Medieval History in Sardinia

Transcription

1 Medieval History in Sardinia In 456 A.D., when the Roman Empire was sinking fast, the Vandals of Africa occupied Caralis along with the other coastal cities of Sardinia. In 534 the Vandals were defeated at Tricamari - a place some 30 km from Carthage - by the troops of the Eastern Emperor Justinian and Sardinia thus became Byzantine. The island was divided into districts called merèie, governed by a judge residing in Caralis (Cagliari) and garrisoned by an army stationed in Forum Traiani (nowadays Fordongianus) under the command of a dux. In this period Christianity spread throughout the island, except in the Barbagia regions. Here, towards the end of the sixth century, a short-lived independent domain re-established itself, with Sardinian lay and religious traditions, one of its kings being Ospitone. From 640 to 732 the Arabs occupied North Africa, Spain and part of France. In 827 they began their occupation of Sicily. Sardinia remained isolated and was forced to defend itself; thus, the judges assumed overall command with civil and military powers. The continual raids and attacks by the Islamised Berbers on the Sardinian shores began in 710 and grew ever more ruinous with time. Their inhabitants abandoned the coastal towns and cities. In order to afford a better defence of the island the provincial judge assigned his civil and military powers to his four lieutenants in Cagliari, Torres or Logudoro, Arborea and Gallura. Around 900, the lieutenants gained their independence, in turn becoming judices (in Sardinian judikes means king) of their own logo or state. A letter written by Pope Nicholas I in 864 mentions for the first time the Sardinian judges. Their autonomy became clear in a later letter written by Pope John VIII, which defined them princes. At the dawn of the judicial era Sardinia had some 330,000 inhabitants, 120,000 of them free. These were subjected to the authority of local curators (administrators), in turn subjected to the judge (who also administrated justice and was the commander of the army). The Church was also powerful, and at this time it had completely abandoned the Eastern Rite. The arrival of the Benedictines and other monks boosted the agriculture in a land which was extremely underdeveloped. Each one of these four Sardinian states called Giudicati constituted a sovereign kingdom, not patrimonial but independent since it was not the property of the monarch. But they were at the same time democratic since all the most important issues of national interest were not for the king (or giudice ) himself to decide but were a matter for the representatives of the people gathered in assembly called corona de logu. Each kingdom

2 had its own fortified boundaries to protect its own political and trading affairs, its own parliament, own laws (cartas de logu), own national languages, own chancelleries, own state emblems and symbols, etc. The kingdom or "giudicato" of Cagliari was politically pro-genoese. It was brought to an end in 1258 when its capital, S. Igia, was stormed and destroyed by an alliance of Sardinian-Pisan forces. The territory then became a colony of Pisa. The kingdom of Torres, too, was pro-genoese and came to an end in 1259, on the death of the "giudicessa" Adelasia. The territory was divided up between the Dorian family of Genoa and the Bas-Serra family of Arborea, while the city of Sassari became an autonomous city-republic. The kingdom of Gallura ended in the year 1288, when the last "giudice" Nino Visconti, one of Dante's friends, was driven out by the Pisans who occupied the territory. The kingdom of Arborea was almost always under the political and cultural influence of the powerful marine republic of Pisa. It lasted some 520 years, with Oristano as its capital. In 1297, in order to settle diplomatically the War of the Vespers, which broke out in 1282 between the Angevins and Aragon's over the possession of Sicily, Pope Boniface VIII established a hypothetical "regnum Sardiniae et Corsicae". The Pope gave it to the Catalan Jaume II the Just, king of the Crown of Aragon (a confederation made up of the kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia, plus the peasants of Catalonia), promising him support should he wish to conquer Pisan Sardinia in exchange for Sicily. In 1323 Jaume II of Aragon formed an alliance with the kings of Arborea and, following a military campaign which lasted a year or so, occupied the Pisa territories of Cagliari and Gallura along with the city of Sassari, naming them "kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica". In 1353, for reasons of state survival, war broke out between the kingdom of Arborea and the kingdom of "Sardinia and Corsica", part of the Crown of Aragon. In 1354 the Aragon's seized Alghero and reshaped it into an entirely Catalan city, which still today displays its Iberian origins. In 1353 Pere IV of Aragon, called "the Cerimonious", granted legislative autonomy (a parliament) to the kingdom of "Sardinia and Corsica" which was followed in due course by self-government (Viceroy) and judicial independence (Royal Hearing). From 1365 to 1409 the kings or "giudici" of Arborea Mariano IV, Ugone III, Mariano V (assisted by his mother Eleonora, the famous giudicessa regent) and Guglielmo III (French grandson of Eleonora) succeeded in occupying almost all Sardinia except for the Castle of Cagliari. In 1409 Marti the younger, king of Sicily ad heir to Aragon, defeated the judicable Sardinians at Sanluri and conquered once and for all the entire land. Shortly afterwards he died in Cagliari of malaria, without issue, and consequently the Crown of Aragon passed into the hands of the Castilians Trastàmara - and in particular Ferran I of Antequera and his descendants - with the Compromise of Caspe in 1412.

3 Reading and comprehension activity The Middle Ages in Sardinia After the fall of the Roman Empire, Sardinia was subject to several conquests. In 456, the Vandals, coming from North Africa, occupied the coastal cities of the island. In 534 the small Vandal forces surrendered immediately to the Byzantines when news of the Vandal collapse; thenceforth the island was part of the Byzantine Empire, included in the African prefecture. The local governor sat in Caralis. Starting from , the Saracens from North Africa (recently conquered by the Arab armies) harassed the population of the coastal cities. News about the political situation of Sardinian in the following centuries are scarce. Due to Saracen attacks, in the 9th century Tharros was abandoned in favor of Oristano; Caralis and numerous other coastal centres suffered the same fate. There are news of another massive Saracen sea attack in 1015 from Spain, led by one Mujahid (Latinized in Museto), who established a colony in the north in From the mid-11th century the Giudicati ("held by judges") appeared. The title of "Judge" was an heir of that of the Byzantine governor after the creation of the Exarchate of Africa in 582 (Judex Provinciae). In the 8th-9th centuries the four partes grew increasingly independent, the Byzantines being totally cut off from the Tyrrhenian Sea by the Muslim conquest of Sicily in 827. A letter of Pope Nicholas I of 864 mentions for the first time the "Sardinian judges"; their autonomy now clear in a later letter by Pope John VIII, which defined them "princes". At the dawn of the judicial era the Sardinia had some 330,000 inhabitants. These were subjected to the authority of local curators (administrators), in turn subjected to the judge (who also administrated justice and was the commander of the army). There were four giudicati: Torres, Cagliari, Arborea and Gallura. Often at war one against the other, they made commercial concessions to the Pisanes, expecially the giudicato of Cagliari (who established a fortress in Caralis in 1216) and the Genoese. The first victim was the giudicato of Cagliari, destroyed by an alliance of the Pisane and the other three giudicati. In 1288 Pisa acquired also the giudicato of Torres, while that of Gallura was divided in the late 1290s between the two families of Bas Serra from Arborea and the Doria from Genoa. Sassari declared itself a philo- Genoese free commune in the same period. In the early 14th century much of the eastern Sardinia, Caralis included, was under Pisan authority. The giudicato of Arborea survived until The most remarkable Sardinian figure of the Middle Ages, Eleonora d'arborea, was co-ruler of that reign in the late 14th century: she laid the foundations for the laws that remained valid until 1827, the Carta de Logu. Questions The Vandals and the Byzantine empire followed one another in ruling Sardinia, but from the half of the 11th century local independent powers were ruling: they were... Which were the Giudicati in Sardinia?... Which was the first to loose its independence? In favour of whom?... The coasts had had to defend strenuously from the attacks of the... since...

4 The Aragonese conquest In 1323 the Aragonese under Peter, son of King James II, disembarked at Palmas, near Iglesias, in south Sardinia. The Pisane intervened but where defeated both by sea and by land, and were forced to cease all the Carali area and the Gallura, mantaining only their castle in Carali. In 1353 Mariano III of Arborea, allied with the Doria, waged war against the Aragonese, defeating them at Decimum and besieging Sassari, but being unable to capture Cagliari. The Peace of Sanluri (1355) granted a period of tranquillity, but hostilities were resumed in 1395, with the Arborea initially able to capture much of the Island. However, in 1409 the Aragonese crushed a Genoese fleet coming in support the Sardinians, and destroyed the judicial army at the battle of Sanluri. Oristano, the Arborean capital, fell on March 29, The loss of the independence, the firm Aragonese (later Spanish) rule, with the introduction of a sterile feudalism, provoked an unstoppable decline of Sardinia. A short period of resurgence occurred under the local noble Leonardo Alagon, marquess of Oristano, who managed to defeat the viceroyal army in the 1470s but was later crushed at the battle of Macomer (1478), ending any further hope of independence for the island. Questions What foreign power threatened definitely the independence of Sardinia?... Where did they find the strongest resistence?... What did the battle of Sanluri mark?... Which town was the Arborean capital?... When did it fall under the Aragonese dominion?... Who was Leonardo Alagon and what did he try?...

5 Reading and comprehension for students with special needs Read the passage and fill the blanks with the following words: Cagliari Arborea Bizantine Empire Cagliari, Arborea, Sassari, Gallura Vandals The Middle Ages in Sardinia and the Giudicati After the fall of the Roman empire Sardinia was under the occupation of the... and later under the government of the.... In the 8th-9th centuries Sardinia became increasingly independent, because the Byzantines had been totally cut off from the Tyrrhenian Sea by the Muslim conquest of Sicily in 827. From the mid-llth century the Giudicati ("held by judges") emerged as forms of Sardinian independent government. At the beginning of the judicial era Sardinia had some 330,000 inhabitants. There were four Giudicati:.... Also in order to organize defence from Saracin attacks who had been harassing the population of the coastal towns since the 8th century, they made commercial concessions to the Pisanes, and the Genoese, but that cost them their independence. The first victim was the Giudicato of... which became a Pisan possession. The Pisane established a fortress in Caralis (now the so called Castello) in In 1288 Pisa acquired also the giudicato of Torres, while that of Gallura was divided in the late 1290s between the two families of Bas Serra from Arborea and the Doria from Genoa. Sassari declared itself a philo-genoese free commune in the same period. In the early 14th century much of the eastern Sardinia, Caralis included, was under Pisan authority. The giudicato of... survived until The most remarkable Sardinian figure of the Middle Ages, Eleonora d'arborea, was co-ruler of that reign in the late 14th century: she laid the foundations for the laws that remained valid until 1827, the Carta de Logu.