County of Sicily

Origins

Roger de Hauteville, Robert Guiscard's youngest brother, crossed to Sicily in 1061 and took Messina. With Guiscard he besieged Palermo, which fell in early 1072, and Roger became count of Sicily under his brother's overlordship. The conquest of the Emirate of Sicily took thirty years, ending with the fall of Noto in 1091, the year Roger also raided Malta.

Rule and society

Roger ruled a largely Muslim and Greek population with a thin Norman elite. He kept Arabic-speaking fiscal offices, recruited Muslim troops, refounded Latin bishoprics and endowed Greek monasteries. In 1098 Pope Urban II granted him unusual control over the Sicilian church. After his death in 1101, his widow Adelaide del Vasto ruled as regent and moved the court to Palermo.

Decline and legacy

Roger II came of age in 1112, absorbed the mainland Duchy of Apulia and Calabria in 1127 and was crowned king at Palermo on Christmas Day 1130. The county thus became the core of the Kingdom of Sicily.