Norman conquest of southern Italy
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Were a series of military campaigns by Norman forces that slowly conquered southern Italy from the Bizyntine Empire and from local Lombard rulers.
Chronology
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January 1023: Within the first decades of the 11th century, the Normans, led by Gilberto Buatère, took up permanent residence in Ariano. In particular, the Norman county of Ariano was formally recognized in 1022 by Henry II of Franconia king of Italy and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
On 9 May 1009, an insurrection erupted in Bari against the Catapanate of Italy, the regional Byzantine authority based there. Led by Melus, a local Lombard, the revolt quickly spread to other cities.
Was a revolt by the Lombards and the Normans against Byzantine rule in southern Italy that led to the initial territorial acquisitions of the Normans in the region.
March 1041: The victory in the battle of Olivento constitutes the first stage for the Norman conquest of southern Italy. William of Hauteville settles in Ascoli Satriano, also takes Venosa and occupies Gravina.
May 1041: The Norman army, led by William of Hauteville and Arduin, defeated the Byzantines in the battle of Montemaggiore and obtained possession of Apulia and the entire region between the Ofanto, Biferno and Matera valleys. The Normans also took possession of the lands of Acerenza, of the villages of Lavello, near the Ofanto river, of Matera and Genzano, on the via Herculea, where they built a castle.
September 1041: On 3 September 1041 at the Battle of Montepeloso, the Normans defeated Byzantine catepan Exaugustus Boioannes and brought him to Benevento. The rebel victory forced the Byzantine army to retreat to the coastal cities of Bari, Monopoli and Giovinazzo, leaving the entire interior of southern Italy to the Norman and Lombard rebels.
October 1042: The three principal Norman groups held a council in Melfi which included Ranulf Drengot, Guaimar IV and William Iron Arm. William and the other leaders petitioned Guaimar to recognize their conquests, and William was acknowledged as the Norman leader in Apulia (which included Melfi and the Norman garrison at Troia). He received the title of Count of Apulia from Guiamar. Guaimar proclaimed himself Duke of Apulia and Calabria.
March 1041: An alliance of Lombards and Normans besiege Melfi. On March 28, Lombard nobleman Arduin offers the citizens to open the doors and let the Normans enter as friends to free the city from the Byzantines. The Normans settle in Melfi.
Were a series of military campaigns by the Normans to conquer the Byzantine Theme of Langobardia.
January 1049: In 1048, Drogo of Hauteville, a Norman nobleman and military leader, led an expedition into Calabria through the valley of Crati, near Cosenza
January 1053: The Norman conquest of the Molise is poorly documented. Boiano (the principal town) may have been conquered the year before the Battle of Civitate by Robert Guiscard.
January 1056: Count of Apulia and Calabria Humphrey conquered Oria, Nardò, and Lecce by the end of 1055.
January 1060: Calabria was conquered by the Normans. Of the peninsula's significant cities, only Reggio remained in Byzantine hands.
January 1061: Although the conquest of Reggio required an arduous siege, Robert's brother Roger had siege engines prepared and was able to conquer the city from the Byzantines.
January 1065: Robert Guiscard, a Norman nobleman and military leader, conquered Taranto in 1064. He was the Duke of Apulia and Calabria.
January 1066: The Normans conquer Brindisi and Oria.
January 1067: Byzantine naval commander Mabrica briefly retook Brindisi and Taranto from the Normans.
February 1067: The Byzanines had to leave Brindisi and Taranto.
November 1060: Under the catapan Miriarch, the Byzantines retook Taranto, Brindisi, Oria, and Otranto from the Normans.
January 1101: In 1100 Robert of Loritello, a Norman noble, extended his principality across the Fortore, taking Bovino and Dragonara.
January 1106: Hugh of Boiano expanded the Norman Duchy of Apulia and Calabria eastward (occupying Toro and San Giovanni in Galdo) and westward (annexing the Capuan counties of Venafro, Pietrabbondante and Trivento in 1105).
January 1055: In 1054 Lombard and Norman forces captured the city of Trani from the Byzantines.
January 1058: Most of Apulia (except the far south and Bari) capitulated to the Normans in campaigns by the fraternal counts William, Drogo and Humphrey.
April 1071: The last Byzantine possession in Italy, in 1068, the city of Bari was besieged by the Normans, who wrested it from the Byzantines in 1071.
January 1064: Geoffrey, son of Peter I of Trani, conquered Otranto in 1063.
January 1079: The Normans conquered the Lombard county of Teate (modern Chieti). Robert I of Loritello, an Italo-Norman nobleman and the eldest son of Geoffrey of Hauteville, soon reached as far north as Pescara and the Papal States. In 1078 Robert allied with Jordan of Capua to ravage the Papal Abruzzo, but after a 1080 treaty with Pope Gregory VII they were obligated to respect Papal territory.
The Duchy of Gaeta is conquered by the Normans.
January 1059: Richard of Capua seized Aquino (one of Gaeta's few remaining fiefs) in 1058.
February 1062: After Atenulf's death, Richard and Jordan of Capua took over the rule of the duchy of Gaeta.
The Principality of Capua is conquered by the Normans.
January 1059: In 1058 Richard conquered the Principality of Capua and therefore, from that moment on, the title of Count of Aversa was included among those pertaining to the Princes of Capua.
January 1091: When Jordan of Aversa died in 1090, his young son Richard II and his regents were unable to hold Capua. They were forced to flee the city by a Lombard, Lando.
January 1099: Lando ruled Capua with popular support until he was forced out by the combined Hauteville forces in the siege of Capua in 1098. With this, ended the last Lombard-ruled state in Italy.
Was the Norman conquest of Sicily, at the time under Muslim rule.
June 1061: The Normans marched through Frazzanò and the Pianura di Maniace (Plain of Maniakes), encountering resistance to their assault of Centuripe. Paternò fell quickly.
November 1061: Roger I of Sicily captured Troina.
January 1062: In 1061 Messina was the first Norman conquest on the island of Sicily.
January 1072: Fall of Palermo to the Normans.
January 1078: In 1077 Roger besieged Trapani, one of the two remaining Saracen strongholds in the west of the island of Sicily. His son, Jordan, led a sortie which surprised guards of the garrison's livestock. With its food supply cut off, the city soon surrendered.
January 1080: In 1079 Taormina was besieged by the Normans.
April 1086: In 1086, Syracuse fell to the Normans.
March 1091: In February 1091 the Norman conquest of Sicily was completed with the taking of Noto.
January 1124: The Pleagian islands were annexed to the Kingdom of Sicily.
January 1128: The conquest of Malta by the Normans was completed in 1127.
The Duchy of Amalfi is conquered by the Normans.
January 1093: From 1092 to 1097 Amalfi did not recognise its Norman suzerain.
January 1102: Marinus of Amalfi was defeated after Amalfitan noblemen defected to the Norman side and betrayed him in 1101.
January 1132: The Duchy of Amalfi was subdued by the Normans in 1131.
January 1074: In 1073 Sergius III of Amalfi died, leaving the infant John III as his successor. Desiring protection in unstable times, the Amalfitans exiled the young duke and submitted to Robert Guiscard that year.
January 1131: Amalfi revolted against the Kingdom of Sicily in 1130.
The Principality of Salerno is conquered by the Normans.
June 1077: On 13 December 1076, the city of Salerno submitted to the Normans. The prince and his retainers retreated to the citadel, which fell in May 1077.
The Duchy of Benevento is conquered by the Normans.
January 1082: In 1081, the city of Benevento was returned to the Papacy again. Benevento was now reduced to a small marginal city and this was all that remained of a once powerful principality.
The Duchy of Naples is conquered by the Normans.
October 1137: On 30 October 1137, the last Duke of Naples died in the king's service at the Battle of Rignano. The defeat at Rignano enabled the Norman conquest of Naples, since Sergius died without heir and the Neapolitan nobility could not reach a succession agreement.
