Italy, and the Duchy of Amalfi (a small state in bright yellow), at the close of the tenth century.
The
Republic or
Duchy of Amalfi was a
de facto independent state centred on the
south Italian city of the same name during the tenth and eleventh centuries. The city and its territory were originally part of the larger
ducatus Neapolitanus, governed by a
patrician, but it extracted itself from
Byzantine vassalage and first elected a
duke in 958. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial centre whose merchants dominated
Mediterranean and
Italian trade for a century before being surpassed and superseded by the city-states of
the North, such as
Pisa and
Genoa. In 1073, Amalfi lost its independence and fell to the
Normans, from whose yoke it failed in two separate attempts to free itself.
The city of Amalfi was founded as a trading post in 339. Its first bishop was appointed in 596. In 838, the city was captured by
Sicard of Benevento with help from traitors within the city, who led him in through the waterward defences. The many of the Amalfitans in
Salerno sacked that city and left. In 839, Amalfi freed itself from
Lombard domination and elected a
prefect. Nearby
Atrani participated in these early prefectural elections. Subsequently, Amalfi helped to free
Siconulf to oppose the ruling
Prince of Benevento. In 897, the self-governing republic, still nominally tied to the Byzantine empire, was defeated in a war with
Sorrento, supported by
Naples, in which her prefect was captured, later ransomed. In 914, the prefect
Mastalus I was appointed first
judge. In 958,
Mastalus II was assassinated and
Sergius I was elected first
duke (or
doge). From 981 to 983, Amalfi ruled the
Principality of Salerno. In 987, the Amalfitan bishopric was raised to archiepiscopal status. From 1034, Amalfi came under the control of the
Principality of Capua and, in 1039, that of Salerno. In 1073,
Robert Guiscard conquered the city and took the title
dux Amalfitanorum: "duke of the Amalfitans." In 1096, Amalfi revolted, but this was put down in 1101. It revolted again in 1130 and was finally subdued in 1131, when the
Emir John marched on Amalfi by land and
George of Antioch blockaded the town by sea and set up a base on
Capri. In 1135 and 1137, Pisa sacked the city and the glory of Amalfi was past.
According to the Arab traveller
Ibn Hawqal, writing in 977, during the great reign of
Manso I, described Amalfi as:
See also
Sources
- Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Rome, 1960–Present.
- Skinner, Patricia. Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbours, 850-1139. Cambridge University Press: 1995.
- Curtis, Edmund. Roger of Sicily and the Normans in Lower Italy 1016–1154. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1912.
- Matthew, Donald. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge Medieval Textbooks). Cambridge University Press, 1992.
- Houben, Hubert (translated by Graham A. Loud and Diane Milburn). Roger II of Sicily: Ruler between East and West. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Amalfi, Duchy ofAmalfi, Duchy ofAmalfi (Duchy)Amalfy (Duchy)Amalfi, Duchy ofde:Herzogtum Amalfies:República amalfitanait:Storia di Amalfilt:Amalfio hercogystėhu:Amalfi Köztársaságnl:Republiek Amalfija:アマルフィ公国no:Hertugdømmet Amalfiru:Амальфитанское герцогствоuk:Герцогство Амальфійське
