Port · Kingdom of Sicily under the regency · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Naples

Naples is the largest city of the mainland south and, in the eyes of Genoese and Pisan merchants, the chief port of its Tyrrhenian coast.

In 1191 it beat off Henry VI's siege, defended by Count Richard of Acerra, Archbishop Nicola of Salerno and the admiral Margaritus's fleet; it submitted to Henry in 1194. On 1 January 1200 Naples keeps to the king and the pope. Its nobles run the city through the old compalazzo court, its archbishop Anselm backs the papal regency, and it faces two threats close at hand: Diepold's county of Acerra a few miles to the north-east, and the raiders who have made a nest of the ruined acropolis of Cuma.

With Aversa it is preparing war on Cuma, which it destroys in 1207.

Who holds it

Name
The crown (King Frederick, under the pope's wardship); Archbishop Anselm
Title
Royal city, governed through the king's castles and the compalazzo court; its archbishop is its leading man
Since
Royal since 1139-1140
Confidence
medium

Federiciana on Napoli; Richard of San Germano.

Lord in 1200

The king. No royal officer, consul or podesta is attested for 1199-1200. The compalazzo court, whose judges are drawn from the city's nobles, collects the king's dues and services and judges civil and criminal cases. Archbishop Anselm is the city's point of reference and backs Innocent III's cause; the nobles Count Peter Cottone and Geoffrey (Goffredo) of Montefuscolo lead its affairs (Federiciana). See Naples castellans.

Overlord

The king; the pope as the king's guardian.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Aversa, against Cuma; the papal regency. Enemies: Diepold at Acerra; the raiders of Cuma (Saracen pirates in the local tradition).

How things stand that morning

Held for the king and loyal to the regency.

Wealth

The port, the markets and the dues of the richest plain of the kingdom.

Military

Walls, two royal castles and the city militia; no numbers in the sources.

Threats

  • Diepold's men at Acerra
  • the raiders of Cuma
  • the war cutting the roads to Capua and Salerno

Charter

Roger II granted that Neapolitans need not plead before a royal court outside their city (Norman period; confirmed later). The Amalfitans received a privilege from the compalazzo Aligerno Cottone in May 1190 (Federiciana).

Council

No commune with consuls is attested. The nobles, grouped by quarter, and the judges of the compalazzo court govern in practice; the archbishop arbitrates.

Communities

Genoese, Pisan and Amalfitan merchants; a Jewish community (Benjamin of Tudela passed through about 1165); Greek-rite churches survive from the old duchy.

Militia

The citizens and nobles who held the walls in 1191. Geoffrey of Montefuscolo is named captain for the war on Cuma and against Diepold (date not pinned, before 1207).

Walls and castle

City walls that held through the siege of 1191. The royal castles: the Castel Capuano by the land gate and the sea castle of the Saviour (Castel dell'Ovo) on the islet of Megaride.

Trade and crafts

The bay's shipping and the trade of the Campanian plain: grain, wine, linen; the fisheries and salt of the coast. Genoese and Pisan merchants count it the chief centre of the Tyrrhenian south (Federiciana).

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. Before 1207 (not pinned)Naples, with Aversa, prepares war on the raiders of Cuma, with Geoffrey of Montefuscolo as captain against Cuma and against Diepold; Cuma is destroyed in 1207 (Federiciana; it.wikipedia on Cuma).Depends on: Agreement on how Cuma would be governed afterwards, which delayed the plan. Stopped by: Diepold attacking Naples' land first.

Places of note

  • Castel Capuano: Royal castle
  • Castle of the Saviour: Royal sea castle
  • Cuma: Ruined acropolis, nest of raiders; destroyed by Naples in 1207

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The Federiciana describes the city's government for these years but finds no royal officer or consul named; the 1191 siege is in Richard of San Germano.

On the map: The city and the near villages (casali) on its side of the plain; Pozzuoli and Aversa are drawn apart, Acerra is Diepold's.

Primary sources for Sicily

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.

Sources and studies

  1. Napoli (Treccani, Enciclopedia Federiciana)
  2. Richard of San Germano, Chronicle, trans. G.A. Loud (University of Leeds, PDF; covers to 1199)
  3. Cuma (it.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.