Sicilian sovereign. Second son of Roger I and belonging to the Altavilla dynasty, he was duke of Puglia and regent (1105-1112) before becoming first King of Sicily assuming the name of Roger II (1130). During his childhood he was directed to the study of classical languages and the Arabic language as indispensable because of trade with the Islamic world of the African continent. During his reign he adopted an expansion policy thanks to which extended the dominion to almost all southern Italy to the detriment of the Papal State which was already in crisis due to the antipope Anacleto II. Consequently, the legitimate Pope Innocent II organized a powerful European coalition which at the end of a ten-year war decreed the defeat of Roger but not the definitive loss of power. Thanks to the dissolution of the coalition and a subsequent conflict with the Pope, he reacted by winning the opposing forces in a battle near Caserta (1139). Consolidated the Kingdom of Sicily and southern Italy, Roger II, between 1135 and 1149, undertook a series of sea wars that earned him the conquest of large areas of northern Africa and some Greek islands including Corfu.
Sicilian sovereign. Second son of Roger I and belonging to the Altavilla dynasty, he was duke of Puglia and regent (1105-1112) before becoming first King of Sicily assuming the name of Roger II (1130). During his childhood he was directed to the study of classical languages and the Arabic language as indispensable because of trade with the Islamic world of the African continent. During his reign he adopted an expansion policy thanks to which extended the dominion to almost all southern Italy to the detriment of the Papal State which was already in crisis due to the antipope Anacleto II. Consequently, the legitimate Pope Innocent II organized a powerful European coalition which at the end of a ten-year war decreed the defeat of Roger but not the definitive loss of power. Thanks to the dissolution of the coalition and a subsequent conflict with the Pope, he reacted by winning the opposing forces in a battle near Caserta (1139). Consolidated the Kingdom of Sicily and southern Italy, Roger II, between 1135 and 1149, undertook a series of sea wars that earned him the conquest of large areas of northern Africa and some Greek islands including Corfu.
Bio by: Lucy & Chris
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