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History Of Swabian Sicily
Swabian Sicily denotes the period in the history of Sicily during which it was ruled by the Hohenstaufen dynasty, lasting from Henry VI's's accession to the island's throne in 1194 until Manfred of Sicily's defeat by Charles I of Anjou in 1266. It has been particularly researched by German scholars such as Ernst Kantorowicz and Willy Cohn. History Henry VI and Frederick II William III of Sicily was deposed in 1194 and was succeeded by his grandaunt Constance of Altaville, who nine years earlier had married Henry VI, son of Frederick Barbarossa. Henry himself died in 1197 - his widow ruled Sicily alone for a year and a few months before her death she had their four-year-old son Frederick II crowned, creating the new Hohenstaufen dynasty on Sicily. She then ruled as regent on his behalf until her death in 1198, upon which pope Innocent III took over as Frederick's guardian, entrusting him to a regency council and recognising him as heir to the throne of Sicily. From 1201 to 120 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Sicily
The history of Sicily has been influenced by numerous ethnic groups. It has seen Sicily controlled by external powers – Phoenician and Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Vandal and Ostrogoth, Byzantine Greek, Aghlabid, Fatimid, Kalbid, Norman, Aragonese and Spanish – but also experiencing important periods of independence, as under the indigenous Sicanians, Elymians and Sicels, and later as the Emirate of Sicily, County of Sicily, and Kingdom of Sicily. The Kingdom was founded in 1130 by Roger II, belonging to the Siculo-Norman family of Hauteville. During this period, Sicily was prosperous and politically powerful, becoming one of the wealthiest states in all of Europe. As a result of the dynastic succession, then, the Kingdom passed into the hands of the Hohenstaufen. At the end of the 13th century, with the War of the Sicilian Vespers between the crowns of Anjou and Aragon, the island passed to the latter. In the following centuries the Kingdom entered into the perso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constitutions Of Melfi
The Constitutions of Melfi, or ''Liber Augustalis'',Also called the ''Liber Constitutionum Regni Siciliae'' or ''Constitutiones Melphitanae'', from which its informal name, Constitutions of Melfi, derives. The name Liber Augustalis was invented by commentators who believed the laws were a statement of the theory of autocracy (David Abulafia, ''Frederick II'' (1988) 203. were a new legal code for the Kingdom of Sicily promulgated on 1 September 1231 by Emperor Frederick II. It was given at Melfi, the town from which Frederick's Norman ancestors had first set out to conquer the Mezzogiorno two centuries earlier. Originally a reform of the Assizes of Capua of 1220, themselves his reform of the Assizes of Ariano of 1140, the Constitutions formed the basis of Sicilian law for the next six centuries. The author of the Constitutions is purported to be Frederick himself, though Giacomo Amalfitano, Archbishop of Capua, appears as an influence as well. He was even reproved by the pope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luogotenente
The Italian word ''luogotenente'' (; plural ''luogotenenti'') is an etymological parallel to lieutenant, deriving from the Latin ''locum tenens'' "holding a place", i.e. someone who fills a position instead of another, as a substitute, deputy, et cetera. It has a few specific historical uses: Military post The knightly officer who is in daily command of the Grand Master's own regimental company, to which the ''famigliari'' (closest personal staff) belonged. Civilian administrator It was also the governor (elsewhere other titles, such as ''provveditore'', were used) for the Venetian Republic on the island of Cyprus, which it bought from its last Crusader king from the house of Lusignan, usually for a two-year term, until the Turks captured it in 1570. Besides him the military command was entrusted to a ''capitano'' ('captain', de facto military governor), from 1480 to 1571 (when Famagusta, the last fortress, fell). Compound and derived titles In the Neapolitan Two Sicilies Kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Principality Of Taranto
The Principality of Taranto was a state in southern Italy created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Apulia. Taranto became the capital of the principality, which covered almost all of the heel of Apulia. During its subsequent 377 years of history, it was sometimes a powerful and almost independent feudal fief of the Kingdom of Sicily (and later of Naples), sometimes only a title, often given to the heir to the crown or to the husband of a reigning queen. When the House of Anjou was divided, Taranto fell to the house of Durazzo (1394–1463). Ferdinand I of Naples united the Principality of Taranto to the Kingdom of Naples at the death of his wife, Isabella of Clermont. The principality came to an end, but the kings of Naples continued giving the title of Prince of Taranto to their sons, firstly to the future Alfonso II of Naples, el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manfred Of Sicily
Manfred ( scn, Manfredi di Sicilia; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over the kingdom of Sicily on behalf of his nephew Conradin in 1254. As regent he subdued rebellions in the kingdom, until in 1258 he usurped Conradin's rule. After an initial attempt to appease Pope Innocent IV he took up the ongoing conflict between the Hohenstaufens and the papacy through combat and political alliances. He defeated the papal army at Foggia on 2 December 1254. Excommunicated by three successive popes, Manfred was the target of a Crusade (1255–66) called first by Pope Alexander IV and then by Urban IV. Nothing came of Alexander's call, but Urban enlisted the aid of Charles of Anjou in overthrowing Manfred. Manfred was killed during his defeat by Charles at the Battle of Benevento, and Charles assumed kingship of Sicil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conrad IV Of Germany
Conrad (25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of Emperor Frederick II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) upon the death of his mother in childbed. Appointed Duke of Swabia in 1235, his father had him elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) and crowned King of Italy (as Conrad IV) in 1237. After the emperor was deposed and died in 1250, he ruled as King of Sicily (Conrad I) until his death. Early years He was the second child, but only surviving son of Emperor Frederick II and Isabella II (Yolanda), the queen regnant of Jerusalem. Born in Andria, in the South Italian Kingdom of Sicily, his mother died shortly after giving birth to him and he succeeded her as monarch of the Crusader state of Jerusalem. By his father, Conrad was the grandson of the Hohenstaufen emperor Henry VI and great-grandson of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. He lived ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palermo Cathedral
Palermo Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo, located in Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. As an architectural complex, it is characterized by the presence of different styles, due to a long history of additions, alterations and restorations, the last of which occurred in the 18th century. History The church was erected in 1185 by Walter Ophamil, the Norman archbishop of Palermo and King William II's minister, on the area of an earlier Byzantine basilica. By all accounts this earlier church was founded by Pope Gregory I and was later turned into a mosque by the Saracens after their conquest of the city in the 9th century. Ophamil is buried in a sarcophagus in the church's crypt. The medieval edifice had a basilica plan with three apses, of which only some minor architectural elements survive today. The upper orders of the corner towers were built between the 14th and the 15th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid Sultanate, the strongest Muslim state of the time. However, a sequence of economic and political events culminated in the Crusader army's 1202 siege of Zara and the 1204 sack of Constantinople, the capital of the Greek Christian-controlled Byzantine Empire, rather than Egypt as originally planned. This led to the partitioning of the Byzantine Empire by the Crusaders. The Republic of Venice contracted with the Crusader leaders to build a dedicated fleet to transport their invasion force. However, the leaders greatly overestimated the number of soldiers who would embark from Venice, since many sailed from other ports, and the army that appeared could not pay the contracted price. In lieu of payment, the Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo propos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augusta, Sicily
Augusta (, archaically ''Agosta''; scn, Austa ; Greek and la, Megara Hyblaea, Medieval: ''Augusta'') is a town and in the province of Syracuse, located on the eastern coast of Sicily (southern Italy). The city is one of the main harbours in Italy, especially for oil refineries (Sonatrach and others as part of the complex Augusta-Priolo) which are in its vicinity. Geography The city is situated in the province of Syracuse and faces the Ionian Sea. The old town is an island, made in the 16th century by cutting an isthmus and is connected to the mainland by two bridges. One bridge was built recently (Viaduct Frederick II of Swabia) and the other was built when the city was founded and is called the Porta Spagnola. Augusta is home to two ports. History Founded 27 centuries ago, Megara Hyblaea is one of the oldest Greek colonies of Sicily. It was destroyed by its rival Syracuse, was raised from its ruins, then taken by the Romans together with Syracuse during the Second Punic War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilian Parliament
The Sicilian Parliament was the legislature of the Kingdom of Sicily. History The Sicilian Parliament is arguably one of the oldest parliaments in the world and the first legislature in the modern sense. In 1097 came the first conference in Mazara del Vallo convened by Roger I the Great Count. The parliament was initially travelling, as it had no official building to house it. The Sicilian Parliament was made up of three branches: one feudal, one Ecclesiastical, and one from the towns. The feudal branch was formed by noble representatives of counties and baronies; the ecclesiastical branch was formed by archbishops, bishops, abbots and archimandrites, while the state-owned branch was formed by representatives of 42 autonomous towns in Sicily. The first Norman parliament had only an advisory function- especially in taxation, economics and wars- and was responsible for confirmation of the sovereign. Members were chosen from the more powerful nobles. Since 1130, meetings have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enna
Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering above the surrounding countryside. It has earned the nicknames (panoramic viewpoint) and ("navel") of Sicily. At above sea level, Enna is the highest Italian provincial capital. History Enna is situated near the center of the island; whence the Roman writer Cicero called it ''Mediterranea maxime'', reporting that it was within a day's journey of the nearest point on all the three coasts. The peculiar situation of Enna is described by several ancient authors, and is one of the most remarkable in Sicily. The ancient city was placed on the level summit of a gigantic hill, surrounded on all sides with precipitous cliffs almost wholly inaccessible. The few paths were easily defended, and the city was abundantly supplied with water which g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castello Ursino
Castello Ursino ( scn, Casteddu Ursinu, lit=Bear Castle), also known as Castello Svevo di Catania, is a castle in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It was built in the 13th century as a royal castle of the Kingdom of Sicily, and is mostly known for its role in the Sicilian Vespers, when it became the seat of the Sicilian Parliament. The castle is in good condition today, and it is open to the public as a museum. History Construction Castello Ursino was built between 1239 and 1250, as one of the royal castles of Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily, closing a chapter on the turbulent time in Sicily that followed the death of his predecessor, William II. Local lords had attempted to assert independence, and in 1220 Frederick II had ordered the destruction of all non-royal castles in Sicily. Castello Ursino was built to stress royal power as well as for the defence of the capital, and was considered impregnable at the time. Sicilian Vespers In 1295, during the Sicilian Vespers, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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