Ahmed Es-Sikeli
Ahmed es-Sikeli ( ar, أحمد الصقلي), baptised a Christian under the name Peter, was a eunuch and kaid of the Diwan of the Kingdom of Sicily during the reign of William I. His story was recorded by his Christian contemporaries Romuald Guarna and Hugo Falcandus from Sicily and the Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun. Peter was born a Muslim in Djerba to a Berber family of the Sadwikish tribe. After his conversion he entered the service of the Sicilian crown and rose to the rank of admiral in the navy. During the reconquest of Roger I's "Kingdom of Africa" by the Muslims (1159), Peter led 160 ships in a raiding expedition to the Muslim-held Balearic Islands. He later tried to relieve besieged Mahdia in North Africa with the same fleet, but soon after engaging in battle he turned around and retreated towards Sicily. While Arabic sources credit a gale with dispersing the fleet, Hugo Falcandus asserts that Peter was "only in name and dress a Christian, and a Saracen at heart". Falc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baptised
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three times, once for each person of the Trinity. The synoptic gospels recount that John the Baptist baptised Jesus. Baptism is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. Baptism according to the Trinitarian formula, which is done in most mainstream Christian denominations, is seen as being a basis for Christian ecumenism, the concept of unity amongst Christians. Baptism is also called christening, although some reserve the word "christening" for the Infant baptism, baptism of infants. In certain Christian denominations, such as the Lutheran Chu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sylvester Of Marsico
Sylvester (c. 1100 – 1162), count of Marsico ( it), was a Norman nobleman of the Kingdom of Sicily. Second son of Godfrey of Ragusa, second eldest son of Roger I of Sicily, he was not a young man when he first rose to importance in the realm. He immediately seized all the property of the Admiral Maio of Bari in Palermo on the latter's assassination (10 November 1160). He was then chosen by the king as one of three triumvirs to succeed Maio's place in the administration. His appointment was made to please the aristocracy which, under Matthew Bonnellus, had murdered Maio. Sylvester, though distantly related to King William I, was possibly a conspirator with Bonnellus. His fellow triumvirs were Henry Aristippus and the Bishop Palmer. When in 1162 William was besieging Salerno, Sylvester and Palmer interceded on behalf of the Salernitan notary Matthew of Ajello to prevent a sack. It was his last important act. He died later that year and was replaced by the caïd Peter. He left ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Converts To Roman Catholicism From Islam
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from Baptist to Catholic Christianity or from Sunni Islam to Shi’a Islam. In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals". People convert to a different religion for various reasons, including active conversion by free choice due to a change in beliefs, secondary conversion, deathbed conversion, conversion for convenience, marital conversion, and forced conversion. Proselytism is the act of attempting to convert by persuasion another individual from a different religion or belief system. Apostate is a term used by members of a religion or denomination to refer to so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eunuchs
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium BCE. Over the millennia since, they have performed a wide variety of functions in many different cultures: courtiers or equivalent domestics, for espionage or clandestine operations, castrato singers, concubines, or sexual partners, religious specialists, soldiers, royal guards, government officials, and guardians of women or harem servants. Eunuchs would usually be servants or slaves who had been castrated to make them less threatening servants of a royal court where physical access to the ruler could wield great influence. Seemingly lowly domestic functions—such as making the ruler's bed, bathing him, cutting his hair, carrying him in his litter, or even relaying messages—could, in theory, give a eunuch "the ruler's ear" and impa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kingdom Of Sicily People
Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama starring Stephen Fry * ''Kingdom'' (American TV series), a 2014 US television drama starring Frank Grillo * ''Kingdom'' (South Korean TV series), a 2019 South Korean television series *'' Kingdom: Legendary War'', a 2021 South Korean television series Music * Kingdom (group), a South Korean boy group * ''Kingdom'' (Koda Kumi album), 2008 * ''Kingdom'' (Bilal Hassani album), 2019 * ''Kingdom'' (Covenant Worship album), 2014 * ''Kingdoms'' (Life in Your Way album), 2011 * ''Kingdoms'' (Broadway album), 2009 * ''Kingdom'' (EP), a 1998 EP by Vader * "Kingdom" (Dave Gahan song), 2007 * "Kingdom" (Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin song), 2022 * "Kingdom", a song by Battle Beast on their 2013 album '' Battle Beast'' * "Kingdom", a so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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12th-century Berber People
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. In conventions of sign where zero is considered neither positive nor negative, 1 is the first and smallest positive integer. It is also sometimes considered the first of the infinite sequence of natural numbers, followed by 2, although by other definitions 1 is the second natural number, following 0. The fundamental mathematical property of 1 is to be a multiplicative identity, meaning that any number multiplied by 1 equals the same number. Most if not all properties of 1 can be deduced from this. In advanced mathematics, a multiplicative identity is often denoted 1, even if it is not a number. 1 is by convention not considered a prime number; this was not universally accepted until the mid-20th century. Additionally, 1 is ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Medieval Admirals
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—most recently part of the Eastern Roman ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yusuf I, Almohad Caliph
Abu Ya`qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, which was part of a new grand mosque. He was a keen student of philosophy and patron of Averroes. Life Yusuf was the son of Abd al-Mu'min, the first caliph of the Almohad dynasty. His mother was Safiyya bint Abi Imran, a masmuda woman from Tinmel, the daughter of Abu Imran Musa ibn Sulayman al-Kafif, a companion of Ibn Tumart. Like a number of Almohad rulers, Yusuf favored the Zahirite or literalist school of Muslim jurisprudence and was a religious scholar in his own right. He was said to have memorized Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, two collections of Muhammad's statements considered canonical in Sunni Islam, by heart, and was a patron of the theologians of his era. Respected men of letters such as Ibn Rushd and Ibn Tufayl were entertained ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Almohad Caliph
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad movement was founded by Ibn Tumart among the Berber Masmuda tribes, but the Almohad caliphate and its ruling dynasty were founded after his death by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi. Around 1120, Ibn Tumart first established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains. Under Abd al-Mu'min (r. 1130–1163) they succeeded in overthrowing the ruling Almoravid dynasty governing Morocco in 1147, when he conquered Marrakesh and declared himself caliph. They then extended their power over all of the Maghreb by 1159. Al-Andalus soon followed, and all of Muslim Iberia was under Almohad rule by 1172. The turning po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gilbert, Count Of Gravina
Gilbert was a Norman Count of Gravina from 1159 until 1167. His father Bertrand was the illegitimate son of Rotrou III, Count of Perche. He was a cousin of Margaret of Navarre, the queen of Sicily. He arrived in Sicily sometime around 1159 and, through Margaret's influence, was created Count of Gravina in Apulia immediately. Late in that same year, Gilbert joined a conspiracy of nobles, including Richard of Aquila, Roger of Acerra, and Bohemond of Tarsia, Count of Manoppello. The conspiracy was of only minor lords, but it gained traction. The aim of the conspirators was to assassinate Maio of Bari and in this they succeeded on 10 November 1160. The rebellion which followed was short-lived in Sicily, and Gilbert was one of the barons restored to favour, along with Bohemond. However, on the peninsula, the rebels, led by Andrew of Rupecanina, Robert of Loritello and Tancred of Lecce, marched on Butera and burned it. King William himself entered the field against Tancred, his nep ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William II Of Sicily
William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo. Yet his reign is marked by an ambitious foreign policy and a vigorous diplomacy. Champion of the papacy and in secret league with the Lombard cities, he was able to defy the common enemy, Frederick Barbarossa. In the ''Divine Comedy'', Dante places William II in Paradise. He is also referred to in Boccaccio's ''Decameron'' (tale IV.4, where he reportedly has two children, and tale V.7). William was nicknamed "the Good" only in the decades following his death. It is due less to his character than to the cessation of the internal troubles that plagued his father's reign and the wars that erupted under his successor. Under the Staufer dynasty his reign was characterised as a golden age of peace and justice. His numer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Margaret Of Navarre (1128–1183)
Margaret of Navarre (french: Marguerite, es, Margarita, it, Margherita) (c. 1135 – 12 August 1183) was Queen of Sicily as the wife of William I (1154–1166) and the regent during the minority of her son, William II. Queen consort Margaret was the daughter of King García Ramírez of Navarre and Marguerite de l'Aigle. She was married at a young age to William I of Sicily, in 1149, the fourth son of Roger II of Sicily. According to the Palermitan archivist Isidoro La Lumia, she was, in her later years, ''bella ancora, superba, leggiera'' ("still beautiful, proud, light"). During the reign of her husband, Margaret was largely ignored by William who spent much of his time away from court - often frequenting his many personal harems. However, she is considered to have been a stronger, more apt administrator than her husband, and several times convinced him to act where he was determined to be passive. She worked closely with Maio of Bari, the king's '' ammiratus ammiratoru ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |