Roger I Guiscard of Sicily (1031-1101) was the King of Sicily from 1071 to 1101, preceding Simon I of Sicily.
Biography[]
The youngest son of Tancred of Hauteville and Fressenda, Roger was the younger brother of Robert Guiscard. He partook in the invasion of southern Italy alongside his brother and commanded some of the Norman cavalry in the Battle of Civitate in 1053. In 1071 he became the Count of Sicily while his brother became the Duke of Calabria and Apulia, and he established alliances with the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Roger led the conquest of Sicily himself, seizing Messina in 1071 and ending the conquest with the fall of Syracuse in 1086 and Noto in 1091. In 1091, he also conquered Malta. During his reign, Sicily was converted from Orthodox Christianity to Catholicism.
Under Roger's rule, Sicily conquered Durazzo (Dyrrhachium) in present-day Albania from Greek rebels, and took control of Sardinia and Tunisia from other rebels. Roger married his daughter Matilda of Sicily to Prince Henry of the Holy Roman Empire and married his son Simon to Princess Anna Komnenos to form an alliance with the Byzantine Empire. Roger died in 1101, and was succeeded by Simon.
Personality[]
- Faction Leader
- Promising Commander
- Talent for Command
- Confident Attacker
- Political Animal
Gallery[]
