Graf Roger I. Von Sizilien

The Norman conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily heralds a significant epoch in European and German history. In this, Count Roger I. made a contribution to the rise of the Norman Sicilian kingdom which goes far beyond the conquest of a territorial power-base. It was due to his realistic and considered policies that the heterogeneous Sicilian conditions could be stabilised and the various cultural, religious and ethnic groupings within the population could be integrated under Norman rule.