Alexander (died after 1142) was the second count of
Conversano
Conversano (Bari dialect, Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, at above sea level.
The counts of Conversan ...
(1085–1132), the son and successor of
Geoffrey the Elder.
Alexander, with his brother
Tancred, was a constant thorn in the side of
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...
. He took part in a civil war that broke out in
Bari
Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...
. Risone, the archbishop of the city, was murdered (1117) and the
princess of Taranto,
Constance of France, was imprisoned at
Giovinazzo
Giovinazzo ( Barese: ) is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former bishopric within the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia region, southeastern Italy.
History
It was a small fortified centre of the Romans, who called it Natolium, possibly b ...
(1119) by
Grimoald Alferanites
Grimoald Alferanites was the prince of Bari from 1121 to 1132.
After a civil war broke out in Bari, Risone, the archbishop of the city, was murdered (1117) and the princess of Taranto, Constance of France, was imprisoned at Giovinazzo (1119) by ...
, the prince of Bari, and Alexander.
After Roger was defeated at the
Battle of Nocera in 1132, Tancred returned to the
Mezzogiorno
Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern regions.
The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or culture of the historic ...
and entered into open rebellion again, taking the cities of
Montepeloso
Irsina, until 1895 called Montepeloso (in local dialect: or ), is a town, ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin bishopric in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("T ...
and
Acerenza
Acerenza ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
History
With its strategic position ab ...
, with the support of their populations. He raised a force with his brother Tancred, Count Godfrey of Andria, Count
Ranulf of Alife, and Prince
Robert II of Capua
Robert II (died 1156) was the count of Aversa and the prince of Capua from 1127 until his death .
He was the only son and successor of Jordan II of Capua. According to the Lombard chronicler Falco of Benevento, he was "of delicate constitution ...
. Roger crossed the
Straits of Messina
The Strait of Messina (; ) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily ( Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, wi ...
with a large force and Alexander was so afraid that he abandoned his city of
Matera
Matera (, ; Neapolitan language, Materano: ) is a city and the capital of the Province of Matera in the regions of Italy, region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic (10th mi ...
to his son,
Geoffrey the Younger, and fled to the court of Ranulf. After Roger's successfully besieged Matera, Alexander, deeply grieved, fled to
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
. He was deprived of his fief and unable to return home. He tried to meet up with the
Emperor Lothair II
Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg ( June 1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 be ...
, but was set upon by thieves in a forest. According to
Alexander of Telese
Alexander of Telese () was an Italian chronicler and historian, and the abbot of San Salvatore, near Telese, in southern Italy from before 1127 to before November 1143.
His most famous work is ''The Deeds Done by King Roger of Sicily'' (''Gesta ...
, he was left in the town of
Valona very poor.
In 1142, near the end of his life, he appears as an envoy along with Robert of Capua of
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III (; ; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III, and from 1138 until his death in 1152 King of the Romans in t ...
to the
Byzantine Emperor
The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...
John II Comnenus
John II Komnenos or Comnenus (; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Iren ...
. Their mission was the arrangement of a marriage between Conrad's sister-in-law
Bertha of Sulzbach
Bertha of Sulzbach (1110s – 1160), also known as Irene, was a Byzantine empress by marriage to Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
Life
She was born in Sulzbach, a daughter of Berengar II, Count of Sulzbach (c. 1080 – 3 December 1125) and ...
and John's son
Manuel
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name), a given name and surname
* Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...
. This marriage sealed an alliance between the two empires, Holy Roman and Byzantine, against Roger of Sicily.
On the same day in 1135 that he made his son
Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...
prince of Capua
This is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Capua.
Lombard rulers of Capua Gastalds and counts
The gastalds (or counts) of Capua were vassals of the princes of Benevento until the early 840s, when Gastald Landulf began to clamour for the i ...
, Roger made his brother-in-law
Robert I of Basunvilla, "a man in the flower of his youth", as Alexander of Telese says, "both affable and most active in knightly deeds", count of Conversano.
Sources
''Lexikon de Mittelalters''.*
Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016-1130''. Longmans:
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 1967.
*Alexander of Telese, translated by G. A. Loud. ''The Deeds Done by Roger of Sicily''
Introductionan
Books OneTwoThree
an
Four
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conversano, Alexander, Count of
Italo-Normans
Norman warriors
Counts of Conversano
12th-century deaths
Year of birth unknown