duchy · Italy

Duchy of Sorrento

839 CE – 1137 CE (approx.) · capital Sorrento

Minor Byzantine-era duchy on the Sorrento peninsula, independent of Naples from the 9th century until the Normans took it in 1137.

Origins

Sorrento, an old Roman town on the peninsula south of the Bay of Naples, was part of the Byzantine Duchy of Naples. In the 9th century, amid the conflicts with Lombard Benevento and Arab raiders, it gained self-government under its own dukes, like neighbouring Amalfi.

Rule and society

Little is known of the duchy, which was small and overshadowed by Naples and Amalfi. It ruled the western part of the peninsula and nearby islands, and its economy rested on fishing, farming and coastal trade. In 1039 Guaimar IV of Salerno seized it and gave it to his brother Guy, and it later passed among Lombard and Norman lords.

Decline and legacy

Sorrento submitted to Roger II and was absorbed into the Norman Kingdom of Sicily by 1137, after which it was ruled as part of the kingdom's mainland territories.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Duchy of Naples 661 CE – 1137 CEDuchy of Sorrento

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Sorrento. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-sorrento
MLA
“Duchy of Sorrento.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-sorrento. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Sorrento.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-sorrento.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Sorrento’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-sorrento (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻