Sicilian-Byzantine Wars
At a glance:
- Series: Magill’s Guide to Military History
- Categories: Government and Politics, Royalty, Rulers, Nobility, Military History, Land Acquisition and Expansion, Territory Redistribution
- Subcategories: Wars, Battles, Empires, Dynasties, Invasions, Raids, Conquests, Sieges, Byzantine Empire
- Curriculum: Italian History, Medieval History/Middle Ages, Eastern European History
- Geographical Location: Italy, Balkans, Greece, Albania
- Date: Autumn, 1147-January, 1158; June, 1185-spring, 1186
Article abstract: At issue: The Sicilian kings’ desire to rule the Byzantine Empire; the Byzantine emperor’s desire to reconquer southern Italy. Result: Byzantines failed to reconquer southern Italy; Sicilians failed to retain any imperial territory.
Background
In the mid-twelfth century, the Byzantine Empire and Roger II’s kingdom of Sicily (southern Italy and Sicily) were the major rivals for power in the eastern Mediterranean. Though his ancestors had failed to seize Byzantium during the Norman- Byzantine Wars (1081-1108), Roger had much greater...
[The entire page is 693 words long]
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