Medieval States of Italy: Map & History

Historians have proposed widely varying estimates for the population that accompanied Theodoric into Italy in 489 CE, ranging from approximately 100,000 to 250,000 individuals. The incoming Goths constituted a minority relative to the established Italo-Roman population, while maintaining a distinct political and social identity during the early Ostrogothic kingdom. Following the defeat of Odoacer, many of his former soldiers, drawn from groups such as the Sciri, Rugii, Heruli, Turcilingi, Alans, and other contingents, were integrated into the new political and military order. The Goths were particularly prominent in the western Po Valley, the Alpine region, and areas corresponding to modern Veneto, Trentino, Friuli and Marche.

From Wikipedia: Ostrogothic Kingdom · Social dynamics: Population (CC BY-SA 4.0)

An agreement was reached between Zeno and Theodoric, stipulating that Theodoric, if victorious, was to rule in Italy as the emperor's representative. Theodoric with his people set out from Moesia in the autumn of 488, passed through Dalmatia and crossed the Julian Alps into Italy in late August 489. The first confrontation with the army of Odoacer was at the river Isonzo (the battle of Isonzo) on August 28. Odoacer was defeated and withdrew towards Verona, where a month later another battle was fought, resulting in a bloody, but crushing, Gothic victory.

From Wikipedia: Ostrogothic Kingdom · History: Conquest of Italy by the Goths (488–493) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Because of the kingdom's short history, no fusion of the two peoples and their art was achieved. However, under the patronage of Theodoric and Amalasuntha, large-scale restoration of ancient Roman buildings was undertaken, and the tradition of Roman civic architecture continued. In Ravenna, new churches and monumental buildings were erected, several of which survive.

From Wikipedia: Ostrogothic Kingdom · Culture: Architecture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Gothic War between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom was fought from 535 until 554 in Italy, Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily and Corsica. It is commonly divided into two phases. The first phase lasted from 535 to 540 and ended with the fall of Ravenna and the apparent reconquest of Italy by the Byzantines. With the fall of Ravenna, the capital of the kingdom was brought to Pavia, which it became the last centres of Ostrogothic resistance that continued the war and opposed Eastern Roman rule.

From Wikipedia: Ostrogothic Kingdom · History: Gothic War and end of the Ostrogothic Kingdom (535–554) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The circumstances surrounding the creation of the duchy are disputed. According to some scholars, Lombards were present in southern Italy well before the complete conquest of the Po Valley: the duchy by these accounts would have been founded in 571. The Lombards may have entered later, around 590. Whatever the case, the first duke was Zotto, a leader of a band of soldiers who descended the coast of Campania. Though at first independent, Zotto was eventually made to submit to the royal authority of the north. His successor was Arechis, his nephew, and the principle of hereditary succession guided the Beneventan duchy to the end.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Benevento · Foundation (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Within the Lombard kingdom, the Duchy of Spoleto formed part of the southern grouping of territories commonly referred to as Tuscia, which included Tuscany, Spoleto, and Benevento.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Spoleto · Lombard-era government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Duchy of Spoleto emerged during the Lombard expansion into central Italy in the late 6th century. Its origins are traditionally placed during the reign of Alboin, around 571. An alternative chronology places the foundation of the duchy after the failed Byzantine offensive of 575–576 led by Baduarius. Following this defeat Faroald I and associated Lombard groups established control, placing the foundation of the duchy a few years later.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Spoleto · History: Lombard conquest (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 774, following the conquest of the Lombard kingdom, Charlemagne assumed the title of "Gratia Dei rex Francorum et Langobardorum atque patricius Romanorum" ("By the grace of God, king of the Franks and of the Lombards and Roman patrician"), realizing a personal union of the two kingdoms. Charlemagne chose to maintain the "Leges Langobardorum" even if following the revolt of 776, led by the duke of Friuli Hrodgaud, he replaced the Lombard dukes with counts, public officials, and redistributed the latter's assets among the Frankish aristocrats.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Tuscia · The duchy after the end of the Lombard Kingdom (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Lee identifies three major themes in Mussolini's foreign policy. The first was a continuation of the foreign-policy objectives of the preceding Liberal regime. Liberal Italy had allied itself with Germany and Austria, and had great ambitions in the Balkans and North Africa. Ever since it had been badly defeated in Ethiopia in 1896, there was a strong demand for seizing that country. Second was a profound disillusionment after the heavy losses of the First World War; the small territorial gains from Austria were not enough to compensate. Third was Mussolini's promise to restore the pride and glory of the Roman Empire.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Italy · History: Foreign politics (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Italy has a long history of different coinage types. Italian unification highlighted the confusion of the pre-unification Italian monetary system which was mostly based on silver monometallism and therefore in contrast with the gold monometallism in force in the Kingdom of Sardinia and in the major European nations. To reconcile the various monetary systems it was decided to opt for bimetallism, taking inspiration from the French franc model, from which the dimensions of the coins and the exchange rate of 1 to 15.50 between gold and silver were taken.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Italy · History: Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Italy entered into the First World War in 1915 with the aim of completing national unity: for this reason, the Italian intervention in the First World War is also considered the Fourth Italian War of Independence, in a historiographical perspective that identifies in the latter the conclusion of the unification of Italy.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Italy · History: World War I and failure of the liberal state (1915–1922) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In Italy a state school system or education system has existed since 1859, when the Legge Casati (Casati Act) mandated educational responsibilities for the forthcoming Italian state (Italian unification took place in 1861).

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Italy · History: Education (CC BY-SA 4.0)

When Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 beginning World War II, Mussolini chose to stay non-belligerent, although he declared his support for Hitler. In drawing out war plans, Mussolini and the Fascist regime decided that Italy would aim to annex large portions of Africa and the Middle East. Hesitance remained from the king and military commander Pietro Badoglio, who warned Mussolini that Italy had too few tanks, armoured vehicles, and aircraft available to be able to carry out a long-term war; Badoglio told Mussolini "It is suicide" for Italy to get involved in the European conflict. Mussolini and the Fascist regime thus waited as France was invaded by Germany in June 1940 (Battle of France) before deciding to get involved.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Italy · History: World War II and fall of Fascism (CC BY-SA 4.0)

For its first 300 years, within the Roman Empire, the Church was persecuted and unable to hold or transfer property. Early congregations met in rooms set aside for the purpose in the homes of wealthy adherents, and a number of titular churches located on the outskirts of Rome were held as property by individuals, rather than by any corporate body. Nonetheless, the property held nominally or actually by individual members of the Roman churches would usually be treated as a common patrimony handed over successively to the legitimate "heir" of that property, often its senior deacons, who were, in turn, assistants to the local bishop. This common patrimony became quite considerable, including as it did not only include houses etc. in Rome or nearby but also landed estates, such as latifundia, whole or in part, across Italy and beyond.

From Wikipedia: Papal States · History: Origins (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Papal States were ruled under the Pope's temporal power, comprising thirteen provinces in central and northern Italy. These provinces were administered through a hierarchical system of papal officials.

From Wikipedia: Papal States · Government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In the 17th century the Papal States faced chronic financial crisis. Revenues of just over 2 million scudi were largely consumed by debt interest, and public debt rose sharply from about 15 million scudi in the 1620s to around 50 million by the 1670s. Extraordinary levies were also imposed during times of crisis, including a subsidy of about 700,000 scudi during the famine of 1647 to 1648. By 1676 the state carried a public debt that imposed an annual interest burden of about 2.4 million scudi. Heavy fiscal pressures and war expenses contributed to widespread poverty and economic stagnation.

From Wikipedia: Papal States · Economy: Public finances (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1792 the Papal army had a mere 5,000 regular soldiers for a state that controlled most of Central Italy. In theory this could be augmented by 80,000 reserves and citizen-militia, though nowhere near as many were actually called up at any point. Control over the military was divided among the Commissioner of Arms (most troops), the Treasurer General (the customs guards and garrisons beyond Lazio), the Secretary of the Consulta (a handful of personnel), and the Master of the Apostolic Palace (the palace guard). Each commander jealously guarded his powers, and the army was restricted to performing the duties of ceremonial honor guard, fortress garrison, border patrol, customs police, coastal surveillance, and law enforcement.

From Wikipedia: Papal States · Military: Napoleonic era (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Education in the Papal States was fragmented and unevenly distributed until the early 19th century. Before the 1825 Regulation published by the Congregation of Studies there was no common curriculum, and teaching ranged from basic religious instruction to grammar and history according to local initiative. Many schools were run by religious orders or supported by municipalities, while others functioned clandestinely without license.

From Wikipedia: Papal States · Education (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Old Capua was an ancient Italian city, the greatest Roman city of the south. It was the centre of Lombard gastaldate in the duchy of Benevento, although little is known of this part of its history. It first enters history as a Lombard state under Landulf the Old with the assassination of the Beneventan duke Sicard in 839. Landulf and his sons were partisans of Siconulf of Salerno. In 841, Capua was sacked and completely destroyed by Saracens in the pay of Radelchis I of Benevento. Landulf and his eldest son, Lando I, took the initiative in fortifying the nearby hill of Triflisco on which was built "New Capua": the Capua of today.

From Wikipedia: Principality of Capua · Origins (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 839, the prince of Benevento, Sicard, died. Immediately, his chief army officer, Radelchis, seized power in Benevento and imprisoned Sicard's heir and brother, Siconulf, in Taranto. Amalfitan merchants rescued Siconulf from prison, and he was proclaimed prince in Salerno. A civil war erupted in the Italian Mezzogiorno. In 847, Emperor Lothair I had Guy I of Spoleto and Sergius I of Naples mediate a division of the great Lombard principality. In 851, Louis, King of Italy, divided the principality into two sections: one with its capital at Salerno and another with the original Benevento.

From Wikipedia: Principality of Salerno · History: Formation (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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.

From Wikipedia: Principality of Salerno · History: Zenith and decline (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Seated in what is now the Royal Palace in Palermo, the emir held authority over most affairs of state, including the army, administration, justice, and the treasury. He appointed the governors of major cities, high ranking judges (qāḍī), and arbitrators for minor disputes between individuals (hakam). An assembly of notables called giamà'a played a consultative role, albeit sometimes making important decisions in lieu of the emir. It is also very likely that the authorities operated a tiraz, an official workshop that produced valuable fabrics such as silk, which were granted as a sign of appreciation to their subject or as a gift to foreign dignitaries.

From Wikipedia: Muslim Sicily · Government (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 826, Euphemius, the commander of the Byzantine fleet of Sicily, forced a nun to marry him. Emperor Michael II caught wind of the matter and ordered that General Constantine end the marriage and cut off Euphemius' nose. Euphemius rose up, killed Constantine and then occupied Syracuse; he in turn was defeated and driven out to North Africa. He offered rule of Sicily over to Ziyadat Allah, the Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya (around present-day Tunisia), in return for a place as a general and safety; the Emir agreed, offering to give Euphemius the island in exchange for a yearly tribute. The conquest was entrusted to the 70-year-old qadi Asad ibn al-Furat, who led a force 10,000 infantry, 700 cavalry and 100 ships.

From Wikipedia: Muslim Sicily · History: Muslim conquest (CC BY-SA 4.0)

By the 11th century, mainland southern Italian powers were hiring Norman mercenaries, who were Christian descendants of the Vikings; it was the Normans under Roger de Hauteville, who became Roger I of Sicily, that captured Sicily from the Muslims. In 1038, a Byzantine army under George Maniaces crossed the strait of Messina, and included a corps of Normans. After another decisive victory in the summer of 1040, Maniaces halted his march to lay siege to Syracuse. Despite his conquest of the latter, Maniaces was removed from his position, and the subsequent Muslim counter-offensive reconquered all the cities captured by the Byzantines. The Norman Robert Guiscard, son of Tancred, then conquered Sicily in 1060 after taking Apulia and Calabria, while his brother Roger de Hauteville occupied Messina with an army of 700 knights.

From Wikipedia: Muslim Sicily · History: Decline and "Taifa" period (CC BY-SA 4.0)

While the Duchy of Amalfi never regained its independence after 1137, the city of Amalfi was still important to maritime trade for the next 200 years, until 1343, when an earthquake and a storm destroyed most of its harbor. The most important contribution Amalfi made during those 200 years was probably the perfection of the modern-day box compass. Between 1295 and 1302, Flavio Gioia converted the compass from a needle floating in water to what we use today, a round box with a compass card that rotates 360 degrees attached to a magnetic element.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Amalfi · Legacy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During the High Middle Ages the city grew into a very important commercial and naval center and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its influence through the sack of Reggio di Calabria in the south of Italy in 1005. Pisa was in continuous conflict with the Saracens for control of the Mediterranean. In alliance with Genoa, Sardinia was captured in 1016 with the defeat of the Saracen leader Mujāhid al-‘Āmirī (Latin: Mogehidus). This victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between the two maritime republics. Between 1030 and 1035 Pisa went on to successfully defeat several rival towns in the Emirate of Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa.

From Wikipedia: Republic of Pisa · Rise to power (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The territory subjected to the Republic of Pisa has had important variations over the centuries. During the period of great political and economic expansion, the republic had its own consoles with commercial farms and warehouses in many seaside cities: Gaeta, Naples, Salerno, Messina, Palermo, Trapani, Mazara del Vallo and in Tunis.

From Wikipedia: Republic of Pisa · Territories and administration (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The rivalry between Pisa and Republic of Genoa intensified in the 13th century and resulted in the naval Battle of Meloria (1284), with the casus belli of the rally of Giudice di Cinarca in Pisa, fought right in front of the Pisan port. It which marked the beginning of the decline of the power of the city, with the renunciation of any claim on Corsica and with the sale of part of Sardinia to Genoa in 1299.

From Wikipedia: Republic of Pisa · Decline (CC BY-SA 4.0)

After roughly a century of Arab control (following the Saracen defeat of Byzantine forces in 965), Sicily was inhabited by a mix of Christians, Arab Muslims, and Muslim converts at the time of its conquest by the Normans. It had originally been under the rule of the Aghlabids and then the Fatimids, but in 948 the Kalbids wrested control of the island and held it until 1053. During the 1010s and 1020s, a series of succession crises paved the way for interference by the Zirids of Ifriqiya. Sicily was wracked by turmoil as petty fiefdoms battled each other for supremacy. Into this, the Normans under Robert Guiscard and his younger brother Roger Bosso came intending to conquer; the pope had conferred on Robert the title of "Duke of Sicily".

From Wikipedia: Norman conquest of southern Italy · Conquest of Sicily, 1061–1091 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During the Norman reign, several different religious communities coexisted in the Kingdom of Sicily. These included Latin Catholics, Greek Catholics, Muslims and Jews. Although local religious practices were not interrupted, the fact that Latin Catholics were in power tended to favor Latin Catholicism (Roman Catholicism). Bishops of the Greek rite were obliged to recognize the claims of the Latin Church in Sicily, while Muslim communities were no longer ruled by local emirs. Greek-speaking Christians, Latin Christians, and Muslims interacted on a regular basis, and were involved in each other's lives, economically, linguistically, and culturally. Some intermarried. Catholics living in an Arabic-speaking area might adopt Arabic or even Muslim names. In many cities, each religious community had its own administrative and judicial order.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Sicily · Religion (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The high fertility of the land led the Norman kings to bring settlers from neighbouring regions or to resettle farmers to areas where cultivation of land was needed. This led to an increase in agricultural production. The main sources of wealth for the Kingdom of Sicily in that time were its maritime cities, most important of which were the ancient port cities of Naples and its nearby counterpart Amalfi, from which local products were exported. The main export was durum wheat, with other exports including nuts, timber, oil, bacon, cheese, furs, hides, hemp and cloth. Grain and other dry products were measured in salme, which was equivalent to 275.08 litres in the western part of the Kingdom, and 300.3 litres in the eastern part. The salma was divided in 16 tumoli. One tumolo was equivalent to 17,193 litres. Weight was measured in cantari.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Sicily · Economy (CC BY-SA 4.0)

By the 11th century, mainland southern Lombard and Byzantine powers were hiring Norman mercenaries, who were descendants of Vikings in northern France. It was the Normans under Roger I who conquered Sicily, taking it away from the Sicilian Muslims. After taking Apulia and Calabria, Roger occupied Messina with an army of 700 knights. In 1068, Roger I of Sicily and his men defeated the Muslims at Misilmeri but the most crucial battle was the Siege of Palermo, which led to Sicily being completely under Norman control by 1091.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Sicily · History: Norman conquest (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Crown of Aragon originated in 1137, when the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (along with the County of Provence, Girona, Cerdanya, Osona, and other territories) merged by dynastic union upon the marriage of Petronilla of Aragon and Raymond Berenguer IV of Barcelona; their individual titles combined in the person of their son Alfonso II of Aragon, who ascended to the throne in 1162. This union respected the existing institutions and parliaments of both territories. The combined state was initially known as Regno, Dominio et Corona Aragonum et Catalonie (only between 1286 and 1291), and later as Corona Regum Aragoniae, Corona Aragonum or simply Aragon.

From Wikipedia: Crown of Aragon · History: Origin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

During the Crown of Aragon, the Catalan culture and language underwent a vigorous expansion. During the period of trade, Occitan-Catalan contributions to Maltese occurred.

From Wikipedia: Crown of Aragon · Culture (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The literary evocation of past splendour recalls correctly the great age of the 13th and 14th centuries, when Majorca, Valencia and Sicily were conquered, the population growth could be handled without social conflict, and the urban prosperity, which peaked in 1345, created the institutional and cultural achievements of the Crown.

From Wikipedia: Crown of Aragon · History: Dissolution (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The city of Florence was established in 59 BC by Julius Caesar. Since 846 AD, the city had been part of the Marquisate of Tuscany. After Margravine Matilda of Tuscany died in 1115, the city did not submit readily to her successor, Rabodo (r. 1116–1119), who was killed in a dispute with the city.

From Wikipedia: Republic of Florence · Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 1569, Cosimo was elevated to the rank of the Grand Duke of Tuscany by Pope Pius V. This marks the end of the Florence Republic, and the beginning of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

From Wikipedia: Republic of Florence · History: End of the Republic (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Naples, which was the capital of the Duchy of Naples since the 7th century, surrendered to Roger II of Sicily in 1137, and was annexed to the Kingdom of Sicily. The Normans were the first to bring political unity to southern Italy in the centuries after the failure of the Byzantine effort to reconquer Italy. The Normans established a kingdom that included southern mainland Italy and the island of Sicily, which was primarily ruled from Palermo. The title of King of Sicily was established by the Antipope Anacletus II as early as 1130 and subsequently legitimized, in 1139, by Pope Innocent II. Since the royal titles over the State had been assigned to the Normans by Innocent II, the popes, in particular Pope Innocent III and Pope Innocent IV, claimed the feudal rights of the Church State over the Kingdom.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Naples · History: Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Neapolitan Republic of 1647 greatly influenced subsequent historical development of revolutions in Europe over the 17th century and 18th century, and it even inspired the French Revolution of 1789. It is noteworthy what was then reported by travellers (British for the most part) in the 18th century and 19th century inside Naples; they reported, in the daguerreotypes and in the pictorial representations of their travels, that spaghetti were eaten using bare hands in the streets of Naples. This tradition soon became a proper tourist attraction, so that tourists gave small change to the lazzaroni who then rushed to buy spaghetti and then eat them with their own hands.

From Wikipedia: Kingdom of Naples · Demographics: Customs and traditions (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The fate of the city of Milan was intertwined since the 13th century with that of the Visconti family, who resumed the policy of territorial expansionism inherited from the city's municipality. One of the first Visconti exponents to lead the Lombard city was Ottone Visconti, elected archbishop in 1262 and who defeated the Della Torre family in the Battle of Desio in 1277.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Milan · History: Background (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Following Napoleon Bonaparte's victorious campaign in northern Italy in 1796, the duchy, entrusted to an interim government junta, was ceded to the French Republic by the Habsburgs with the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Already in 1796, the French had established the vassal state of the Transpadane Republic on the territories of the Duchy of Milan, which merged with the Cispadane Republic in 1797 to form the Cisalpine Republic, of which Milan became the capital. After the defeat of Napoleon, on the basis of the decisions taken by the Congress of Vienna on 9 June 1815, the Duchy of Milan was not restored but became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a constituent land of the Austrian Empire. The kingdom ceased to exist when the remaining portion of it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.

From Wikipedia: Duchy of Milan · History: End of the Duchy (CC BY-SA 4.0)