Kingdom of Sicily

Kingdom of Sicily
1130–1816
Motto: Animus Tuus Dominus (Latin)
Courage is thy Lord
The Kingdom of Sicily in 1190
The Kingdom of Sicily in 1190
The Kingdom of Sicily and its territorial divisions in the 14th century.
StatusSovereign state
(1130–1412, 1806–1816)
Part of the Crown of Aragon
(1412–1516)
Direct Spanish rule
(1516–1713)
Personal union with the Duchy of Savoy
(1713–1720)
Under Habsburg rule
(1720–1735)
Personal union with the Kingdom of Naples
(1735–1806)
Capital
and largest city
Palermo
38°35′31″N 16°4′44″E / 38.59194°N 16.07889°E / 38.59194; 16.07889
Official languages
Religion
Roman Catholicism (official)
Demonym(s)Sicilian
GovernmentFeudal monarchy
King 
• 1130–1154
Roger II (first)
• 1266–1282
Charles I of Anjou
• 1759–1816
Ferdinand III (last)
LegislatureParliament
History 
1130
1282
1816
Preceded by
Succeeded by
County of Sicily
County of Apulia and Calabria
Hospitaller Malta
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Today part ofItaly
Malta
Map of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1200

The Kingdom of Sicily (Latin: Regnum Siciliae; Italian: Regno di Sicilia; Sicilian: Regnu di Sicilia[2][3][4][5]) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and, for a time, in the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. The island was divided into three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto.

In 1282, a revolt against Angevin rule known as the Sicilian Vespers threw off Charles of Anjou's rule of the island of Sicily. The Angevins managed to maintain control in the mainland part of the kingdom, which became a separate entity also styled Kingdom of Sicily, although it is retroactively referred to as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital. From 1282 to 1409, the island was ruled by the Crown of Aragon as an independent kingdom, and was then added permanently to the Crown.[6][7] In 1816, the island Kingdom of Sicily re-merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which in 1861 became part of the new unified Kingdom of Italy.

  1. ^ Mallette 2011, p. 5.
  2. ^ Documenti per servire alla storia di Sicilia: Diplomatica, Volumes 14-16 (in Italian). U. Manfredi Editori. 1891-01-01. p. XXXII. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  3. ^ Vio, Michele Del (1706-01-01). Felicis, et fidelissimæ urbis Panormitanæ selecta aliquot ad civitatis decus, et commodum spectantia privilegia per instrumenta varia Siciliæ ... opera don Michaelis De Vio . (in Italian). in palatio senatorio per Dominicum Cortese. p. 314. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  4. ^ Gregorio, Rosario (1833-01-01). Considerazioni sopra la storia di Sicilia dai tempi normanni sino al presenti, Volume 3 (in Italian). dalla Reale Stamperia. p. 303. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  5. ^ Mongitore, Antonino; Mongitore, Francesco Serio e (1749-01-01). Parlamenti generali del regno di Sicilia dall' anno 1446 sino al 1748: con le memorie istoriche dell' antico, e moderno uso del parlamento appresso varie nazioni, ed in particolare della sua origine in Sicilia, e del modo di celebrarsi, Volume 1 (in Italian). Presso P. Bentivenga. p. 109. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  6. ^ "Italy to c. 1380 – The southern kingdoms". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2021-02-14. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  7. ^ N. Zeldes (2003). The Former Jews of This Kingdom: Sicilian Converts After the Expulsion, 1492–1516. BRILL. pp. 5, 69, 296–97. ISBN 90-04-12898-0.