This article is about the specific polity Duchy of Apulia and Calabria and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
It became a duchy when Robert Guiscard was raised to the rank of duke by Pope Nicholas II in 1059.
Establishment
August 1059: The Duchy of Apulia and Calabria was established with the first council of Melfi (preceded by the treaty of Melfi and made operational with the Melfi Concordat). Pope Niccolò II appointed Robert Guiscard duke of Apulia and Calabria.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Were a series of wars between the Byzantines and the Normans in southern italy and the Balkan Peninsula.
1.1.Norman conquest of southern Italy
Were a series of military campaigns by Norman forces that slowly conquered southern Italy from the Bizyntine Empire and from local Lombard rulers.
1.1.1.Conquest of the Theme of Langobardia
Were a series of military campaigns by the Normans to conquer the Byzantine Theme of Langobardia.
January 1060: Calabria was conquered by the Normans. Of the peninsula's significant cities, only Reggio remained in Byzantine hands.
November 1060: Under the catapan Miriarch, the Byzantines retook Taranto, Brindisi, Oria, and Otranto from the Normans.
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 1064: Geoffrey, son of Peter I of Trani, conquered Otranto in 1063.
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.
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 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.
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).
1.1.2.Norman conquest of the Duchy of Amalfi
The Duchy of Amalfi is conquered by the Normans.
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 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.
1.1.3.Norman conquest of the Principality of Salerno
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.
1.1.4.Norman conquest of the Duchy of Benevento
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.
1.2.First Norman invasion of the Balkans
Was an invasion launched by the Normans of south Italy against Byzantine territories in the Balkans.
October 1081: Robert Guiscard sailed towards the Illyrian coast, and took Durazzo.
January 1082: Robert Guiscard sailed towards the Illyrian coast, and took Corfu.
January 1082: In the spring of 1081, Robert Guiscard, the Norman Duke of Apulia and Calabria, sent his son Bohemund of Taranto to lead the way by seizing Avlona, a strategic port city in present-day Albania
January 1086: A Byzantine victory and crucial Venetian aid allowed the Byzantines to retake the Balkans from the Normans.
January 1075: The Croatians were forced to settle and give away Split, Trogir, Zadar, Biograd, and Nin to the Normans.
January 1076: In 1075, Venice expelled the Normans and secured the cities of Split, Trogir, Zadar, Biograd, and Nin for itself.
January 1101: The grand county of Ariano, whose borders extended on one side to the gates of Benevento and on the other to the threshold of the Tavoliere, became part of the vast duchy of Puglia and Calabria.
Disestablishment
January 1128: William II, Duke of Apulia, had no legitimate heirs and upon his death the entire Norman South was inherited by his cousin, Roger, who was Count of Sicily.
Duchy of Apulia and Calabria
