The Judicate of Logudoro or Torres ( sc, Judicadu de Logudoro or ''Torres'', ''Rennu de Logudoro'' or ''Logu de Torres'') was a state in northwest
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 ...
from the tenth through the thirteenth century. Its original capital was
Porto Torres
Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...
. The region is still called
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 ...
today.
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 a ...
, Logudoro was one of
four kingdoms (''iudicati'') into which the island was divided. The others were
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 ...
to the east,
Arborea
Arborea is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture and cattle breeding with production of vegetables, rice, fruit and milk (notably the local milk product Arborea).
Histo ...
to the south, and
Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
to the southeast. Logudoro was the largest and earliest known of the ''iudicati'' but also the second to be swallowed up by a foreign power. It was divided into twenty ''curatoriae'', ruled by ''curatores''.
History
In the ninth century, the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
and
Imazighen
, image = File:Berber_flag.svg
, caption = The Berber ethnic flag
, population = 36 million
, region1 = Morocco
, pop1 = 14 million to 18 million
, region2 = Algeria
, pop2 ...
followed aggressive policies of expansion and piracy in the
Mediterranean
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 e ...
. The conquest of Sicily by these groups in 827 effectively cut Sardinia off from the central government and military might 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 ...
. In the absence of instruction or reinforcement, the Sardinian provincial Byzantine officials, called ''iudici'' ("judges") began to govern autonomously. By the tenth century the island was divided into four of these provinces (''giudicati'', literally, "judgeships"), though two — Logudoro and Arborea — were combined at the start of the eleventh century. By 900, these districts had become ''de facto'' independent states, their ruling kings still titled as ''iudices'' or ' ("judges"') after their imperial civil servant predecessors. The first capital city for the Giudicato of Logudoro was ancient Torres (now
Porto Torres
Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...
), but it was exposed to Arab attacks, and so the seat of the judgeship was transferred first to
Ardara, and finally to
Sassari
Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
.
Logudoro only began to emerge from the fog of history during the reign of
Barisone I from about 1038 to 1073. He brought
Western monasticism
Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural ...
to the island by requesting monks from
Abbot Desiderius of
Montecassino
Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...
and in this he was supported by both
Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria refor ...
and
Godfrey the Bearded
Godfrey III ( 997 – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine.
Biography Disputed succession
By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of ...
,
Margrave of Tuscany
The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region.
Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface
:These were origin ...
, though the
archdiocese of Pisa
The Archdiocese of Pisa ( la, Archidioecesis Pisana) is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Pisa, Italy.717, Pisan">708, Pisan); on 30–31 July 1716 ,_thitherto_chief_religious_influence_on_the_island,_opposed_it._The_monks_had_spiritual,_scholastic_and_military_roles._On_the_death_of_Barisone_I,_Arborea_chose_its_own_judge_in_Marianus_I_of_Arborea">Marianus_de_Zori,_while_the_Logudorese_chose_
,_thitherto_chief_religious_influence_on_the_island,_opposed_it._The_monks_had_spiritual,_scholastic_and_military_roles._On_the_death_of_Barisone_I,_Arborea_chose_its_own_judge_in_Marianus_I_of_Arborea">Marianus_de_Zori,_while_the_Logudorese_chose_Andrew_of_Torres">Andrew_Tanca.
The_kingdom_of_Logudoro_came_to_an_end_in_1259,_when_the_queen_