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

Palermo

The capital of the kingdom and the largest city of the island: the king's palace and treasury, the seat of the council and of the royal fiscal bureau, a great port and market, and a city of Latins, Greeks, Muslims and Jews with Genoese, Amalfitan, Venetian and Pisan merchants.

The five-year-old king was crowned here and lives in the palace in quieter times; that winter he and the regency council have taken refuge at Messina (Federiciana, Messina), and Palermo is held for him. Ibn Jubayr, who saw it in 1184-1185, called it the metropolis of the islands, built in the style of Cordoba.

Who holds it

Name
King Frederick (at Messina that winter), through the familiares and the chancellor Walter of Palear; the chancellor's brother Gentile of Palear commands the defence in spring 1200
Title
Royal capital
Since
1198
Confidence
high

Lord in 1200

The king, through his household council (the familiares) and the chancellor Walter of Palear; the king and the council are at Messina that winter, and the chancellor's brother Gentile holds the city for them (attested in the spring 1200 siege). The archbishopric is vacant: Archbishop Bartholomew died late in 1199 (Dizionario Biografico).

How things stand that morning

Held firmly for the regency that morning, though the king is away at Messina; Markward's army is in the west and the siege is still to come (spring 1200).

Charter

No written charter of liberties before 1200 is pinned. The privilege of September 1200 (freedom from dues on goods entering and leaving the city, with grazing and wood rights, port dues kept on wine and oil) is later (likely course).

Council

No commune: the town is governed by the king's officers (a bailiff, baiulus, for markets, weights, measures and the grain supply, and royal judges), under the justiciar and the royal fiscal bureau at Palermo. In Palermo the bailiff handles the grain supply, weights and measures; royal judges sit in the city. No commune and no consuls.

Communities

Latins and Greeks; Muslims, fewer after the persecutions of 1161 and 1190 (Muslim artisans still prized); Jews (Benjamin of Tudela, about 1172, counted some 1,500); Genoese in the Kalsa; Amalfitans with a quarter between the port and the centre; Venetians with the church of San Marco granted by Roger II; Pisans (the treasury tower is called the Torre Pisana). The church of the Holy Trinity (the Magione) was given by Henry VI to the Teutonic Knights in 1197.

Fairs and markets

Not pinned for 1200.

Militia

The citizens' levy and the palace guard; their numbers not given.

Walls and castle

The walled old city (the Cassaro, al-Qasr) with the royal palace at its head (the New Palace, with the Cappella Palatina, the Torre Pisana treasury and the Greek Tower); the Kalsa by the sea; the Seralcadi and Albergaria quarters walled at the end of the twelfth century; the sea castle (Castellammare, the Old Palace) at the harbour mouth; royal parks and palaces outside the walls (Favara or Maredolce, Zisa, Cuba, Parco). The cathedral was rebuilt by Archbishop Walter from about 1184 and consecrated in 1185.

Trade and crafts

Grain, cheese, wool, hides and salted tuna (from the fisheries of San Giorgio and Solanto) for export; the royal silk workshop (the tiraz) in the palace; Tuscan and Ligurian traders active in the market (Ibn Jubayr, 1185); the Amalfitan quarter known for foreign goods (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.

In 1200

  1. Early 1200 to March 1200The chapter elects the chancellor Walter archbishop; the legate Cinzio approves (March); the pope gives him only the administration.Depends on: The vacancy and the chancellor's influence. Stopped by: Papal veto.
  2. Spring to 21 July 1200Besieged by Markward; relieved by the battle near Monreale.Depends on: Markward's strength and the papal army's arrival. Stopped by: Treachery inside, or an earlier deal.
  3. September 1200The tax privilege for the city's loyalty.Depends on: Palermo holding out. Stopped by: Its fall.

Later, on the likely course

  1. November 1201The palace guards betray the city and the king to Markward.Depends on: The chancellor's alliance with Markward. Stopped by: A loyal garrison.

Places of note

  • Royal palace: King, council, treasury
  • Castellammare: Sea castle
  • Cathedral: See vacant on 1 January 1200

Where the sources disagree

  • Archbishop Bartholomew's death is placed late in 1199 by the Dizionario Biografico, against the campaign notes' open question (ruling 4).

Evidence: Federiciana (Palermo) and the Dizionario Biografico (Walter of Palear) for the palace, quarters, communities and 1200 events.

On the map: The near land is drawn as about 6 km round the city; the wider plain is in Royal demesne.

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. Palermo, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)
  2. Gualtiero di Pagliara, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (Treccani)
  3. Arcidiocesi di Palermo, cronotassi (it.wikipedia)
  4. Ibn Jubayr, Travels (Rihla), on Sicily December 1184 to January 1185 (en.wikipedia summary; details from the text as generally known)
  5. Messina, Enciclopedia Federiciana (Treccani)

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