• Born: 22 Dec 1095, Sicily
• Married (1): Abt 1117
• Married (2): 1149
• Married (3): 1151
• Died: 26 Feb 1154
• Buried: Palermo Cathedral

  Research Notes:

The Annals of Romoald name "frater eius [=Symonis] Rogerus comes" when recording that he succeeded his brother. His birth date is calculated back from Romuald recording his date of death 27 Feb 1154, at the age of 58 years, two months and 5 days according to the chronicle of Romuald of Salerno.

He succeeded his brother in 1105 as ROGER II Count of Sicily, under the joint regency of his mother and his brother-in-law Robert de Bourgogne. The De Rebus Gestis Rogerii Siciliæ Regis of Alessandro Abbot of Telese records that "frater primogenitus…Simon" succeeded his father, but died and was succeeded by his brother Roger under the tutelage of "genitrix illius Adalasia". Declared of age after 12 Jun 1112, the date of the last document issued jointly with his mother. "Rogerius Sicilie atque Calabrie comes" confirmed a judgment relating to Bagnara by charter dated [Oct] 1116 witnessed by "Henricus avunculus comitis, Robertus Avenellus, Rainaldus de Tirone". He strengthened the Sicilian navy, which became one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean. As the price for assisting Guillaume Duke of Apulia to crush the rebellion of Jordan Conte di Ariano in 1122, Roger insisted on retaking Guillaume's half share in the cities of Palermo and Messina along with the whole of Calabria. In revenge for the Almoravid attack on Nicotera, on the coast of Calabria, in 1122, a Sicilian fleet sailed in Jul 1123 with the aim of attacking Mahdia on the north African coast, but the expedition was defeated by the Zirid emir al-Hassan. He seized Montescaglioso in 1124, claiming to succeed to his deceased sister Emma. Duke Guillaume promised to recognise Roger II as his heir at Messina in 1125, and when the former died in 1127 Roger acted swiftly to assert his rights, laid siege to Salerno and had himself acclaimed as Duke of Apulia at Reggio, ignoring the fact that the dukedom should have reverted to the Papacy according to the legal rules of fiefdom. Pope Honorius II, as rival claimant, formally forbade Roger from assuming the title of Duke. The crisis escalated, with the two sides mustering troops on the River Bradano in the eastern Basilicata in the summer of 1128. The Pope conceded faced with the strength of the Sicilian forces, investing Roger as Duke 22 Aug 1128 outside the walls of Benevento. In 1129, Roger II expanded his area of authority in Apulia, capturing Taranto, Nardò and Bari, though failing to take Brindisi. He had all counts, bishops and abbots swear allegiance to him at a solemn court at Melfi in Sep 1129. His conquest of southern Italy was completed in 1130 when Robert II Prince of Capua submitted to him. He claimed the principality of Antioch in 1130 as the nearest male heir of Bohémond II, but was unable to press this due to his preoccupations in southern Italy. Taking advantage of the further weakness of the Papacy following the schism of Feb 1130, he pressured anti-Pope Anacletus II to invest him (by Papal Bull at Benevento 27 Sep 1130) as ROGER II King of Sicily, justified on the fiction that Sicily had once been a kingdom. He was crowned at Palermo 25 Dec 1130. The duchy of Naples submitted to him in 1131. However, he was faced with rebellion by barons in Apulia, led by his brother-in-law Rainulf Conte di Alife, who defeated him at Nocera 25 Jul 1132. In 1133, Roger II exacted his revenge, capturing Venosa, Montepeloso, Acerenza, Bisceglie, Trani and Troia. With the arrival of Emperor Lothar in Italy, allied with Pope Innocent II, Roger suffered reverses, Salerno surrendering to Imperial forces 8 Aug 1137. Emperor Lothar and Pope Innocent II jointly invested Rainulf Conte di Alife as Duke of Apulia. Roger II re-entered Salerno in Oct 1137, but was defeated by Rainulf at Rignano near Monte Gargano, 30 Oct 1137. He unsuccessfully attempted to conciliate with Pope Innocent II after the death of Anacletus II in Jan 1138. Innocent II announced Roger's excommunication at the Second Lateran Council in Apr 1139, but with the death of Rainulf later the same month Roger was able to reassert control over the whole of southern Italy. He captured Pope Innocent II at San Germano (now Cassino) and obliged the Pope to crown him again 25 Jul 1139. Able now to turn his attention to north Africa, Roger II's fleet began plundering coastal towns taking advantage of the weakness of the Zirid emir. The capture of Tripoli in 1146 marked the start of a period of conquest, with Mahdia, Susa and Sfax falling in 1148. The area was settled by Sicilian colonists, the local Muslim inhabitants treated with tolerance, but Sicily's north African expansion was short-lived, falling to the Almohads after Roger II's death. In the meantime relations with Germany and Byzantium had grown tense, in part through the negotiations between Emperor Konrad III and Emperor Manuel I for the latter's marriage with the German Emperor's sister-in-law Bertha von Sulzbach, part of whose dowry was confirmed under the Treaty of Thessaloniki 1348 as the duchy of Apulia. Roger II launched attacks against Byzantium in 1147, partly to forestall any action on the part of the Byzantine/German alliance, and captured Corfu, Corinth and Thebes, although the Byzantine/Venetian alliance defeated the Sicilian fleet off Cape Malea in 1149 and soon recaptured Corfu.

Robert of Torigny records the death "1154 IV Kal Mar" as "Rogerius rex Sicilie". The Annales Siculi record the death in 1154 of "Rogerius rex Siciliæ, ducatus Apuliæ et principatus Capuæ". ¹