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Amiratus in the Norman Kingdom of Sicily: a leading office of Arabic origin in the royal administration*

The Norman Kingdom of Sicily, crossroads of Arab-Islamic, Greek-Byzantine and Latin-Christian cultures in the twelfth century, is well known for its efficient and rigorous administration. This highly developed bureaucracy is generally regarded as the most advanced in Europe at that time. Some scholars even see it as one of the forerunners of the modern secular state. Nevertheless, owing to the complicated interweaving of Arabic, Greek and Latin elements within the administration, there has been much confusion as to how this bureaucratic system actually worked.¹ In this article I aim at clarifying some of the problems and misunderstandings concerning one of the most important offices of the kingdom: the office of amiratus.

The amiratus is a Latinized form of amīr in Arabic² and the origin of admiral in English, Admiral in German, amiral in French and ammiraglio in Italian.³ This title was held by the most powerful people and sometimes by head ministers in the kingdom. Many historians think that the amiratus was the highest official in charge of the financial administration as well as the commander of the navy. According to Jamison,

His duties included primarily the control of the fiscal administration and the organization of the navy; in time of war they extended to the command of the forces by sea and also by land. The admiral was an important member of the curia, with his full share in its judicial and advisory functions.⁴

If we closely examine the documents, however, we immediately find that the amirati were very different from this generalized image and that the character and administrative function of this office changed rapidly over time. In order to understand the administrative structure of the kingdom, we must also understand exactly the changing process this office was subject to. In the following sections I will show when, how and in what circumstances the office of amiratus changed its functions and meaning.

I. The first Amiratus

The first use of the word amiratus is found in the Gest of Robert Guiscard written by William of Apulia:

Having taken hostages and built a fortress, Victorious Robert went back to Reggio leaving in Palermo a knight of his own race, who was given to the Sicilians as their amiratus.⁵

Thus, after occupying Palermo in January 1072 – the capital of the Muslims in Sicily – Duke Robert of Apulia appointed one of his knights as governor of Palermo with the title of amiratus. At this time Robert adopted the Arabic title amīr (amiratus in Latinized form) instead of a Latin or Greek title more familiar to him. What was the reason? It is probably because a majority of the inhabitants of Palermo were Muslims. Then, what did this word amīr mean to the Muslims in Sicily in those days? To answer this question, I shall examine how this word had been employed in Sicily before the Norman conquest and what it meant for the contemporaries in the Islamic world.

Before the Norman conquest, the island of Sicily had been under Islamic rule for more than two centuries. This Islamic age can be roughly divided into three periods: The first under the rule of the Aghlabids (827–909), the second under the rule of the Fāṭimids (909–948) and the third under the rule of the Kalbids/Kalbites (948–1044), who gained independence from the Fāṭimids.

Under the Aghlabids it was the Aghlabid rulers themselves who held the title of amīr. They resided in the capital Qayrawān in Tunisia and controlled Sicily through their agents. These agents in Sicily – governors of Sicily, as it were – were called wālī in Arabic. When the Aghlabids were replaced in Tunisia by the Fāṭimids in 909, Sicily also came under Fāṭimid rule. In those days the Fāṭimid ruler in North Africa had the title of caliph, and his governors in Sicily were called wālī as under Aghlabid rule.

In 947 a great revolt erupted against the Fāṭimid governor in Palermo. To deal with this crisis, the caliph dispatched a new governor to Sicily. This marked the beginning of the Kalbid/Kalbite dynasty, because his descendants came to inherit the governorship of Sicily. It is generally assumed that the Kalbid governors of Sicily used the title of amīr only when they enjoyed more independence from the Fāṭimid authority. Thus, the fourth governor of Sicily was the first to assume the title of amīr. The fifth, sixth and seventh governors also had the title of amīr, but thereafter the governors came to be called again wālī. As the Kalbid authority declined, local lords, who bore the title of qā’id, gained power and fought among themselves. Under these circumstances Sicily was conquered by the Normans.⁶

Thus in the history of Sicily under Islamic rule, the title of amīr was used only to denote the Aghlabid rulers in North Africa or the Kalbid governors of Sicily who became independent of the Fāṭimid authority.

What was the usage of the term amīr in other Islamic regions? In the age of Muhammad and during the caliphate of Medina, military commanders were known as amīrs. Although they often became governors of the regions they had conquered, they continued to use the title of amīr. Under the Umayyads, these governors were entrusted with all administrative power, and in some regions they enjoyed almost the same authority as the caliphs. Under the ‘Abbāsids, there appeared amīrs who, though appointed by the caliph, were relatively independent of the caliph’s authority. Some of them even founded their own dynasties. Thus by the latter half of the eleventh century, a majority of the amīrs in the Islamic world were rulers politically independent of the caliph.⁷

We cannot confirm whether Robert, duke of Apulia, followed the practice of the Kalbid dynasty or adopted the contemporary Islamic usage when he appointed a knight as governor of Palermo with the title of amīr in 1072. In any event, it is safe to say that to the Muslims in Sicily this title meant a “ruler.” When Robert granted this title to the governor of Palermo, he probably intended to show the Muslims in Sicily that this governor was their head and representative. The creation of this office implies his strong will to control the Muslims in Sicily without destroying their administrative unity.⁸

When the first amiratus was appointed, Sicily was in the middle of the conquest, and it was Robert’s brother Roger I, count of Calabria and Sicily, who was actually engaged in the war against the Muslims. After the fall of Palermo, Robert gave half of the city to Roger and retained its administration and the other half in his own hands. This largest and most prosperous city in Sicily was indeed too important to give away as a whole, but from a territorial point of view it was only an exclave for Robert as the preponderant part of his territory was located in the Italian peninsula. Thus, the amiratus was just a local official of the duke of Apulia who was entrusted with the administration of Palermo and its environs.

It is not certain who succeeded amiratus after the first amiratus, an unnamed Norman knight. But we know that a certain Peter Bido, the earliest amiratus whose name we know, had become amiratus by August 1086. He is mentioned as “armeratus of Palermo” in two documents of August 1086.⁹ Afterwards for a certain period the title of amiratus of Palermo seems to have been held by Norman vassals of the dukes of Apulia (Robert and his son Roger).

II. From a local official to the governor of the capital

A major change in the functions of the amiratus occurred in 1091. In this year Roger I, count of Calabria and Sicily, not only completed the conquest of Sicily but also obtained the other half of Palermo and its administration which had been retained by the duke of Apulia, and thus put this town under his complete control. This was an extremely important event for Count Roger I, because he controlled now the whole of Palermo, the biggest town on the island of Sicily and the most important city in his county culturally, politically and economically. He appointed Eugenius, one of his most important magnates, as amiratus.¹⁰

There is no doubt that, as Jamison has pointed out, the amiratus of Palermo “enlarged his sphere and became the ἄμηρ of all the count’s dominions in Sicily and Calabria” under Count Roger I and Adelasia.¹¹ But it should be emphasized that the office of amiratus of Palermo assumed great importance precisely when the administration of Palermo was transferred from the duke of Apulia to the count of Calabria and Sicily.

For the duke of Apulia, Palermo had been no more than an exclave far from his residential palace, but for Count Roger I it was the largest and the most prosperous city in his county. With the transfer of its administration from the duke of Apulia to the count of Sicily the amiratus became one of the most important officials of the comital court. He was the person who governed the largest city of the county. He was now no longer a mere local official responsible for an exclave. It should be emphasized that this office did not gain importance by a gradual process under Eugenius. It gained great importance suddenly when the count of Sicily obtained the whole city of Palermo and its administration. It is probable that the office of amiratus became so significant that Roger I placed Eugenius, one of his magnates, at this office.

Despite its Arabic origin, the office of amiratus was not given to Arabs as it was held by Eugenius, a Greek, during the reign of Roger I. This does not mean that there were no Arabs close to Roger I. On the contrary, many Muslims are known to have worked in Roger I’s army and government.¹² Eadmer of Canterbury, author of The Life of St. Anselm, reports that a number of Muslims served the army of Roger I. In the expedition against Taormina in March 1079, an Arab, Elias of Cartomi, led one troop of Roger I’s army.¹³

When Roger I died and his wife Adelasia/Adelaide started her regency (1101–1112) in 1101, the principal residence of the count was transferred to Messina in Sicily from Mileto in Calabria. Although Adelasia retained most of her husband’s officials, Eugenius disappeared from the sources and Christodoulos, again of Greek origin, seems to have taken his position as amiratus.¹⁴ Christodoulos, born near Rossano in Calabria, which was steeped in Greek culture,¹⁵ and he became amiratus by around 1105 (1107 at the latest). One of the most important persons in the central government and most trusted magnates of Adelasia, he attained a status almost equivalent to that of head minister.

When Roger II came of age and was made knight in 1112, the capital was fixed in Palermo. Thereafter this old Muslim city remained the center of the county both in name and reality.¹⁶ Roger II made the palace of Muslim rulers his own residence and came to spend most of his life there.

This transfer of the capital from Messina to Palermo caused a shift of the gravity within the county. Messina, located in the middle of Calabria and Sicily, was a convenient place to govern the two regions. During the period when the count’s residential palace was located in Messina, the two regions of Calabria and Sicily had the same importance for the count. However, when the residential palace was moved to Palermo in the northwest of Sicily, Sicily became much more important than Calabria. Sicily became the principal body of the county and Calabria fell into second position.

This change of gravity had a large effect on the governmental structure. Sicily was put under the direct control of the central government in Palermo while Calabria became a provincial district. The Muslim population in Sicily became much more important than the Greeks in Calabria. In accordance with these changes, the office of amiratus of Palermo became more influential and the κριτής (kritēs) and πρωτονοτάριος (prōtonotarios) in Calabria lost their leading position at the comital court.

After the capital was fixed at Palermo, the central government gradually increased its staff and improved its organization. The witness lists found in the comital documents of this period suggest that high clerics and officials among the entourage increased in number and influence with the corresponding decline in power of lay vassals in the central government.¹⁷

Christodoulos, who had worked actively under Adelasia, kept his high position under Roger II. He possessed the highest status in the comital government with the title of amiratus until 1127.¹⁸ Thereafter, however, he was succeeded as amiratus by a Greek, George of Antioch. George led many expeditions under Roger II and became head minister after the creation of the kingdom in 1130. He had been appointed amiratus by 1124 at latest. Thereafter, he worked with his superior, Christodoulos, until the latter’s retirement (or death) in 1127, and played an active part as head minister after the establishment of the kingdom.¹⁹

It should be noted that Christodoulos and George held the title of amiratus concurrently for some years. It is also confirmed that Nicholas²⁰ and John, son of Eugenius,²¹ also held the title of amiratus in the same period. For a certain period at least four amirati existed. The plurality of amiratus should be emphasized because it suggests that the bearers of this title no longer were the representatives of Muslims in Sicily. I suspect that this title had also lost its original function as governor of Palermo and was simply becoming a title given to a leading official without any specific offices attached to it. It is certain that the aforementioned four amirati were powerful high officials of Roger II.²²

III. Amiratus after the establishment of the kingdom

When William, duke of Apulia, passed away in 1127, Roger II succeeded to the dukedom and made every effort to establish his authority in the new territory. Since his coronation in 1130 did not at all guarantee his dominion in Southern Italy, he had to continue fighting against rebellious vassals and towns until 1140.

During this war period, however, a new administrative system was being formed in the peninsula in accordance with the changing political situation. The central government remained basically the same as the one for the county of Calabria and Sicily. However, war conditions had a big effect on the members of Roger II’s entourage and governmental officials.²³

The amirati were the most active officials during this period. Their activities were so conspicuous that one may call this period the era of amirati. Many of them commanded royal fleets and armies, and the amiratus George was the head minister in charge of the state affairs. After the death (or retirement) of the amiratus Christodoulos, he had emerged as the most important magnate at the court. After the establishment of the kingdom, he appeared in the documents with such solemn titles as “amiratus of amirati (amiratus amiratorum, ἀμηρᾶς τῶν ἀμηράδων)” “great amiratus (maximus amiratus, magnus amiratus, μέγας ἀμυρᾶς)” or “magnate of magnates (ἄρχων τῶν ἀρχόντων).”²⁴ In Arabic sources he was referred to as wazīr, that is, head minister.²⁵ He was well known as an able commander of the royal fleet.²⁶

In addition to this great amiratus George, there were also some other amirati who worked for Roger II. John, son of Eugenius, who had already appeared with the title of amiratus in the documents of 1117 and 1122, still remained in the same position.²⁷ Likewise, it is possible that Nicholas held the title of amiratus in the same period.²⁸ In addition, Theodore²⁹ and Basil (Basilius)³⁰ started to work actively as amirati in this war period. Thus several amirati worked for Roger II.

George and John were the king’s most powerful magnates, while they led royal armies and fleets. They took command of the counts, barons and other king’s vassals at war. The appearance of the title of “amiratus of Sicily” or “great amiratus of Sicily” borne by George seems to imply that in this period the office of amiratus expanded its official jurisdiction from Palermo to the whole of Sicily. War conditions increased their military activities and made their military role conspicuous. But it should be emphasized that their principal duties were of a general nature as magnates of Roger II and that they were not limited to military tasks. They were not just admirals in the modern English sense, but powerful magnates who took any administrative and military duties to govern the kingdom.

Even after 1140, when the peninsula was pacified and order was restored in the kingdom, the amirati kept their high position among the officials of the central government. George maintained his position as head minister and continued to be engaged in military activities until he died in 1151 (or 1152).³¹ John seemed to keep the office of amiratus for a while.³² It is likely that Theodore and Basilius continued to work as amirati under George. In 1143, Michael, son of George, also held the title of amiratus.³³ Furthermore, in the winter of 1147–1148, the amiratus Salerno commanded a royal fleet and directed an expedition against the Byzantine Empire. He won a glorious victory at the Cape Male and captured Angelus Despoti, the commander of the Byzantine fleet and a relative of the emperor.³⁴

After the death of George, Philip of Mahdīya, an ex-Muslim, gained the king’s confidence and rapidly increased his influence at the royal court. He took command of a royal fleet in a successful expedition against Bona, but was subsequently imprisoned and executed in 1153. We find Philip of Mahdīya described as amiratus regii stolii in the interpolation of the History of Romuald of Salerno, but there is no other document to support this information.³⁵

IV. Maio, the great head minister of William I

After Roger II’s death in 1154, his son William I succeeded to the throne. The kingdom under the new king was immediately invaded by an alliance of Byzantine and papal troops. The troops included those who had been exiled by Roger II and were reinforced by many vassals and cities inside the kingdom. Although most of the barons of Calabria and some important cities such as Naples, Amalfi, Salerno, Troia and Melfi continued to be loyal to the king, they could not defeat the rebels. Given the difficult situation, in 1156 William I decided to take direct command of the army. As soon as the king came to the front stage, his army crushed the rebels and beat off the invasion. The rebels were severely punished. The rebellious city of Bari was razed and its inhabitants were expelled from the city. Palermo was subjected to a new tax and other financial burdens. Most of the rebellious barons had their estates confiscated, were expelled from the kingdom, imprisoned or blinded. Consequently, the arrangement of the counties greatly changed.³⁶

When the kingdom recovered its order and peace, William I left the government to Maio. Maio, being entrusted with state affairs, bore the title of amiratus amiratorum, which George once had, and became powerful head minister. He was different from the former amirati on several points. First, unlike his predecessors, he grew up in Latin culture. Most of the amirati before Maio were Greek, but Maio came from Latin Bari. Second, although he once held the offices of notary and chancellor in charge of handling Latin documents, he was never engaged in military activities, even if he appointed his brother-in-law as military commander in the peninsula.³⁷

Maio governed the whole kingdom in the king’s name and was, as Jamison states, “practically the ruler of the kingdom.”³⁸ He utilized his great power to reorganize the local administrative system and to accelerate the centralization of the government. He gave greater power to officials while trying to reduce the barons’ political influence. Against this policy, discontented barons formed an alliance with several cities and assassinated him on 10 November 1160. This incident marked the beginning of a large-scale rebellion that spread over Calabria, Sicily, Apulia, Salerno and Capua. The revolt was quelled in the end, however, and the rebels were severely punished.³⁹

With the assassination of Maio, the age of powerful amirati was over. He was the last amiratus amiratorum. Immediately after his death, William I invited Henry Aristippus, deacon of Catania, appointing him familiaris regis or familiaris of the king. Thus Henry Aristippus took charge of state affairs as Maio once had done.⁴⁰ Subsequently in March 1161 at the latest, Count Silvester of Marsico and Bishop-elect Richard of Syracuse were appointed as familiares regis and thus the kingdom’s inner council of the three familiares regis was established.⁴¹ At that time the word familiaris regis became a very narrowly defined title to indicate a member of the kingdom’s highest advisory group throughout the reigns of William I and William II. The familiares regis were the most powerful people in the kingdom that decided the kingdom’s policy and handled important issues.⁴²

V. Differentiation of the amiratus

We cannot find the title of amiratus in the documents between the assassination of Maio in 1160 and the end of the reign of William II (1166–1189). It reappears around 1187, but at this time the amiratus seems to have changed its meaning significantly. It appears that under William II the amirati were specialized bureaucrats rather than powerful magnates of the royal palace.

These new amirati seem to fall into two categories.⁴³ The one is the amiratus as admiral of the navy. In this case, they were called not by the simple title of amiratus but by a more limited Latin title of regii stolii amiratus (amiratus of the king’s fleet). It was Walter of Modica who assumed this title first. In addition he bore the title of “master of the duana de secretis and the duana baronum” and was responsible for the administration of the kingdom, especially for that of Apulia and Capua. But he was the commander of the king’s fleet.⁴⁴ He led the royal fleet against the Muslims in the Balearic Islands in 1181–1182.⁴⁵ He was the only “amiratus of the king’s fleet” under William II confirmed in the documents. But there is a possibility that Margaritus also had the same title. This commander of the royal fleet, famous for his crusading expedition, held the title of “amiratus of the king’s fleet” as well as that of familiaris regis during the reign of King Tancred.⁴⁶

The other sort of amiratus was a simple amiratus, an honorary title granted to a bureaucrat toward the end of his career. In this case, the title was just amiratus without any modifiers. The recipients of this title were Sanctorus (under William II) and William of Malconvenant and Eugenius (under Tancred).

Sanctorus worked as notary and then master justiciar under William II. He was the king’s notary in January 1159 under William I and stayed in this position at least until September 1169 under William II.⁴⁷ By March 1185, when he held a court at Messina, he had been promoted to “master justiciar of the king’s great court.”⁴⁸

Subsequently, he must have obtained the title of amiratus, as he already bore the title of “amiratus and master justiciar of the king’s great court” when he held a court at Palermo together with his colleague Geoffrey in June 1187.⁴⁹ The fact that he had the title of amiratus was also confirmed in a later document.⁵⁰ Thus, Sanctorus obtained the title of amiratus in the final stage of his career as the king’s official.

The careers of Eugenius and William of Malconvenant also suggest this point. Eugenius, who had long served William II as master of the duana baronum, obtained the title of amiratus in 1190 under Tancred.⁵¹ William of Malconvenant was given the title after serving William II as “master justiciar of the king’s great court” between May 1183 and January 1186.⁵²

Conclusion

The changes in the administrative function of amiratus under Norman rule can be summarized as follows. The amiratus was originally a mere local official of the duke of Apulia, a sort of governor of Palermo who ruled over the Muslims in Palermo. When Palermo came under the control of Count Roger I of Sicily, the amiratus became one of the most important offices at his court. Over time the power of this office increased, and eventually it evolved into the most powerful position in the comital palace. Thus it seems to have expanded its function from the governorship of Palermo to the governorship over the whole of the island of Sicily. But at the same time, the title of amiratus came to be borne by a number of very powerful magnates of counts and kings. Two of them, George and Maio, obtained the position of head minister as well as the title of amiratus amiratorum. After the assassination of Maio the title of amiratus disappeared from the documents for thirty years. And when it reappeared, it seems to have been used in two distinct senses. One is the amiratus of the king’s fleet, the other the simple amiratus, an honorary title given to officials toward the end of their careers.

Thus, the amiratus, an Arabic title adopted by the Norman rulers, gradually lost its original meaning and obtained its particular significance in the Norman administration. As its Arabic title suggests, the office of amiratus was first introduced to govern Arabic inhabitants in Palermo. But it soon lost its original function and came to be a title held by court potentates. Thus, except in the early stages of Norman rule, the title had nothing to do with Muslims or Arabs.

In my previous study, I suggested that the administrative system and structure of Norman Sicily continued to change all the time, and that these changes were great enough to invalidate any generalization about the Norman administration.⁵³ This present study shows that even an office like amiratus, which existed from the beginning to the end of the Norman period under the same name, changed its function and meaning in a very short time. I would like to emphasize again that in order to discuss the structure of the administration of the kingdom, we must define the period narrowly enough and closely analyze the chronological change.

Notes

* This is a revised version of my Japanese article published in Kōichi Kabayama, ed., Seiyō Chūseizō no Kakushin (Renewal of the Image of Medieval Europe) (Tokyo, 1995), pp. 31–50. Its substance was presented at the 1997 meeting of the Medieval Association of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. I should like to thank Dr. Christopher Szpilman for his help in revising this paper.

1 For the historiography on the Norman administration of Sicily, see Hiroshi Takayama, The Administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Leiden/New York/Cologne, 1993), pp. 11–24; Hiroshi Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean and the Kingdom of Sicily (Tokyo, 1993), pp. 8–28; Hiroshi Takayama, “The Norman Kingdom of Sicily and Historical Studies of the duana,” Rekishi to Chiri, vol. 435 (1991), pp. 1–16.

2 In Greek documents of the same period, we find the word ἄμηρ, which was phonetically transliterated from the Arabic word amīr.

3 The most important studies on the amiratus of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily are as follows: Michele Amari, Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, 2nd ed. a cura di Carlo A. Nallino, 3 vols. (Catania, 1933–1939), vol. 3, pp. 357–371, 429; Erich Caspar, Roger II. (1101–1154) und die Gründung der normannisch-sicilischen Monarchie (Innsbruck, 1904), pp. 300–301; Ferdinand Chalandon, Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile, 2 vols. (Paris, 1907), vol. 2, pp. 636–637; Willy Cohn, Die Geschichte der normannisch-sicilischen Flotte unter der Regierung Rogers I. und Rogers II. (1060–1154) (Breslau, 1910); Evelyn Jamison, Admiral Eugenius of Sicily (London, 1957); Léon-Robert Ménager, Amiratus- Ἀμηρᾶς. L’Émirat et les origines de l’amirauté (XIe–XIIIe siècles) (Paris, 1960). Among these studies, Ménager’s is distinguished for its strict analysis of documents and abundance of information. The present paper owes much information to this study.

4 Jamison, Admiral Eugenius, p. 33.

5 Guillaume de Pouille, La geste de Robert Guiscard, ed. Marguerite Mathieu (Palermo, 1961), Lib. III, vers 340–343, p. 182: “Obsidibus sumptis aliquot castrisque paratis, Reginam remeat Robertus victor ad urbem, Nominis eiusdem quodam remanente Panormi Milite, qui Siculis datur amiratus haberi.”

6 For Sicily under the control of Muslims, see Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 53–66, and Appendix III (pp. 30–43); Takayama, “The Aghlabid Governors in Sicily: 827–909 – Islamic Sicily I,” Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies, vol. 7 (1992), pp. 427–443; Takayama, “The Fāṭimid and Kalbite Governors in Sicily: 909–1044 – Islamic Sicily II,” Mediterranean World, vol. 13 (1992), pp. 21–30.

7 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. Van Donzel and W. P. Heinrichs, 12 vols. with indexes (Leiden, 1960–2005), vol. 1, pp. 439–440. In the case of the Aghlabids (800–909) and the Ṭāhirids (821–873), the caliphs’ names were mentioned in the khuṭba and inscribed on coins. In the case of the Ṭūlūnids (868–905), the Ikhshīdids (935–969), the Sāmānids (875–999) and the Ḥamdānids (905–1004), the amīr’s name was mentioned at the khuṭba together with the name of the caliph, and was inscribed on coins. In the case of the Ṣaffārids (867–903) and the Ghaznavids/Ghaznawids (977–1186), amīrs were in practice completely independent rulers.

8 See Takayama, The Administration, pp. 36–37; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 140–141.

9 Léon-Robert Ménager, Recueil des actes des ducs normands d’Italie (1046–1127), Vol. I. Les premiers ducs (1046–1087) (Bari, 1981), nos. XLIV, XLV.

10 The three magnates at the comital court in this period were Eugenius, Leo the logo-thetes and Nicholas the chamberlain. See Salvatore Cusa, I diplomi greci ed arabi di Sicilia pubblicati nel testo originale (Palermo, 1868–1882), pp. 396–400; Giuseppe Spata, Le pergamene greche esistenti nel grande archivio di Palermo (Palermo, 1862), pp. 197–204. For Eugenius, see Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 26–28; Takayama, The Administration, p. 32; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 141, note 74.

11 Jamison, Admiral Eugenius, p. 33.

12 Chalandon, Histoire de la domination, vol. 1, p. 330.

13 Eadmer, Vita Sancti Anselmi: The Life of St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, ed. Richard William Southern (London, 1963), pp. 111–112; Chalandon, Histoire de la domination, vol. 1, p. 304.

14 For Christodoulos, see Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 28–36; Takayama, The Administration, pp. 44–45, 51–52; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 150–152.

15 Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 28–30; Carlo Alberto Garufi, “Il più antico diploma purpureo con scrittura greca ad oro della Cancelleria Normanna di Sicilia per il protonobilissimo Cristodulo,” Archivio storico siciliano, vol. 47/48 (1927), pp. 127–128; Francesco Giunta, Bizantini e bizantinismo nella Sicilia normanna, 2nd ed. (Palermo, 1974), pp. 104–105.

16 Rocco Pirro, Sicilia sacra disquisitionibus et notitiis illustrata, 3rd ed. Antonino Mongitore and Vito M. Amico, 2 vols. (Palermo, 1773), vol. 1, p. 80; Takayama, The Administration, pp. 42, 47; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 169.

17 Takayama, The Administration, pp. 47–48; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 169–171.

18 Takayama, The Administration, pp. 52–53; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 175.

19 For George of Antioch, see Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 44–53; Takayama, The Administration, pp. 53, 66–67; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 175–176. The name of George appeared for the first time in the documents of 1124 and 1125 where he had already the title of amiratus.

20 For Nicholas, see Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 61–62; Takayama, The Administration, pp. 54–55, 68; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 176.

21 For John, see Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 59–60; Takayama, The Administration, p. 54; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 176.

22 Takayama, The Administration, p. 54; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 177. Under Count Roger II of Sicily, the amiratus became more active and influential than before, while the Greek officials of Byzantine origin lost their once overwhelming power and saw their role in the central government reduced.

23 Takayama, The Administration, pp. 56–57; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 191.

24 Alexander Telesinus, “De rebus gestis Rogerii Siciliae regis libri quatuor,” Cronisti e scrittori sincroni napoletani editi e inediti, ed. Giuseppe Del Re, vol. 1 (Naples, 1845), II/8, p. 104; Romualdus Salernitanus, Chronicon sive Annales, ed. Carlo A. Garufi (Città di Castello, 1909–1935), p. 233; Ménager, Amiratus, p. 47, note 4 and App. II, nos. 23–24; Cusa, pp. 117–118, 524–525; Caspar, Roger II, pp. 546–547, no. 148. See Takayama, The Administration, pp. 66–67; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 191–192; Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 51–53.

25 Ibn al-Athīr, “Al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh,” Biblioteca arabo-sicula ossia Raccolta di testi arabici che toccano la geografia, la storia, le biografie e la bibliografia della Sicilia, ed. Michele Amari (Leipzig, 1857) [hereinafter Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo], p. 297, sana 544; Italian translation in Michele Amari, ed. and trans., Biblioteca, versione italiana, 2 vols. (Rome/Turin, 1880–1881) [hereinafter Amari, Biblioteca, versione italiana], vol. 1, p. 476, anno 544; Safadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī bi al-Wafayāt, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 657 (Amari, Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 563).

26 Alexander Telesinus, II/8, p. 104; “Ignoti Monachi Cisterciensis S. Mariae de Ferraria chronica,” Monumenti storici, Serie Prima, Cronache, ed. Augusto Gaudenzi (Naples, 1888), p. 20; Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 496, sana 529 (Amari, Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 219, anno 529); Ibn Abī Dīnār, Kitāb al-Mūnis, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 537 (Amari, Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, pp. 291–292). See Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 48–49; Takayama, The Administration, p. 67; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 192.

27 Alexander Telesinus, II/8, p. 104; III/3, p. 130; III/5–6, pp. 131–132; Cusa, p. 23; Caspar, Roger II., p. 546, no. 148. Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 60–61; Takayama, The Administration, pp. 67–68; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 193.

28 In a document of 1177, he is described as Dominus Nicolaus Graffeus, quondam ammiratus (Carlo Alberto Garufi, I documenti inediti dell’epoca normanna in Sicilia [Palermo, 1899], pp. 166–167), but his name cannot be found in the documents of this period. See Takayama, The Administration, p. 68; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 193.

29 In 1133, King Roger II ordered Chancellor Guarinus and Amiratus Theodore to hold a court to settle a conflict. Amiratus Theodore died before 1150. Rosario Gregorio, Considerazioni sopra la storia di Sicilia dai tempi dei Normanni sino ai presenti, 3 vols., new ed. (Palermo, 1972), vol. 1, pp. 195–198; Ménager, Amiratus, p. 63; Takayama, The Administration, p. 68; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 193.

30 Ménager, Amiratus, p. 63; Takayama, The Administration, p. 68, note 117; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 193.

31 Ignoti Monachi, p. 27; Tījānī, Riḥla, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 399; Ibn al-Athīr, Al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 297; Ioannis Kinnamos, Ἐπιτομή, ed. August Meineke (Bonn, 1836), III/5, p. 98; Safadī, Kitāb al-Wāfī bi al-Wafayāt, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, p. 657 (Amari, Biblioteca, versione italiana, vol. 2, p. 563).

32 Cusa, pp. 23, 317–321; Giuseppe Spata, Diplomi greci siciliani inediti (ultima serie) (Turin, 1871), pp. 42–51; Ménager, Amiratus, p. 60, note 5; Takayama, The Administration, pp. 90–91; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 236. John died before 1154.

33 Caspar, Roger II. und die Gründung, nos. 158, 159; Takayama, The Administration, p. 91; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 237.

34 Romualdus Salernitanus, p. 227.

35 Romualdus Salernitanus, pp. 234–236; Ibn al-Athīr, Al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 295–300; Ibn Khaldūn, Kitāb al-‘Ibar, in Amari, Biblioteca, testo arabo, pp. 502–503; Amari, Storia dei Musulmani, vol. 3, pp. 432–433, 443–447; Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 64–67; Chalandon, Histoire de la domination, vol. 2, p. 104; Vincenzo Epifanio, “Ruggero II e Filippo di Al Mahdiah,” Archivio storico siciliano, n.s., vol. 30 (1905), pp. 471–501; Caspar, Roger II., pp. 432–433; Takayama, The Administration, p. 91; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 237.

36 Takayama, The Administration, p. 95; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 251.

37 Takayama, The Administration, pp. 96–97; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 252–253.

38 Evelyn Jamison, “The Norman Administration of Apulia and Capua, More Especially under Roger II and William I, 1127–1166,” Papers of the British School at Rome, vol. 6 (1913), p. 260.

39 Takayama, The Administration, p. 97; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 253.

40 Hugo Falcandus, Liber de Regno Sicilie, in Giovanni B. Siragusa, ed., La historia o Liber de Regno Sicilie e la epistola ad Petrum Panormitane ecclesie thesaurarium (Rome, 1897), p. 44.

41 The royal inner council of three familiares regis lasted until the death of William I in 1166, but the two out of the first three members were replaced with others. First, Henry Aristippus lost the king’s confidence in the revolt of barons in 1161, and was replaced by notary Matthew. Next, after the death of Count Silvester of Marsico, Qā’id Peter, the king’s chamberlain of the palace and Arabic eunuch joined the royal inner council. See Takayama, The Administration, pp. 98–101; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 255–256.

42 Takayama, The Administration, p. 123; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 254–255. For familiares regis, see Hiroshi Takayama, “Familiares Regis and the Royal Inner Council in Twelfth-Century Sicily,” English Historical Review, vol. 104 (1989), pp. 357–372; Hiroshi Takayama, “The Grand Officials of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily,” Shigaku-Zasshi, vol. 93, no. 12 (1984), pp. 17–22; Hans Schadek, “Die Familiaren der sizilischen und aragonischen Könige im 12. und 13. Jahrhundert,” Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Kulturgeschichte Spaniens, vol. 26 (1971), pp. 201–217.

43 Jamison, Admiral Eugenius, p. 54; Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 93–95.

44 Ménager, Amiratus, p. 93, note 4; Charles H. Haskins, “England and Sicily,” English Historical Review, vol. 26 (1911), p. 445; Jamison, Admiral Eugenius, App. II, no. 7, pp. 336–338.

45 Ménager, Amiratus, p. 93; Chalandon, Histoire de la domination, vol. 2, p. 398; Takayama, The Administration, p. 131; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 298–299.

46 Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 73, 98, note 2, 99–100; Roger of Howden, Chronica Rogerii de Houedene, ed. William Stubbs, 4 vols. (Rolls Series, London, 1868–1871), vol. 3, pp. 66, 95; Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis: The Chronicle of the Reigns of Henry II and Richard I, ed. William Stubbs, 2 vols. (Rolls Series, London, 1867), vol. 2, p. 128; Takayama, The Administration, pp. 131–132; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, pp. 299–300.

47 Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 73–74; Karl A. Kehr, Die Urkunden der normannisch-sicilischen Könige (Innsbruck, 1902), p. 58; Takayama, The Administration, p. 132; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 300.

48 Jamison, “The Norman Administration,” pp. 476–477; Carlo A. Garufi, “Per la storia dei secoli XI e XII: Miscellanea diplomatica,” Archivio storico per la Sicilia orientale, vol. 10 (1913), App. doc. no. 1, pp. 358–360; Ménager, Amiratus, p. 73.

49 Garufi, “Per la storia,” App. doc. no. 2, pp. 360–361; Ménager, Amiratus, p. 73; Takayama, The Administration, p. 132; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 300.

50 Ménager, Amiratus, p. 73; Takayama, The Administration, p. 132; Takayama, The Medieval Mediterranean, p. 300.

51 Jamison, Admiral Eugenius, App. II, nos. 2–21; Ménager, Amiratus, p. 73.

52 Ménager, Amiratus, pp. 74–75.

53 Takayama, The Administration, pp. 163–164.