This article is about the specific polity Principality of Salerno 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.
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Was a medieval Southern Italian state, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war.
Establishment
January 852: Division of the principality of Benevento sanctioned by the emperor Ludwig II with the capitulary of 851. The Principality of Salerno was born from the division.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Was a treaty that detached the Principality of Salerno from the Duchy of Benevento.
Was a military campaign of Byzantine general Nikephoros Foka against both the Arab and the Lombards in southern Italy.
January 886: His successor, Niceforo Foca, conquered not only the last cities of Calabria remained in Arab hands but also managed to subdue the Lombard territories that separated Byzantine Calabria and Puglia. He was very clement to the conquered Lombards, exempting them from paying taxes and not using violence against them, and the local population remembered him for his good governance (885-886) by building a church in his honor. Leo VI in his tactics manual praises him as an example of how a general should behave in case he has to reorganize a recently conquered territory.
2.1.Byzantine conquest of Calabria and Apulia
Byzantine conquest of Calabria and Apulia.
January 887: Byzantine conquest of Calabria and Puglia.
The Magyars (or Hungarians) successfully conquered the Carpathian Basin (corresponding to the later Kingdom of Hungary) by the end of the ninth century, and launched a number of plundering raids thoughout Europe.
January 922: In 921, the Hungarians raided Italy, reaching Apulia in 922.
February 922: In 921, the Hungarians raided Italy, reaching Apulia in 922. The territories were left after the raid.
January 928: The Hungarians marched up to Rome and imposed large tribute payments on Tuscany and Tarento.
February 928: The Hungarians marched up to Rome and imposed large tribute payments on Tuscany and Tarento. After the raid, the Hungarians left these territories.
January 938: In 937, the Hungarians raided France as far west as Reims, Lotharingia, Swabia, Franconia, the Duchy of Burgundy and Italy as far as Otranto in the south.
February 938: In 937, the Hungarians raided France as far west as Reims, Lotharingia, Swabia, Franconia, the Duchy of Burgundy and Italy as far as Otranto in the south. After the ride they left these territories.
January 948: In 947, Bulcsú, a Hungarian chieftain of Taksony, led a raid into Italy as far as Apulia.
February 948: In 947, Bulcsú, a Hungarian chieftain of Taksony, led a raid into Italy as far as Apulia.
Were a series of wars between the Byzantines and the Normans in southern italy and the Balkan Peninsula.
4.1.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.
4.1.1.Norman-Lombard Revolt
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.
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.
4.1.2.Conquest of the Theme of Langobardia
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
4.1.3.Norman conquest of the Duchy of Gaeta
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.
4.1.4.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.
January 863: Pando the Rapacious declared Capua independent from Salerno in 862.
January 883: In 882 the Byzantines were driven out by the Saracens who established an emirate in Agropoli.
January 979: The whole Langobardia Minor was reunified for the last time by Duke Pandolfo Testadiferro, who in 978 also became the prince of Salerno.
April 981: Pandulf I did not leave a unitary inheritance, but divided his domain between his two sons: Landolfo IV received the Principality of Benevento and Capua, while Pandolfo II obtained Salerno.
January 982: The Principality of Salerno passed to the dukes of Amalfi with Mansone.
January 984: Giovanni Lamberto is elected prince by the citizens of Salerno.
January 1036: Guaimar IV of Salerno achieved his first great victory in 1035, when he conquered Sorrento and entrusted the duchy to his brother Guido.
January 1039: Guaimar IV of Salerno put Capua under siege and conquered the principality.
January 1040: In 1039, Guaimar, the Prince of Salerno, gained control over the Duchy of Naples, Duchy of Amalfi, and Duchy of Gaeta, which were previously under Byzantine rule.
January 1048: In 1047 what had been the undertaking of a lifetime (uniting southern Italy) for Guaimar of Salerno was completely cancelled: the emperor Henry III, who arrived in southern Italy to ask for a deed of submission from all the local princes, returned Capua to Pandulf.
January 1054: The Duchy of Amalfi free itself from the Prince of Salerno.
January 1059: In 1058, Richard I, prince of Capua, and his son Giordano took possession of the Duchy of Gaeta.
Disestablishment
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.
Selected Sources
Leyser, K. (1982): Medieval Germany and its neighbours, 900-1250, London (UK), p. 50
Makkai, L. (1990): The Hungarians' prehistory, their conquest of Hungary and their raids to the west to 955, in: A History of Hungary, Bloomington (USA) p. 8-14
Reuter, T. (1995): The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900-c. 1024, Cambridge (UK), p. 543
Reuter, T. (1995): The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900-c. 1024, Cambridge University Press, p. 543
Sugar, P. F. / Hanák, P. (1994): A History of Hungary, Bloomington (USA), p. 13
Timothy R. (1995) The New Cambridge Medieval History Volume 3, c. 900-c. 1024, Cambridge (UK), p. 543
Principality of Salerno
