The Muslims of Lucera

When Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II was King of Sicily, he also ruled over a large area that included most of Italy south of Rome. This combined territory was called the Regno. Besides Italians, the population included Greeks, Jews, and Muslims. The Muslims were a diverse mix of Arabs, Berbers, Persians in Palermo, and several converted Muslims in Sicily.

Sicily had once been under Muslim rule, and pockets of resistance wanted to restore it to Muslims. Frederick, of course, wanted to change this. The ultimate solution was to get as many Muslims as possible together and put them in one out-of-the-way place. In 1220 Frederick began the process of getting all Muslims out of Sicily.

He relocated some 20,000 Muslims to Lucera in 1224. (The illustration is Fredrick's castle in Lucera.) There were also settlements in Girifalco and Acerenza all in southern Italy. These settlements also contained Jews, but had few to no Christians. They created Muslim schools, a mosque, and even had their qadi, a Shari'a court for judging disputes. Attempts to convert Lucera to Christianity by Dominicans failed.

They were treated as regular towns, and so paid their taxes and supplied men for the army when called to do so. Judging from the percentage of men they were able to supply for Frederick's military, the Muslim settlements probably numbered 60,000 all together.

By 1234, Lucera was one of the chief trade fairs authorized by Sicily. There were seven trade fairs in the Regno under Frederick, running from 24 June to 1 July each year. Muslims were skilled farmers and bee-keepers who produced honey, and they were allowed to participate in any of the trade fairs in the Regno except in Sicily.

In 1239, some Muslims from Lucera tried to return to their native home of Sicily, but every one who arrived in Sicily was re-exiled.

Manfred of Sicily used Luceran Muslim archers when he was being attacked by Charles of Anjou. When Charles conquered Sicily, Lucera resisted the change of regime, but after a siege and capitulation, Chrles confirmed Lucera in all its original privileges in exchange for a substantial levy.

And now let us return to the matter of Charles and Sicily and see how he became its king.