Sicily 2

Sicily

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Marcus Tullius Cicero

The island was used as a base of power numerous times, being occupied by slave insurgents during the First and Second Servile Wars, and by Sextus Pompey during the Sicilian revolt. Christianity first appeared in Sicily during the years following AD 200; between this time and AD 313, Constantine the Great finally lifted the prohibition on Christianity, but not before a significant number of Sicilians had become martyrs, including Agatha, Christina, Lucy, and Euplius. Christianity grew rapidly in Sicily over the next two centuries. The period of history during which Sicily was a Roman province lasted for around 700 years.

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Sicilia in the Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire began falling apart after the great invasion of Vandals, Alans, and Sueves across the Rhine on the last day of 406. Eventually the Vandals, after roaming about western and southern Spain for 20 years moved to North Africa in 429. They occupied Carthage in 439. This put them in a position to threaten Sicily only 100 miles away. After taking Carthage the Vandals personally led by King Gaiseric laid siege to Palermo in 440 as the opening act in an attempt to wrest the island from Roman rule personally. The Vandals made another attempt to take the island one year after the sack of Rome in 455, at Agrigento, but were defeated decisively by Ricimir in a naval victory off Corsica in 456. The island remained under Roman rule until 469. The Vandal possession of the island was lost 8 years later in 477 to the East Germanic tribe Ostrogoths who were in control of Italy and Dalmatia. The island was returned for payment of tribute to Odoacer, king of the Ostrogoths. He ruled Italy from 476–88 in the name of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor. The Vandals kept a toehold in Lilybaeum, a port on the west coast. They lost this in 491 after making one last attempt to conquer the island from this port. The Ostrogothic conquest of Sicily (and Italy as a whole) under Theodoric the Great began in 488. He had been appointed viceroy of the emperor to rule in Italy. The Goths were Germanic, but Theodoric was supportive of Roman culture and government and allowed freedom of religion. In 461 from the age of seven or eight until 17 or 18 he was a hostage; he resided in the great palace of Constantinople and was favored by Leo I and where he learned to read and write and do arithmetic.

Byzantine Period (535–965):

After taking areas occupied by the Vandals in North Africa, Justinian decided to retake Italy as an ambitious attempt to recover the lost provinces in the West.

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Justinian

The re-conquests marked an end to over 150 years of accommodationist policies with tribal invaders. His first target was Sicily [known as the Gothic War (535–554) began between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire]. His general Belisarius was assigned the task. Sicily was used as a base for the Byzantines to conquer the rest of Italy, with Naples, Rome, Milan. It took five years before the Ostrogoth capital Ravenna fell in 540. However, the new Ostrogoth king Totila counterattacked, moving down the Italian peninsula, plundering and conquering Sicily in 550. Totila was defeated and killed in the Battle of Taginae by Byzantine general Narses in 552 but Italy was in ruins.

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