come to a standstill here from the same reasons as in Southern France. The last energetic prince of the house of the Aghlabids, Ibrāhīm II, further succeeded (21 May 878) in capturing and destroying Syracuse. Later on he came himself to Sicily and attacked with brutal cruelty the only Christian communities who were still independent, in the Etna district, and he also destroyed Taormina (902). The conquest of Sicily was thus completed. The re-conquest by the Normans did not begin till 1061.
Ibrāhīm II met his death in the same year before Cosenza, after having carried the religious war across the straits into Calabria. He was not the first Saracen on Italian ground, for immediately after the conquest of Palermo the Aghlabid generals had interfered in the internecine quarrels of the Lombard States in Southern Italy, and thus these Aghlabids had soon become the terror of Southern and Central Italy. Everyone who has travelled along the incomparable coast between Naples and Palermo knows the numerous "Saracen towers," the ruins of the coastguard towers, from which the approach of Sicilian or African fleets had to be announced. Even to-day, in the time of a peaceful, money-bringing invasion of foreigners, there still dwells in the memories of the people occupying this favoured country the recollection of that other invasion of quite other character, the Saracen calamity, which for centuries restricted all healthy development. This forms the final chapter in the spread of Islām into Central Europe. In depicting it we must rely mostly on western sources, as the Arab-Berber robber-States which sprang up in Southern Italy never attained civilisation enough to have literary records, and Sicilian and Eastern writers tell us little about Italy.[1]
As in Sicily so in Italy the Saracens did not come without an appeal. For a long time past the Duchy of Benevento had endeavoured to annex the free town of Naples, which was besieged at various times and was compelled to agree to the payment of a tribute, which however was at once suspended whenever any resistance appeared possible. After having unsuccessfully requested Louis the Pious (814-840) to intervene, and having also been unable to find any sufficiently powerful allies in his own neighbourhood, Duke Andreas of Naples turned to the Saracens in Sicily. These availed themselves eagerly of this opportunity to interfere in Italy and in the year 887 they relieved Naples, at that time besieged by Duke Sikard of Benevento. Sikard retired with indignation, but the alliance thus formed by Naples lasted for many a long year to the benefit of both parties. The Duchy of Benevento was a natural enemy to both of them and it could not be otherwise than agreeable to the Neapolitans when, shortly afterwards, Sikard's troops were defeated by Saracens at Brindisi, and the town itself was burnt. In fact Naples even returned the assistance rendered in 837 by helping the Saracens in 842-843 to conquer Messina.
- ↑ The following account utilises the results of Amari and Lokys.
