Principality of Salerno
40°41′0″N 14°46′0″E / 40.68333°N 14.76667°E
Principality of Salerno Principatus Salerni ( Latin ) | |||||||||
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851–1077 | |||||||||
Capital | Salerno | ||||||||
Official languages | Latin | ||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
Prince | |||||||||
• 840–851 | Siconulf (first) | ||||||||
• 1052–1077 | Gisulf II (last) | ||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Emperor Louis II ends a civil war in Benevento by decreeing that the
duchy be split into two distinct principates - Benevento and Salerno | 851 | ||||||||
• The principality is under the rule of "foreigners" | 978-983 | ||||||||
• The city and principality are conquered by the Normans | 1077 | ||||||||
Currency | Monetazione di Salerno | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Italy |
The Principality of Salerno (
History
Formation
In 839, the prince of Benevento,
Salerno consisted of
The principality did not enjoy stability in its early years. In 851, Siconulf died and his son Sico was still a child. He was deposed and replaced by his regent, Peter, in 853, and Peter was succeeded that year by his son Adhemar. Adhemar's stormy princeship ended violently: a revolt deposed him, and Guaifer, the scion of a local family of note, the Dauferidi, had him blinded and imprisoned. Guaifer succeeded him in the princely office with the support of the people.[1]
Dauferidi
Guaifer stabilised the principality during his long reign of nineteen years. His successors reigned for similarly lengthy periods, and in a short time Salerno surpassed Benevento in greatness. During his reign,
Guaimar II raised Salerno to greatness. He was a more religious prince than his father, who had been pious by the standards of the time. He introduced the
The succession was not uncontested from without. The allied forces of John III of Naples and Landulf II of Benevento invaded, but an alliance with the Amalfitans saved Gisulf's reign. Gisulf like his father remained with the Greeks, even warring with the pope. He concluded a treaty with the latter and came to the defence of Pandulf Ironhead, the prince of Benevento and Capua. Though his neighbours constantly seemed to be opposing him, the Ironhead reinstalled him after an insurrection of 974, which had been supported by his brother and the neighbouring Greek cities. Gisulf did not have any children at his death, and Salerno passed into the wider realm of the Ironhead, who bestowed it on his son Pandulf II.[3]
Foreign rule
From 978, the year of Prince Gisulf's death, to 983, when the Salernitans reinstated a dynasty of their choosing, the principality was under the rule of "foreigners": either of the Capuan princely house or the dukes of Amalfi. The Amalfitans took advantage of the Ironhead's death in 981 to seize it from Pandulf II, and Manso I of Amalfi was made prince. He was unpopular, and a Spoletan, John, son of Lambert, was elected after the expulsion of the Amalfitans. Discordant relations prevailed with Amalfi until the end of the principality a century later.[6]
Zenith and decline
John established his own dynasty, which was to usher in Salerno's final period of greatness as an independent Lombard entity. He tried to increase control of the church in his region, but failed. He followed the principle of co-regency of sons, to stabilise the succession. His son, Guaimar III, had to deal with Saracen attacks, but was aided by the Norman mercenaries he had helped to recruit to the south. He moved away from Byzantium throughout his reign and supported the Lombard rebels of Melus of Bari. He also supported his neighbour, Pandulf IV of Capua, despite the latter's unpopularity. Under Guaimar III, the Schola Medica Salernitana first began to flourish, and he was capable of striking Opulenta Salernitanum on his coins as a sign of the trading wealth of his city.[4][7]
Guaimar IV brought Salerno to its greatest heights, but it did not survive him. He, too, used the Normans for mutual gain. He can be considered chiefly responsible for the rise of the Hautevilles in the Mezzogiorno. He opposed Pandulf of Capua, unlike his father, and he united his principality with that one for the first time since Pandulf Ironhead.[6]
In 1038, he sought the arbitration of both emperors over matters concerning Pandulf, but only the Holy Roman Emperor, Conrad II, responded, and Salerno became fully Western in allegiance. Conrad made Guaimar a powerful prince, and he extended his authority militarily over the coastal city-states of Gaeta, Naples, and Amalfi. He opened up the Campania, Apulia, and Calabria to conquest and between 1038 and 1047 he was in control of all the continental southern Italy. But his successes were reversed by Conrad's son, Henry III, who in 1047 removed Guaimar from Capua and restructured the nature of his suzerain-vassal relationships to limit his power.[8]
In 1052, Guaimar was assassinated, and his son and successor, Gisulf II, showed none of his political acumen.[7]
Under Gisulf, Salerno declined. He made useless war on Amalfi and on his Norman neighbours, finally on
With Gisulf's defeat, Salerno ceased to be the capital of a large principality, and its once vast domain was completely merged into the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria, the peninsular possession of the Hauteville family.
Salerno did continue as the most important city of southern Italy until the end of Hauteville rule in 1194, before being punished for its former rebellion against the
The Schola Medica Salernitana of Guaimar III survived until Napoleonic times, and it is considered the world's first university of medicine.[5]
Aftermath
Following the foundation of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1139 by
References
- ^ a b "SALERNO in "Enciclopedia Italiana"". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b "Storia del Principato di Salerno". www.qdnapoli.it. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b Salerno, Live. "Storia e Tradizioni della Provincia di Salerno". livesalerno. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b historiaregni (2019-08-06). "I longobardi sul mare: il Principato di Salerno". HistoriaRegni (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b "salerno". www.ilportaledelsud.org. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b "Salerno longobarda". cultura.comune.salerno.it. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ a b Quagliuolo, di Federico (2021-03-28). "Salerno fu la prima capitale del Sud Italia" (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ "Storia di Salerno : dal castrum romano ad oggi". Life in Salerno (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ "Salerno, la storia di Salerno". Luci d'Artista Salerno luci di Natale Salerno 2015 (in Italian). 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ "La storia di Salerno – Radio Taxi Salerno – Servizio Taxi" (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-12-22.
- ^ "Salerno | Facts, History, & Points of Interest | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
- ^ BBCC. "Salerno". www.culturalheritageonline.com. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
Sources
- Chalandon, Ferdinand. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie. Paris, 1907.
- D'Ambrosio, A. Storia di Napoli dalle origini ad oggi. Ed. Nuova E.V. Napoli 2002
- Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Rome, 1960–Present.
- Whitney, J.P. (ed) et al. The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III. Cambridge University Press, 1926.
- Iannizzaro, Vincenzo. Salerno. La Cinta Muraria dai Romani agli Spagnoli. Editore Elea Press. Salerno, 1999.
- Longmans: London, 1967.
- Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages 476-918. Rivingtons: London, 1914.