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The Judicate of Arborea ( sc, Judicadu de Arbaree, it, Giudicato di Arborea, ) or the Kingdom of Arborea (, , ) was one of the four independent
judicates
The Judicates (, or in Sardinian, in Latin, or in Italian), in English also referred to as Sardinian Kingdoms, Sardinian Judgedoms or Judicatures, were independent states that took power in Sardinia in the Middle Ages, between the ninth a ...
into which the island of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
was divided in the
Middle Ages
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 ...
. It occupied the central-west portion of the island, wedged between
Logudoro
The Logudoro (meaning "Golden Place") is a large traditional region Sardinia, Italy. The name of Logudoro today is linked to the Logudorese dialect, which covers a large area of northern-central Sardinia.
The first denomination of the area is ...
to the north and east,
Cagliari to the south and east, and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
to the west. To the north east and beyond Logudoro was located
Gallura
Gallura ( sdn, Gaddura or ; sc, Caddura ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy.
The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area".
Geography
Gallùra has a surface of and it is situated between 40°55'20"64 latitude ...
, with which Arborea had far less interaction. Arborea outlasted her neighbours, surviving well into the 15th century. The earliest known judicial seat was
Tharros
Tharros (also spelled Tharras, Archaic Greek: , Hellenistic Greek, Tarras or Tarrae, Τάρραι) was an ancient city and former bishopric on the west coast of Sardinia, Italy.
It is currently a Latin Catholic titular see and an archaeologica ...
. The Judicate of Arborea at the times of its maximum expansion occupied the whole island's territory, except the cities of Alghero and Cagliari.
Origins
In the early 9th century, when the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
Berbers of
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 ...
became aggressive in expansion and piracy, the central authorities of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
were unable to effectively defend or consistently govern the imperial province of Sardinia. The local Byzantine magistrates, entitled ''iudici'', meaning "judges" were increasingly left to provide for administration and defense by themselves. Maintaining the traditional forms and patterns of the imperial bureaucracy, the island's ''iudicati'', originally an administrative sub-division, had become autonomous states provinces ruled by ''iudices''. By the 10th century, these districts (like the provinces administered by ''
dux
''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...
'' ("Duke") and ''
comes
''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count".
Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...
'' ("Count") on mainland
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
) had become
hereditary or rotated amongst a few most powerful clans.
The first important Giudice of Arborea was
Marianus I (ruled 1060 – 1070) of the
Thori family
Thori ( ne, ठोरी) is a rural municipality in Parsa District in Province No. 2 of Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकत ...
. In 1070, his successor,
Orzocorre I moved the capital from the ancient port of Tharros, which was exposed to Arab attacks, to
Oristano
Oristano (; sc, Aristanis ) is an Italian city and ''comune'', and capital of the Province of Oristano in the central-western part of the island of Sardinia. It is located on the northern part of the Campidano plain. It was established as the pr ...
. At about that time, Sardinia begins to emerge from obscurity and come into the historian's view. Under the ambitious
Pope Gregory VII, then leading a
papal reform, Sardinia was integrated into the wider Christendom. By the infusion of
Western monasticism
Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of Christians who live Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, m ...
and
Pisan ecclesiastic rule, she became involved in the conflicts and commerce of Europe.
Lacon-Gunale dynasty
Under
Constantine I
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
of the
Lacon dynasty Lacon can refer to:
;People:
* Demetrius Lacon (late 2nd century BC), Greek philosopher
* Lacon family, a Sardinian dynasty
* Lacon baronets, of the English baronetcy
* William Lacon (ca. 1540–1609), English politician
* Roland Lacon (ca. 15 ...
, Arborea paid tribute to the papacy and sponsored
Camaldolese monks, in opposition to the monks of
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
favoured by rival Cagliari. Constantine did homage to Pisa for his ''kingdom'' and his successor was his brother
Comita II. When
Pope Innocent II divided Sardinia between the sees of Pisa and
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
in 1133, Arborea fell to the former, but Comita, for reasons of furthering Arborean independence, allied with Genoa during the subsequent civil wars of that decade. In 1145, Comita was excommunicated by
Baldwin, Archbishop of Pisa
Baldwin (died 6 October 1145) was a Cistercian monk and later Archbishop of Pisa,_a_correspondent_of_Bernard_of_Clairvaux.html" ;"title="717, Pisan and on 31 July 1725 ,_and_the_''kingdom''_of_Arborea_was_nominally_transferred_to_Logudoro.
Comita's_son_and_successor,_Barisone_II_of_Arborea">Barison_II,_put_Arborea_back_on_good_terms_with_Pisa._He_married_into_the_Catalan_people.html" "title="Barisone_II_of_Arborea.html" ;"title="726, Pisan
A special assembly (''conventus'') was held in P ..., a correspon ...
, and the ''kingdom'' of Arborea was nominally transferred to Logudoro.
Comita's son and successor, Barisone II of Arborea">Barison II, put Arborea back on good terms with Pisa. He married into the Catalan people">Catalan