Roger II of Sicily
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Roger II or Roger the Great was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in 1127, then King of Sicily in 1130 and King of Africa in 1148.
Detail of a mosaic showing Roger II (Rogerios Rex in Greek letters) receiving the crown from Jesus Christ (IC), Martorana, Palermo.
Royal mantle of Roger II, bearing an inscription in Arabic with the Hijrah date of 528 (1133–34). Imperial Treasury, Vienna, in the Hofburg Palace.
Roger II riding to war, from the Liber ad honorem Augusti of Petrus de Ebulo, 1196.
AR Scyphate Ducalis, dated year 10 (1140), after the king's victory on 25 July. Obverse: Christ. Reverse: King Roger and Duke Roger.
Kingdom of Sicily
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The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in Sicily and the south of the Italian Peninsula plus, for a time, in Northern Africa 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.
Roger II, the first King of Sicily
The royal mantle
Imperial troops storming Salerno in 1194
Triumph march of Henry VI into Palermo