The Battle of Garigliano was fought in 915 between Christian forces and the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. Pope John X personally led the Christian forces into battle. The aim was to destroy the Arab fortress on the

Garigliano River The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri"). ...

, which had threatened central Italy and the outskirts of Rome for nearly 30 years.

Background

After a series of ravaging attacks against the main sites of the

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in the second half of the 9th century, the

Aghlabids The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a cen ...

established a colony next to the ancient city of Minturnae, near the

. Here they even formed alliances with the nearby Christian princes (notably the hypati of Gaeta), taking advantage of the division between them. In

909 __NOTOC__ Year 909 ( CMIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Britain * King Edward the Elder and his sister, Princess Æthelflæd of Mercia, raid Danish ...

, the Aghlabid Dynasty had been overthrown and replaced by the Fatimids, who assumed control over their territories in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

. Pope John X, however, managed to reunite these princes in an alliance in order to oust the Fatimids from their dangerous strongpoint. The Christian armies united the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

with several south Italian princes of Lombard or Greek extraction, including

Guaimar II of Salerno Guaimar II (also ''Waimar'', ''Gaimar'', or ''Guaimario'', sometimes called Gybbosus, meaning "Hunchback") (died 4 June 946) was the Lombard prince of Salerno from 901, when his father retired (or was retired) to a monastery, to his death. His fath ...

John I of Gaeta John I (died 933 or 934) was the second hypatos of Gaeta of his dynasty, a son of Dociblis I and Matrona, and perhaps the greatest of medieval Gaetan rulers. John began his rule as an associate of his father from either 867, right after his fat ...

and his son Docibilis,

Gregory IV of Naples Gregory IV (died 915) was the firstborn son of Duke Sergius II of Naples and successor of his paternal uncle, Bishop Athanasius, in 898, when he was elected ''dux'', or ''magister militum'', unanimously by the aristocracy. His other paternal uncle, ...

and his son John, and Landulf I of Benevento and Capua. The

King of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader, ...

Berengar I Berengar I ( la, Berengarius, Perngarius; it, Berengario; – 7 April 924) was the king of Italy from 887. He was Holy Roman Emperor between 915 and his death in 924. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friu ...

, sent a support force from

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

and the

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

, led by Alberic I, duke of Spoleto and Camerino. The Byzantine Empire participated by sending a strong contingent from

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and

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under the ''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...

'' of

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

Nicholas Picingli Nicholas Epigingles ( el, Νικόλαος Ἐπιγίγγλης), better known by his Latinized surname Picingli, was a Byzantine general active in southern Italy and the Balkans. As ''strategos'' of the '' thema'' of Longobardia, he led the Byzan ...

. John X himself led the from the Lazio,

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Battle

The first action took place in northern Lazio, where small bands of ravagers were surprised and destroyed. The Christians scored two more significant victories at

Campo Baccano Campo may refer to: Places ;Cameroon * Campo, Cameroon, in the South Province ;Equatorial Guinea * Río Campo, in the Litoral Province ;France * Campo, Corse-du-Sud, a commune on the island of Corsica ;Italy * List of World War II prisoner-of-wa ...

, on the

Via Cassia The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed throug ...

, and in the area of

Tivoli Tivoli may refer to: * Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli Buildings * Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855 * Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), a ...

and

Vicovaro Vicovaro ( la, Varia, Romanesco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome. History The area of Vicovaro was inhabited as early as the Neolithic period, as tes ...

. After these defeats, the Muslims occupying

Narni Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and ''comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. ...

and other strongholds moved back to the main Fatimid stronghold on the Garigliano: this was a fortified settlement (''kairuan'') whose site, however, has not yet been identified with certainty. The siege lasted for three months, from June to August. After being pushed out of the fortified camp, the Fatimids retired to the nearby hills. Here they resisted many attacks led by Alberic and Landulf. However, deprived of food and noticing their situation was becoming desperate, in August they attempted a sally to reach the coast and escape to the

Emirate of Sicily The Emirate of Sicily ( ar, إِمَارَة صِقِلِّيَة, ʾImārat Ṣiqilliya) was an Islamic kingdom that ruled the island of Sicily from 831 to 1091. Its capital was Palermo (Arabic: ''Balarm''), which during this period became a ...

. According to the chronicles, all were captured and executed.

Aftermath

Berengar was rewarded with Papal support and eventually the imperial title, while Alberic's prestige after the victorious battle granted him a preeminent role in the future

history of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

. John I of Gaeta was able to expand his duchy to the Garigliano and received the title of '' patricius'' from Byzantium, leading his family to proclaim themselves "dukes". Following the victory, the Byzantines, as the most important force during the battle, became the dominant power in southern Italy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garigliano, Battle Of Garigliano Battles of the Middle Ages Garigliano 910s conflicts Islam in Italy 915 10th century in Italy Garigliano Garigliano Battles in Lazio Duchy of Amalfi Principality of Salerno Duchy of Gaeta