How Norman Knights Conquered Arab Sicily

[@brianfuller7691]

Correction , it was the liberation of Sicily. That said, Normans are great organizers and adventurers and formidable warriors. Enjoying the channel.

[@brianfuller7691]

If the Conquest of England or the battles against the Byzantines didn't make it clear that Normans was badass, the liberation of Siciy certainly did.

[@MrKinghuman]

How has the Sicilian vespers not been made into a film. Sicily has one of the craziest histories in the world. Yet they focus on freaking mafia films. Yuck.

[@manitheman0806]

Absolutey....i say the same things over and over...Thank you

[@worldeconomicforumbarbie9323]

@ the mafia, is what was created out of the Templars. Same brotherhood as the MI5 and CYA. CYA was initiated into the U.S. by Bush Sr. And Queen Elizabeth. The Jesuit compound called Vatican, has owned and controlled 98 percent of all your media, starting with Catholicism.

[@williamlenihan7536]

I Vespri Siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi is a great, famous and important opera from 1855, premiered in Paris.

[@jprosey]

it’s whole genre of movies they could make from the history channels

[@zerosaber257]

@@worldeconomicforumbarbie9323 catholicism has been hijacked since the 60s, just look at the pope now

[@FortunateXpat]

I’m a retired American/Swede living near Palermo. I’ve visited several of these famous battle sites and Norman Cathedrals here. The Normans left an amazing legacy including several still standing castles.

[@christophergrillo5099]

As one with Calabrian ancestry, this topic is very interesting to me. It's a part of Southern Italian history that most are not aware of. The Normans built many (or re-fortified) castles in the South throughout this period, which still exist today.

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

Thanks for stopping by and commenting! It's true, it's great history.

[@christophergrillo5099]

Thank you! I'm a regular here, one of my favorite channels by far. I'd love to hear more about the initial Norman Conquest of S. Italy over the Byzantines. It definitely set the table for the subsequent conquest of Sicily.

[@annhendrickson5223]

Fascinating. The history of your country is a rich legacy valued by all who are part of western civilization. Defend and preserve it. 🌸

[@rockyracoon3233]

@@annhendrickson5223 Well said sister!

[@rick88261]

Many sicilians are actually descended from Normans and romans

[@LetsGoGetThem]

Apparantly modern day Normans still exist in France. Greetings to modern Normans from Scandinavia.

[@DiexAye]

Iv always wanted to take contact with our grand ancestors. Yes im Normand and Normandie still have the scandinav culture just by city names. For exemple the village name where i live come from " Godahard ". We have a lot people who have name like ' Le Danois ' meaning ' The Danish '

[@DiexAye]

So much to see in Scandinavia here i come not to conquer but to see lost family members.

[@troywheatley744]

Just found this channel today, great job, thanks for doing this, subbed

[@HaikuMalta]

Arab rule on Malta came to an end after a long battle with the Normans who crossed from Sicily. The Normans had taken Sicily from the Arabs after a 30-year struggle. A certain Count Roger secured the Maltese Islands for the Normans in around 1090.

[@patsyk1213]

Fantastic presentation! J. Stephen Roberts, you make the medieval conquests come alive and your understanding of Norman customs and warefar mentality is amazing.

[@runedova126]

Great video. Loved the content and the in-depth knowledge you provided on the two brothers 'Robert' & 'Roger'. Keep it up!!

[@Daimon-X]

Riders on the storm... Normans ante portas.

[@badferritbadferrit5526]

Daimon X frater deus vult Islam at Saracens dalanda eat deus vult

[@anthonymaiorella3924]

Daimon

[@darthveatay]

Proud to have Norman blood in my veins

[@AroundElvesWatchUrselves96]

Le 56%

[@mehmedabdulmecidalqahtani5421]

Darth Vitiate fuck Norman's

[@morrighanwermarn-arnburg7333]

At least the Norman Vikings asked for money and land as Tribute, not little boys to butt rape. What do they call it in Afghanistan "Bacha bazi" I believe. The Ottoman Turks were no different.

[@alexlewis4926]

Same pal

[@fciolino]

Amber Maynard lol you’re funny.. how many rapist and pedophiles has been produced from your race and culture? A lot more im sure 😉

[@SteamControlValve]

I have ancestors from the Norman knights. DuBois. Proud of my Celtic and Nomadic Viking ancestors.

[@yankees29]

Same here. My mom family are descendants of William the Conqueror. Hey cousin.🤣

[@N3rve5]

I so enjoy this channel, thanks for all your work

[@studyofantiquityandthemidd4449]

For reference read The Norman Kingdom of Sicily by David Matthew and The Other Conquest by John Julius Norwich.

[@zmkuhn]

I'm writing a paper on this at the moment, specifically looking at the Norman impact on culture, and vice versa, rather than only focusing on their military prowess. Hiroshi Takayama's The Administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily is a fantastic source for this subject as well if you want to see the intricate and nuanced integration and assimilation of local traditions and cultures into the government. Emily Albu also brings some good perspective on the primary sources of the Normans in her work The Normans in Their Histories: Propaganda, Myth, and Subversion. R.H.C. Davis additionally gives good insight on how the Normans in Sicily may not have worried too much on their "Norman-ness" in his work The Normans and Their Myth.

[@studyofantiquityandthemidd4449]

Zachary Kuhn that’s incredibly interesting! Have you read the Cambridge Medieval History that is in eight volumes? They cover the topic as well along with everything else. If you don’t own them I highly suggest them because they are invaluable when it comes to research.

[@studyofantiquityandthemidd4449]

Zachary Kuhn if you want access to more info join my private group on Facebook we have thousands of downloadable ancient and medieval history books in our files section and video lectures in the album section of videos. Here is the link if you’re interested feel free to check us out. m.facebook.com/groups/164050034145170

[@zmkuhn]

Hey, thanks for the suggestion! I've taken a very brief look at the Cambridge Medieval History and see volumes 4, part 1 and part 2, and 5 would be of use. Luckily, my local University has them on the shelf, so I'll take a look later today. Ironically, I've used one of the sources that Real Crusades History used for their four part podcast prior to this video on the Normans in Southern Italy and Sicily, Gordon Brown's The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily. I find it to be an accurate discussion on the military half of the Normans, but am arguing against both him and R Allen Brown's The Normans, as both look purely at the military aspect. R Allen specifically argues that the Normans do not integrate into the region, but only use the aspects most useful to them. This flies fully contrary to R.H.C. Davis, who notes that certain Norman aristocrats specifically remarried into local populations, or Takayama's demonstration of the use of Arab daftars - land registers of the Emirate of Sicily - , the creation of the position of amiratus - an Admiralty and governing position staffed by Greek, Italian, French, and Normans to control the Arab populations of Sicily - which was derived from the Arab title of Amir to keep similarities in the system, or the continued allowance of Eastern Rite Christianity in a Latin Rite Christian kingdom so close to the 1054 schism. On top of this is the continued reliance on Greek, Italian, and even Arab aristocracy in the Norman kingdom, where a direct counterpart in Norman England replaced as many aristocrats with Normans as they could - in the case of bishoprics, as many as 4 of 5 in Norman England were replaced with Norman bishops. According to G A Loud in the article Norman Traditions in Southern Italy, found in the collection of articles titled Norman Tradition and Transcultural Heritage : Exchange of Cultures in the ‘Norman’ Peripheries of Medieval Europe, only 1 of 15 bishoprics were held by an Englishman by the time William the Conqueror died. None of this to say the the Military prowess of the Normans was not impressive or very impactful to their success. Only that it is not the only aspect of the Normans in Southern Italy and Sicily, and that non-military aspects have, in my view, been woefully under served.

[@studyofantiquityandthemidd4449]

Zachary Kuhn that is absolutely awesome and welcome to the group! Have you written anything on the Normans and their involvement in Sicily? If not I encourage you to do so and share it with us. I bet it would be incredibly insightful.

[@Aristocles22]

Most Normans weren't descended from Vikings. That was basically just their uppermost class. The rank and file among them were basically Gallo-Romans mixed in with a few Franks (mostly in the east) and Bretons (mostly in the west).

[@charris5700]

@@werriernormand2163 Very interesting id like to visit Normandy and see these towns/names that date back to their ascendance/expansion. So as far back as such details could even be known as records show, the people are of Germanic stock as most common denominator, but obviously have an even older foundation of Celtic tribes that existed before and during the Roman empire. I wonder if Charles deGaul can trace his lineage back to that Celtic origin. I wonder who can clearly trace theirs back to Rollo\William. Many can in England id assume as well just like the castles that freckle the entire map.

[@tonyhawk94]

True, for instance William the Conqueror was barely one quarter Scandinavian.

[@rhys5567]

Culture bud. That's what is important. No one thinks racial purity makes a warrior.

[@Aristocles22]

@@rhys5567 No one anymore, of course. For good reason.

[@LucidWanderer]

Interesting because the Anglo-Saxons who were defeated at Hastings joined the Varangian guard along with "Others who have suffered at the hands of the Vikings and their descendants"

[@BRAgamer]

I come from an ancient siculo-calabrian family, thank you for making such a video, proud to be an old subscriber.

[@benghazi3754]

"Loaded down with booty" Hah!

[@normiedoggy3730]

God bless all Christians in the World

[@the6thcolumn588]

Alright, listened to the whole episode now. This was up there with the 3 part Fall of Constantinople series. In other words one your best. Your attention to detail here, describing the characters and events, really made a big difference. Hope you turn this into a 4 or 6 part series.

[@the6thcolumn588]

Hautevilles FTW !!!

[@DiexAye]

Hauteville family tree is even more broken than Crusader Kings. Caracter's children stats are not this op x)

[@mikemancuso2526]

6:02 "Sicily could provided crop and a lot of wealth to the Arabs". Actually it was also a slaves reservoir for the Arabo-muslims...

[@davehallett3128]

What grade did you quit school

[@maarten9272]

@@davehallett3128 What do you mean?

[@danieleriksson5587]

@@davehallett3128 He is right, so when did you?

[@Evocati-Augusti]

12 mad Muslims lol

[@MrMoOomoOo91]

Does that make you feel terrified Donald?

[@MasterMalrubius]

@@MrMoOomoOo91 Go back to your goat. She misses you.

[@MrMoOomoOo91]

Andrew Boehmer Not more than your mom.

[@baibac6065]

Not really, I love history.

[@baibac6065]

@@MasterMalrubius Oh I didn't know your mother was called goat ;)

[@studyofantiquityandthemidd4449]

This is great! I have a few books on this very subject and it's fascinating.

[@xzGAB]

Hi. Just want to state I love your work and would like to know about another platform for your podcasts while I'm driving to work. I don't have internet connection in a good part of the way, so it must be offline. Thank you, keep up the good work and greetings from Brazil.

[@vicentgalvan70]

Quem é vivo sempre aparece. xD

[@6StimuL84]

Download and convert to mp3 many free ways to do it easily....

[@luismieres3692]

Excelent video my friend, a great history about the Hautville brothers

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

Thanks very much.

[@davehallett3128]

Hauteville in french

[@ricciluigi2592]

The most common name in Sicily is actually a Norman Viking name. For some reason people always want to say it is a Latin word meaning Red, but it is Medieval Latin for the Rus' the Viking founders of Russia. All Normans or Vikings were called Rus' in the Mediterranean by the Sicilians, the Arabs and the Byzantines. You also find this name in exactly the same areas that the Normans conquered from the Arabs and Byzantines in Southern Italy.

[@ricciluigi2592]

@@werriernormand2163 Rus, He Rows, or the Men Who Row. It is the basis of the word Russia, in Italian...Russo In Byzantine Greek the Language of Sicily and Southern Italian..Roussos People would love to think the word means red but that is only because the first person to take the name took the name Russo Rosso so of course the Italians thought Russo=Rosso..

[@morrighanwermarn-arnburg7333]

The original *Roger* *and* *Me* By Michael ibn ali Moor.

[@XXthekingofyouXX]

Hilarious comment.

[@kaloarepo288]

King Roger of Sicily was an amazing ruler -his kingdom flourished because he was tolerant in matters of religion and employed people from different religions -catholic,Muslim,Jewish and Greek Orthodox.He built on the positive aspects of the previous Islamic governments.A Muslim geographer called El Idrisi drew up a famous map of the world for him which still exists.Roger's descendant,the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick the Second, who made Sicily his home as well as ruling most of the rest of Italy and also Germany, was an equally tolerant and highly successful ruler.He retook Jerusalem by negotiation and not by force.His title Stupor Mundi means Wonder of the World.He is buried in the great cathedral of Palermo the capital of Sicily.Unfortunately he was opposed by the Papacy, who in the reigns of Fredericks' descendants stirred up trouble against them and instigated the brother of the French king,Charles of Anjou, to attack Sicily and instal a French dominated government.In a famous event in Sicilian history that of the Sicilian Vespers, the people of Sicily rose up against the French and eventually an Aragonese monarch was installed.The Angevins still continued to rule in mainland southern Italy however.

[@franciscomm7675]

Well said

[@enricomanno8434]

I agree with you... but you should write Christian Catholic with the capital C. and not with c.

[@Leonardorussobr]

my ancestors made it (Russo, Rosso or Rossi surnames are descendents of those guys)

[@67claudius]

Rossi derives from red of hair, therefore probably of Nordic, Germanic or Celtic origin.

[@christiancristof491]

Hope you know those are mostly just adaptions of foreign words and concepts into latin that created surnames. Doesn't make them your ancestors.

[@Sefirosu88]

I have that surname, but i cant tell for sure i descend from normans, but still Im very tall and blonde hair, but not blue eyes :D

[@davehallett3128]

Isn t redhead. Testa rossa. in italian. Or il rosso if it s a man

[@ljiljanamuhamedovic9931]

Massimiliano_Altavilla se sei alto non significa che sei di origine nordica dato che l’altezza varia fra numerose etnie, per esempio i più alti d’europa sono i bosniaci

[@DavidSmith-wr6vj]

Very nice, even without a slide show rolling

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

Thank you very much!

[@strafrag1]

So this is how I got my 1000 year old Scandinavian DNA. Excellent!

[@allanhunnicutt8887]

Brilliant!

[@Evocati-Augusti]

Do you have maps of the Holy Roman Empire and all the Templar's strong hold's on a map I can save?Dates and changes...

[@alexanderlittle9786]

I'm pretty sure I saw that church when I was in italy... my cousin grew up in reggio and told me it was 1000 years old.

[@chriswoodford4331]

Great production.

[@tannerdenny5430]

And instead of a movie about this, we will get Transformers 9. And they wonder why theaters are going out of business.

[@munggar4861]

This conquest came after a 100 years civil war bewtween shia fatimids (kutamas) and arab sunnis (aghlabids) in Sicily and after that the aghlabids navy has been seized by fatimids and used to conquest tulunid Egypt so the way was paved especially after that the fatimid ruler of egypt refused to help arab sunnis in sicily considering them as "rebels".

[@sultanabunasrsaifal-dinal-7782]

Not kutamh but alewin

[@manofgod1910]

Richard the Lionheart took the city of Messina in one day.

[@scottleft3672]

The book "A ruby in her navel" got me hooked on this period.

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

You may enjoy this book as well: www.amazon.com/Why-Does-Heathen-Rage-Crusades-ebook/dp/B01F9CGX54

[@RareCondition]

Excited to hear about Cerami.

[@octodaddy4494]

Robert Guiscard is my ancestor.

[@Jem777-1]

Excellent channel 👍

[@Sam-pu7xc]

This Sicilian Englishman approves ✝️💖🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿👍

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

The French will swear the Normans are French and not Norman.

[@christiancristof491]

Oh, no. That's wrong! They are indeed Normans. And Normans are....Guess it.

[@sherkjlsjdf6334]

norman was killed and slaved by french

[@christophedel2642]

I'm Norman from NORMANDY and that's it!!!

[@francoisjean1178]

As a norman i m not french. Only norman

[@esthershelton6672]

Can you please do one on TANCRED.

[@krisballard541]

Roger was a talented warrior.

[@vincentfarace4494]

Norman Sicily under king Rogers was more prosperous than Norman England.

[@jonathanwells223]

18:05 I think it’s known as being “Brutally Cunning”

[@robrockstar9648]

I like it two brothers fight a a “war” and it basically was a very dramatic tournament. Robert: “I’m gonna fight you but not really cause you still my bro” Roger: “Bro”

[@davehallett3128]

They were normans not retards

[@gilmer3718]

Something tells me they weren't terrified at being stuck on the coast for 3 days while some garrison they had already defeated, tried to harass them. Mentioned about 15:25.

[@SpaceExplorer]

Normans be wilding, yo

[@chrismusix5669]

Thank you Lord Jesus for our forebears who took up the defense of your People!

[@Petey0707]

xD

[@fciolino]

Your lord commands you to force convert millions of people by the sword??? Check the history of your religion, Scandinavian crusades, middle eastern crusades, african crusades. Man you guys are such God loving and peaceful people!🤪

[@leaveme3559]

@@fciolino I imagine u r an atheist?

[@fciolino]

The Kamal Kartik no. I imagine you are a hindu?

[@leaveme3559]

@@fciolino no dude m an athiest would have given u a High five if u said yes... But...

[@ArnaGSmith]

The maps are really quite helpful.

[@alexanderchenf1]

Is it practical to build wooden armor for sea warfare?

[@jprosey]

so much history went on before most of the history you was taught

[@bremnersghost948]

I read somewhere that Grantmesnil grew up with the De Hauteville's and was Tancred's Chaplain before he went to be the Bastard's Chaplain

[@europeanbourgeois8223]

The Norman pillaging in a heavily Christian area is simple to explain....they saw themselves French speaking Vikings, that strong north man persona was still at the centre of their whole identity...regardless if they had converted.

[@goonymiami]

That's not the explanation. And obviously you are trying really hard to present Normans as Vikings (from your different comments on this video). Whatever makes you feel good about your diluted genes, buddy. I'm sure you are a very strong dude!

[@Olvir_Richardsson]

@@goonymiami ''DilUteD gEneS'' Saltyyy

[@LucidWanderer]

@@goonymiami And what your think that your the Nietzschean man? It's going to be hard to get over that massive ego of yours.

[@tylerhill9510]

When Men were Men.

[@jonathanwells223]

And Elves were Men and Dwarves were Men-Men!... Sorry.

[@Enigmatt_eu]

Indeed matey

[@hh6403]

Nice commentary but what 3 or so graphics???

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

It's a podcast

[@duhwhiz]

Some maps would help...

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

Look again.

[@ramona.spedale7065]

Proverbs 27:20. Hell and Destructions Are never Full: So the eyes of Man are never Satisfied.

[@HueyPPLong]

Hey Stephen isn't Roberts a Norman surname?

[@Gingerjoe27]

This is my great grandfather

[@b.griffin317]

toward the end you have music in the background

[@MrCount84]

So the Normans Alesia'd Enna?

[@johannakox2479]

When you are too lazy to read your uni coursebook. Real Crusades History my saviour!!!

[@alexanderv1620]

Came here for the AOE 2 DLC historicity.

[@armandarsenault2214]

I HAVE BEEN HERE IN NORTH AMERICA SINCE 1542!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Evocati-Augusti]

Do a lot of modern Italians have Arab mixed blood?

[@RealCrusadesHistory]

My understanding is that no they do not.

[@humo89]

I would argue yes, especially the the island of Sicily and the independent nation of Malta. As a caveat, these were “pit stops” in the Mediterranean in which many empires left their genetic mark, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Semitic peoples from North Africa and yes the Arabs.

[@Evocati-Augusti]

I've been looking into this from the 1st century on...war's, land grab's, riads...Italian's and Greeks have more Arab features then Roman...I am of Holy Roman Empire Blood from the North..those, I've seen and know look more blonde haired and blue eyes...

[@garn3590]

nope, the italics more or less preserved the same genes they had before the roman empire, even with the great migrations/invasions, the romans number were so staggering that the new gene pool was merely a drop in the sea, the nord has still more celtic genes, the center either Etruscan-Latin-other italic subtypes and in the south you can find most of the 'Arab' subtypes where originally Cartaginians-Phoenicians and the like stantiated originally, so nope, not really. Blon hairs and blue eyes whilst not inexistent in Latins weren't really common, having them would have made the other Romans think you were a descendant of barbarians, or celts at best. Check your facts man

[@christiancristof491]

No. Also, "italians"? Arabs only conquered Sicily and some other little parts of the south of Italy. They never got to most of Italy, calm down.

[@viprider4864]

i love this but ah jaysus someone kill me

[@altalt839]

These guys must have been physically very strong.

[@antoniopazzini6371]

I figured us southern Italians had black in us my 23 and me said african

[@kala-adaidakariopusunju6809]

Are you serious? And what complexion are you?

[@JM-fo1te]

I laugh when guidos say they're 100% Scicilian... whatever that means.

[@antiantifa886]

Helio Andalucia I laugh when a Mexican says there 100% Mexican.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@S2Cents]

Helio Andalucia are you a "latino"?

[@antiantifa886]

2cents no but Latin is Caucasian. I understand Latino is supposed to be mixed or meztio right?

[@S2Cents]

Anti Antifa I was asking Helio Andalucia

[@JM-fo1te]

:o I'm not Mexican.

[@schechter01]

As of now, 35 SJWs dislike this video because "wypipo".

[@sherwinhamyani1037]

When I look into the cultural aspect of Sicily I think it resembles mostly Greek, Spanish and to a certain amount the Arab culture. But the diversity in appearances is so much that I can’t say that they resemble a certain ethnic group as a whole. Many Arab looking people. Even more Greek looking. Some look like the people of the Balkan. Many look like Gypsies.

[@haideraliibnakhlaq8823]

Greek influence long gone , mostly Islamic and Renaissance europe influence

[@jghollowell4]

😳 hmmmmmmm…

[@Veldtian1]

*_Part Deux!!!!_*

[@janvokurka2401]

Why do you call them Vikings when you know they are just people of Scandinavian nations...

[@lenormand4967]

Jan Vokurka BECAUSE THEY WERE NORWEGIAN VIKINGS WHO RULED NORMANDY. NORMAN MEANS NORSE MAN OR VIKING. A GREAT MANY OF US MOVED TO NORTH AMERICA. THERE WERE EVEN NORMAN CASTLES HERE. SOME OF THE CASTLE RUINS WERE NOTED BY "EXPLORERS". FROM MAINE/MAINZ AND ICARIA/ACADIA/NOVA SCOTIA, WE FED THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE. THE FISH WE SENT WERE "COD", A DERIVATIVE OF ACADIE. THE WELSH, SCOTTISH AND EVEN THE IRISH WERE IN NORTH AMERICA. THE IRISH SKIN BOATS WERE SEEN. AND SOME AMERINDIANS GREETED AN EXPLORER WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS BECAUSE THEY WERE TAUGHT ABOUT JESUS. PRIOR TO THAT, THE ROMANS OF GREAT BRITAIN RECORD VISITING WITHOUT ENCOUNTERING ANYONE. BUT THE ANCIENT MINING OPERATIONS WERE NOT ON THE COAST. THE GREATEST WAS AROUND THE GREAT LAKES. OBSCURE HISTORY.

[@EMan-cf8lv]

Eirann LeNormand iron mountains of Michigan.

[@SamO-ik2cm]

hi do you have a link to any information regarding viking castles in north america? sounds very interesting

[@stevewapner9061]

Hauteville rhymes with oat-ville

[@davehallett3128]

Also goat ville

[@allanhunnicutt8887]

Brilliant!