the Sicilian Vespers threw off Angevin rule in the island of Sicily. The Angevins managed to maintain control in the mainland part of the kingdom, which became a separate entity also styled Kingdom of Sicily, although it is retroactively referred to as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital. From 1282 to 1409, the island was ruled by the Crown of Aragon as an independent kingdom, and was then added permanently to the Crown. Following the dynastic union of Castile and Aragon in 1479, it was a viceroyalty of the Spanish kingdom. [6][7] During the war of the Spanish succession (1700-1714), the island was taken over by the House of Savoy. In 1720, Savoy gave it to Austria in exchange for Sardinia. Later, the island was ruled by a branch of the Bourbons. Following the Napoleonic period, the Kingdom of Sicily was formally merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which in 1861 became part of the new unified Kingdom of Italy.

Society[edit]

During the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, the local communities maintained their privileges. The rulers of the Hohenstaufen kingdom replaced the local nobility with lords from northern Italy, leading to clashes and rebellions against the new nobility in many cities and rural communities. These revolts resulted in the destruction of many agrarian areas and the rise of middle class nationalism, which eventually led to urban dwellers becoming allies of the Aragonese.[13] This situation was continued during the short rule of the Angevins until their overthrowing during the Sicilian Vespers. The Angevins began feudalising the country, increasing the power of the nobility by granting them jurisdiction over high justice.[24]


At the same period, the feudalisation of the Kingdom of Sicily was intensified, through the enforcement of feudal bonds and relations among its subjects. The 1669 Etna eruption destroyed Catania. In 1693, 5% of the Kingdom's population was killed because of earthquakes. During that period, there were also plague outbreaks. The 17th and 18th century were an era of decline of the kingdom. Corruption was prevalent among the upper and middle classes of the society. Widespread corruption and mistreatment of the lower classes by the feudal lords led to the creation of groups of brigands, attacking the nobility and destroying their fiefs.[22] These groups, which were self-named "mafia", were the foundation of the modern Sicilian Mafia. The escalation of revolts against the monarchy eventually led to the unification with Italy.[25]


The kingdom had a parliament from 1097, which continued to sit throughout the realm's history until the Sicilian Constitution of 1812.

Abulafia, David. Frederick II: A Medieval Emperor, 1988.

Abulafia, David. The Two Italies: Economic Relations between the Kingdom of Sicily and the Northern Communes, Cambridge University Press, 1977.

Abulafia, David. The Western Mediterranean Kingdoms 1200–1500: The Struggle for Dominion, Longman, 1997. (a political history)

Alio, Jacqueline. Queens of Sicily 1061-1266: The Queens Consort, Regent and Regnant of the Norman-Swabian Era of the Kingdom of Sicily, Trinacria, 2018.

Aubé, Pierre. «Les Empires normands d'Orient, XIe-XIIIe siècles», Paris, rééd. Perrin, 2006.

Aubé, Pierre. «Roger II de Sicile. Un Normand en Méditerranée», Paris 2001, rééd. Perrin, 2006.

Johns, Jeremy. Arabic administration in Norman Sicily : the royal dīwān, Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Mallette, Karla (2011). The Kingdom of Sicily, 1100-1250: A Literary History. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Mendola, Louis. The Kingdom of Sicily 1130-1266: The Norman-Swabian Age and the Identity of a People, Trinacria Editions, New York, 2021.

Metcalfe, Alex. Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily: Arabic Speakers and the End of Islam, Routledge, 2002.

Metcalfe, Alex. The Muslims of Medieval Italy, 2009.

Norwich, John Julius. Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History, 2015.

Runciman, Steven. The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Late 13th Century, Cambridge University Press, 1958.

(Duke University)

Image database - The Medieval Kingdom of Sicily, a visual resource of historical sites c. 1100 - c. 1450