Duchy of Naples

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Duchy of Naples
Ducato di Napoli
661–1137
Map of southern Italy, showing the Duchy of Naples, c. 1112
Map of southern Italy, showing the Duchy of Naples, c. 1112
CapitalNaples
Common languagesLatin,
Byzantine Greek
GovernmentDuchy
Duke 
• 661–666
Basil (first)
• 1123–1137
Sergius VII (last)
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
661
• Sergius I make the duchy hereditary
850
• Annexation to the Kingdom of Sicily in the hands of Roger II of Sicily
1137
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Byzantine Empire
Kingdom of Sicily
Today part ofItaly

The Duchy of Naples (

Latin: Ducatus Neapolitanus, Italian: Ducato di Napoli) began as a Byzantine province that was constituted in the seventh century, in the reduced coastal lands that the Lombards had not conquered during their invasion of Italy in the sixth century. It was governed by a military commander (dux), and rapidly became a de facto independent state, lasting more than five centuries during the Early and High Middle Ages. Naples remains a significant metropolitan city in present-day Italy
.

First local duchy

In 661, Naples obtained from the emperor

Campi Flegrei, the Sorrentine Peninsula, Giugliano, Aversa, Afragola, Nola, and the islands of Ischia and Procida. Capri was later part of the duchy of Amalfi. He had authority over the neighbouring seaports of Gaeta, Amalfi, and Sorrento
, though each of these was largely autonomous, especially during the later years of the Neapolitan duchy.

In this era, the duchy coined monies with the effigy of the emperor and Greek inscriptions. Greek was the official language, though the population was Latin-speaking.

The Neapolitan patriciate of the ducal era was represented by the so-called "magnate families", enrolled in the seats of the medieval city: among them the families of the Capece, Ferrario, Melluso, Piscicelli, Pappansogna, Boccia, de Gennaro, Russo and of the Morfisa, had particular importance in the civil life of the city starting from the 10th century.[1]

Papal suzerainty

In 763, the duke

papal suzerainty. Already during the reign of the imperially appointed John I
(711- ca 719), the papacy had come to the duke's aid against the Lombards, while Byzantine assistance seemed remote. Stephen II's reign is considered a period of transition in the history of Naples: it moved away from the iconoclastic East and towards the papal West. The Byzantine Greeks were soon to become as much a threat to the Neapolitans as the Lombards.

Sometime around the beginning of the ninth century, the dukes began striking coinage with Latin inscriptions, as Latin replaced Greek in official usage.[

Saint Januarius replaced the emperor on the coins. Acts were still dated by the imperial reign, but the emperor was of no consequence in regular Neapolitan affairs. In 813, when Leo V the Armenian called for the fleet of the entire ducatus to aid the Byzantine admiral in combating the Saracen pirates preying on Sicily, Duke Anthimus
could ignore the order; only Amalfi and Gaeta responded with contingents. Apparently, the Neapolitans felt themselves practically independent already and their underlings felt themselves independent of Naples.

The duchy was not yet hereditary; in 818, the patrician of

Theodore II in 821, but he was chased from the city the same year in favour of the elected Stephen III
. This Stephen first began to mint pieces with his own initials on them and not those of the Eastern Emperor.

Hereditary duchy

In 840, Duke

Battle of the Garigliano in 915—Naples declined in importance in the tenth century, until it was captured by its traditional rival, Pandulf IV of Capua
.

Struggles for relevance in the Norman South

In 1027, duke

principality of Capua. In that period he could not imagine the consequences, but this settlement began a process which eventually led to the end of Naples' independence itself. Sergius cemented his position with marital alliances with the Normans, but when these broke down, he was abandoned by his mercenaries and retired to a monastery. His son, John V, cosied up to Guaimar IV of Salerno
and eventually did homage to him.

Naples was the last of the southern Italian states which the Normans had met when they first entered Italy. It survived the fall of the Lombard principalities: Capua, Salerno, Benevento. It had survived the fall of its fellow Greek duchies: Amalfi, Gaeta, Sorrento. In 1137, Duke Sergius VII was forced to surrender to Roger II of Sicily, who had had himself proclaimed King of Sicily seven years earlier.[2] Under the new rulers the city was administered by a compalazzo (palatine count), with little independence left to the Neapolitan patriciate. In this period Naples had a population of 30,000 and yet got its sustenance from the inland country: commerce activities were mainly delegated to foreign people, mainly from Pisa and Genoa.

Apart from the church of San Giovanni a Mare, Norman buildings in Naples were mainly lay ones, notably castles (Castel Capuano and Castel dell'Ovo), walls, and fortified gates.

See also

  • List of Dukes of Naples

References

  1. ISBN 8888141952
    .
  2. ^ "Sèrgio VII duca di Napoli nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-07-01.

Further reading

  • Skinner, Patricia. Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbours, 850-1139. Cambridge University Press: 1995.
  • Naples in the Dark Ages by David Taylor and Jeff Matthews.
  • Chalandon, Ferdinand. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie. Paris, 1907.
  • Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Rome, 1960–Present.
  • Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages 476-918. Rivingtons: London, 1914.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duchy_of_Naples&oldid=1188592072"