Roger II.

Roger II., king of Sicily, the second son of Count Roger I., was born in 1097, and by the death of his elder brother Simon in 1105 became count of Sicily. On the death (1127) of Duke William of Apulia, grandson of Robert Guiscard, his duchy passed to Roger, who thereupon proceeded to weld together a strong Norman kingdom in Sicily and South Italy; the Antipope Anacletus crowned him king of Sicily and Italy in 1130. He next added to his dominions the Norman principality of Capua (1136), the duchy of Naples, and the territories of the Abruzzi (1140). In the year prior to this last acquisition he managed to take prisoner Pope Innocent II., with whom he concluded an advantageous bargain: Innocent recognised him as king of Sicily, whilst Roger acknowledged Innocent as pope, gave him his liberty, and held his kingdom as a fief of the holy see. The Byzantine emperor Manuel having insulted Roger's ambassador, Roger's admiral, George of Antioch, ravaged the coasts of Dalmatia and Épirus, took Corfu, and plundered Corinth and Athens (1146). He carried off silk-workers from the Peloponnesus to Sicily, and so introduced that industry into the kingdom. Roger then crossed the Mediterranean (1147) and won a large province from the Saracens in North Africa—Tripolis, Tunis, and Algeria. His court was one of the most magnificent in Europe; he was tolerant to all the creeds of the various peoples under his rule; his government was firm and enlightened; his name a terror to both Greeks and Moslems. Roger died in February 1154, leaving his throne to his incapable son William. See SICILY.