Illustrated History of Sicily

A visual journey through the land, cuisine, people, language, and living traditions of Sicily — the crossroads of civilizations.
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Chapter 12

The Lengthening Shadow

Every golden age must end. For Norman Sicily, the end began with succession problems. King William II, called “the Good,” ruled from 1166 until his death in 1189 but left no direct heir. The Norman crown of Sicily passed to his aunt Constance, wife of Henry of Hohenstaufen, the son of the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. As a result of King William II’s tragic foreign policy error, the magnificent Kingdom of Sicily was practically gifted to the kingdom’s oldest enemy,  the Hohenstaufen family dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire.

This chapter traces the complicated final decades of Norman rule, including the short, troubled reign of the last Norman King Tancred of Lecce, who briefly held the throne in opposition to the Hohenstaufen claim, and follows the  invasion of Sicily by Emperor Henry VI in 1194.

of the chapter ends with the birth of Frederick II, son of Emperor Henry IV and Queen Constance of Sicily, who was destined to become one of the most extraordinary monarchs of the Middle Ages.

Earliest Inhabitants– Greek Colonization of Sicily

Archeological evidence dates the earliest settlements within Sicily back to

Golden Age of the Greek World

This chapter sets the stage to gain greater understanding of

Greek Tyrants of Sicily

Sicilian Greek history is dominated by a succession of powerful

Arrival of the Romans

The Roman conquest of Sicily was the product of the

Christianization & Fall of Rome

Christianity came early to Sicily. Tradition holds that Saint Paul

Sicily in the Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine reconquest of Sicily was led by Belisarius, Emperor

Rebirth Under Arab Rule

The Arab conquest of Sicily began in 827 AD when

The Normans in Italy

To understand the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, one must first

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Era Cards

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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing

John Doe

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing

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