The Nautikad: Kings of Syracuse (1038-)

[cookfl]

~ THE NAUTIKAD ~
KINGS OF SYRACUSE

Nec flumina obruent illam

~~~
​

Hello folks. My name is Cookfl - some people may remember me from my HOI3/KR AAR Crown Atomic and Stellaris AAR First Century. I have recently (belatedly!) got into CKII, and thought it was about time I tried my hand at an AAR set in the time of counts, crusades, and castles.

The Nautikad will be a history book-style AAR, perhaps with occasional character interludes, charting House Nautikos' attempts to build a legacy on the rich but contested island of Sicily, beginning in the mid-11th century, a time of turmoil and change in the Mediterranean....

I hope this will be an interesting story, and you'd like to come along for the ride!

~~~

Index

Alexandros I (1058-1074)

Chapter One: Origins (1014-1040)
Chapter Two: Alliances (1040-1044)
Chapter Three: Patrimony (1045-1074)

​

 

[Nikolai]

Oooooh this will be promising.

 

[HistoryDude]

Looks interesting.

Subbed!

 

[stnylan]

Will try to follow

 

[cookfl]

~ Chapter One: Origins ~
(1014-1040)

Nec flumina obruent illam
​

The origins of House Nautikos, monarchs of Great Syracuse, are shrouded in obscurity. Their provenance was almost certainly Greek, as the founder of the house, Alexandros Nautikos, first appears in the historical record as a lieutenant of the Byzantine general Georgios Maniaces during his western campaigns on behalf of the Byzantine emperor Michael IV. The family name appears to be related to the Greek ναυτικός (‘seafaring’, ‘skilled in sailing’). It may originally have been an occupational epithet, marking Alexandros as an officer in the Byzantine fleet or, potentially, a naval mercenary. Later generations of the family certainly regarded their origins as maritime.

Zoë Porphyrogenita was the empress of the Byzantine Empire from 1028 until her death in 1050, co-reigning with her three husbands and her sister Theodora. It is said that Zoë was stunningly beautiful; two of her husbands were her extramarital lovers before she married them, and she had various other affairs. Most modern historians regard the tradition that Alexandros was Zoë's illegitimate son as apocryphal. ​

Either way, Alexandros’ rise through the ranks of Byzantine army seems to have been propelled by genuine military talent; he was almost certainly of lowborn origins, though some later chroniclers suggested a more flattering (and likely fictionalized) origin as the illegitimate son of a Byzantine noble. In particular, it has been alleged that Alexandros was an illegitimate son of the Byzantine empress Zoë Porphyrogenita and one of her various lovers, spirited away and raised in obscurity. This rumor likely originated as a political attack, although later generations of the family adopted it as a prized origin story, as it made them relations of the illustrious Byzantine Macedonian dynasty. Most modern historians regard the rumored connection between Alexandros and Zoë as apocryphal.

Alexandros’ rise through the ranks of Byzantine army seems to have been propelled by genuine military talent. He was likely born around 1013, and approximately 24 or 25 when Georgios Maniaces’ Sicilian campaign began. ​

There is no definitive dating for Alexandros’ birth, but he was likely born around 1013. He seems to have been approximately 24 or 25 when Georgios Maniaces’ Sicilian campaign began. The exact motivation for Maniaces’ campaign is unclear, but it was one in a series of Byzantine attempts to recapture the island of Sicily, which had gradually been lost to Muslim invaders in the 9th and 10th centuries. Under the Muslims, an Emirate of Sicily (‘Imārat Ṣiqilliya) had been established, which was ruled first by the Sunni Aghlabid dynasty in Tunisia and then the Shia Fatimids in Egypt. In the latter period, the Sunni Muslims who formed the majority of the Muslim community in Sicily were hostile to the Shia Fatimids, and the local emirs were functionally independent.

Sicily and southern Italy, c.1038. The region was a combustible crossroads of different cultures and religions. ​

Under Muslim rule, Sicily became prosperous, cultured, and comparatively cosmopolitan, with the ethnically and religiously mixed population of Greeks, Lombards, Arabs, and Jews living in relative harmony. The Muslim rulers oversaw the introduction of new technology and land reforms, and introduced valuable crops from North Africa, including oranges, lemons, pistachios, and sugarcane. However, by the early eleventh century, the Emirate of Sicily had begun to fracture from internal strife and dynastic disputes, with various claimants establishing petty fiefdoms in different parts of the island. This left the Emirate open to opportunistic attacks from its neighbors, who included not only the revanchist Byzantines, with their foothold in Calabria, but also the Lombard powers of the Italian mainland, and Norman adventurers. The latter were Christian descendants of the Vikings, who had begun to appear in the region in great numbers due to their employment as mercenaries.

11th century Arab-Sicilian art. Under Muslim rule, Sicily became prosperous, cultured, and comparatively cosmopolitan, but the Muslim emirate entered a period of sustained decline in the early 1000s.​

Maniaces was a talented Byzantine general, who had first became prominent during a campaign in 1030–1031, when the Byzantines were defeated at Aleppo, but went on to capture Edessa from the Arabs. The Byzantine emperor, Michael IV, seems to have deployed Maniaces and his army from Greece to probe rumors of Muslim weakness in Sicily sometime in 1037. In 1038, Maniaces’ army, in which Alexandros was then a junior commander, crossed the straits from mainland Italy and seized Messina, meeting little resistance. Over the next two years, they rampaged throughout Sicily relatively uncontested, capturing a number of strategic towns. Alexandros must have distinguished himself during this time, as he was one of Maniaces’ top lieutenants by 1040, when the Muslims rallied sufficient forces to attempt to eject the Byzantines from the island. In a subsequent battle, the Muslim forces were resoundingly defeated, allowing Maniaces to lay siege to historic Syracuse, which fell to him that winter. Alexandros again distinguished himself, defeating the emir of Syracuse in single combat, and being appointed commander of the rich city.

Contemporary Byzantine depiction of Maniaces landing in Sicily and defeating the Arabs. Alexandros must have distinguished himself during this campaign, as he was subsequently elevated as one of Maniaces' top lieutenants. ​

Meanwhile, however, problems had begun to appear in Maniaces’ army, which was partly composed of Norman and Lombard mercenaries. Maniaces quarreled with the mercenary leaders, and caused them to desert him. He then alienated the Byzantine naval contingent, which was commanded by the brother-in-law of John the Orphanotrophos, the Emperor’s highest-ranking courtier and chief adviser, which resulted in Michael IV recalling Maniaces to Constantinople. (Maniaces would die three years later, fatally wounded in an unsuccessful coup against Michael’s successor, Constantine IX.) The majority of the Byzantine army withdrew with Maniaces, and Alexandros was left in command of a rump garrison force. It seems likely that he was selected for this unenviable assignment both because of his military skill, and also because his lowborn status made him expendable in the should the Arabs rally.

Sicily and southern Italy, c.1041. Despite Maniaces’ battlefield successes, court intrigues saw him recalled to Constantinople.
​

Elevated to a tenuous position as the katepano of Syracuse, Alexandros Nautikos had little choice but to try and hold his position. On the western fringe of the Empire, he and his remaining army now had to look to their own protection and dig-in for an inevitable Muslim counterattack.

Alexandros Nautikos as katepano of Syracuse. The withdrawal of Georgios Maniaces' force left Alexandros the military commander of a small and isolated garrison.

~~~~~~~~~
​

Thanks for reading Chapter 1! As an author's note: I used the real-life events of the 1038 Byzantine campaign in Sicily as the jumping-off point for this AAR. With the exception of Alexandros Nautikos, all of the characters referenced are real historical figures, and the historical narrative of Georgios Maniaces' campaign is basically the same. Historically, the Byzantine gains were quickly recaptured by the Arabs once Maniaces was recalled by the Emperor. We'll see if Alexandros fares better...

 

[The Number 9]

Excellent start.

 

[slothinator]

A very interesting start! Will the Nautikoi remain in the Byzantine fold or might they break free and make their own destiny? I'm excited to find out!

 

[Cora Giantkiller]

interesting start; looking forward to see where this goes

 

[HistoryDude]

Perhaps the Nautikoi can’t take the Queen of Cities and become Roman Emperors? Or independent rulers of Sicily?

This background tale was very interesting. Did you mod the game yourself?

 

[Nikolai]

Very interesting! A most teneous position to be in...

 

[stnylan]

On the edge of the (true) Roman world...

 

[cookfl]

~ Chapter Two: Alliances ~
(1040-1044)

Nec flumina obruent illam
​

After the recalling of Georgios Maniaces and the Byzantine army to Constantinople in 1040, Alexandros Nautikos and a few hundred men were left behind. It’s likely the majority of Alexandros’ force was comprised of renegades, adventurers, landless cadets, and lowborn mercenaries – men, like him, with little to return to in Greece and a willingness to test their luck in Sicily. For a while, Alexandros and his men lived like bandits in the citadel of Syracuse, exerting a tentative control over the city and surrounding environs. The local Greek Christians greeted Alexandros as a liberator, and he soon restored the city’s ancient cathedral – originally the Temple of Athena, converted to a church, and latterly a mosque – to the Greek archbishop. Aside from this, Alexandros seems to have practiced general toleration towards the Arabs and the Sicilian-Muslims, meeting with deputations of their elders. In the city, the Muslims, who had generally secured such rights in their terms of surrender, retained their mosques, their Shariʿa courts, and freedom of trade. This greatly smoothed Alexandros’ assumption of power, and he passed two uneventful winters in the city, replenishing his men and restoring the fortifications.

Alexandros seems to have practiced general toleration towards the Arabs and the Sicilian-Muslims, meeting with deputations of their elders and guaranteeing their rights. This greatly smoothed Alexandros’ assumption of power.​

Syracuse was a rich but faded city. Much of its ancient glory – Cicero described it as "the greatest Greek city and most beautiful of them all" – had leeched away. Upon seizing the island from the Byzantines in the 9th century, the Arabs had favored Palermo, which they called Bal'harm, as Sicily’s capital, and it had flourished at Syracuse’s expense. By 1040, Palermo had a population of over 350,000, making it one of the largest cities of the Mediterranean, behind only Constantinople, Cairo, and Córdoba. Even with the remaining Sicilian emirs in disarray after Maniaces’ victories, and Syracuse and Messina under his command, Alexandros’ position was inherently vulnerable while the enemy controlled such a rich and populous position on the west of the island.

In the aftermath of Georgios Maniaces' attacks, the Muslim emirs of Sicily were disunited and disorganized. Nonetheless, they were threatening as long as they controlled the rich and populous west of the island.​

Further complicating the matter were political developments in the Empire. Since the death of Constantine VIII in 1028, the Empire had been co-governed by his daughters, the empresses Zoë and Theodora III, alongside Zoë’s successive lovers and husbands. In 1034, Romanos III Argyros, Zoë’s first husband and co-ruler, died under suspicious circumstances, variously attributed to Zoë, her lover, or both. Zoë and her lover, Michael, were married on the same day as the supposed murder, and he was crowned Emperor Michael IV. An epileptic, Michael was dying by 1039 and pressured Zoë to adopt his nephew, also named Michael, as her heir and send away Theodora. When Michael IV died in December 1041, his nephew was crowned as Michael V Kalaphates. Once Michael V became emperor, he attempted to exile Zoë, but this action sparked a popular revolt in Constantinople, which saw him dethroned and Zoë and Theodora restored as joint empresses. Two months later, Zoë married another former lover, who was installed as Constantine IX.

Coinage of the Byzantine co-empresses Zoë and Theodora III. Power struggles between the sisters and Zoë's husbands distracted the leadership of the Byzantine Empire.​

With the Empire distracted, the Apulian Lombards revolted against Byzantine rule, supported by many of the Norman mercenaries that had originally formed part of Georgios Maniaces’s army until he quarreled with them and caused them to desert. The Normans were led by William de Hautville, one of the twelve sons of Tancred de Hauteville, who had journeyed to Italy with his younger brother Drogo in the first half of the eleventh century in response to requests for help made by fellow Normans under Rainulf Drengot, an adventurer who had managed to seize control of the county of Aversa. By 1040, the Byzantines had lost most of Apulia, but managed to buy off the nominal Lombard leaders of the revolt. Thereafter, the revolt, originally Lombard, became Norman in character and leadership. The Normans petitioned an independent Lombard ruler, Guaimar IV, Prince of Salerno, for recognition of their conquests. In 1043, Guaimar agreed to divide the region into twelve baronies for the benefit of the Norman leaders and marry William to his niece. Thereafter, the Normans began attacks on Byzantine Calabria.

The anti-Byzantine revolt in Italy soon became became Norman in character and leadership. After a generation serving Byzantine governors, many of the Norman mercenaries had begun to covet the rich lands of southern Italy for themselves.
​

This conflict was awkward and potentially perilous for Alexandros. The withdrawal of Maniaces and the Byzantine army had left him in a position of de facto independence. Whether out of genuine loyalty, cultural familiarity, or an abundance of caution, Alexandros seems to have continued to regard himself as a Byzantine tributary. Nonetheless, the exact parameters of this relationship were vague and his practical contact with the Empire limited. The Normans, on the other hand, were nearby, and Alexandros was personally familiar with many of their leaders from their service together in Maniaces’ army. Indeed, he and William seem to have had a pre-existing friendship, and he was respected among the Normans for his military feats. Norman adventurers would be useful allies in his planned conquest of the rest of Sicily. Moreover, Alexandros must have realized that if he did not cooperate with the Normans, he risked becoming their target.

Alexandros was personally familiar with many of the Norman leaders from their service together in Maniaces’ army. Indeed, he and William de Hautville seem to have had a pre-existing friendship.​

Alexandros sent envoys to the mainland, entreating many of the Normans he had previously fought alongside to return and complete the conquest of the island. In return, he promised them wives, land, and the free exercise of the Latin religion. These Norman veterans and their friends, who were welcomed in Syracuse with no questions asked, swelled the numbers at Alexandros’ command. Together with new arrivals from Greece – miscreants, adventurers, deserters, and petty nobles who found themselves on the wrong side of the conflicts swirling between the co-emperors – they gave Alexandros’ burgeoning court a distinct Graeco-Norman character. In 1044, Alexandros cemented this alliance with a marriage to William de Hauteville’s sister, Beatrix. A Norman wife would hardly be welcome in Byzantine high society, but then Alexandros was a man of low or even bastard birth himself, so social standing was likely not his priority. It was a practical match, and thus secured, he turned his thoughts to war.

Alexandros cemented his alliance with the Normans via a marriage to William de Hautville’s sister, Beatrix. Alexandros’ burgeoning court had a distinct Graeco-Norman character.​

 

[stnylan]

Not a marriage for high society, but a practical match for a no-nonsense noble in a tough spot.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Very interesting! I think this could spark the beginnings of a distinct Sicilian melting pot culture with Arab, Norman, Lombsrd and Greek influences.

 

[Nikolai]

De facto independence is nice and all until you need protection.

 

[HistoryDude]

The Normans seem to be reasonable. Perhaps they revolted because they disliked Byzantine court politics?

Regardless, the Apulian-Syracusan Alliance should achieve great things...

 

[the_hdk]

great start! will keep reading! well done so far

 

[slothinator]

Zoë is not really great for legitimacy and stability in the empire, no wonder that her death will lead to a boatload of war.
Cooperating with the normans might be a necessary choice but they should never be trusted too far.
The world is about to get a lot messier real soon

 

[cookfl]

~ Chapter Three: Patrimony ~
(1045-1074)

Nec flumina obruent illam​

With the cities of Syracuse and Messina newly fortified and garrisoned, and a large force of Greek and Norman adventurers at his back, Alexandros Nautikos marched on inland Sicily in the summer of 1045. Alexandros’ army quickly secured Rometta, Frazzano, Centuripe, and Paternò. They then went on to defeat a sizable force belonging to the Muslim lord of Castrogiovanni, known to the Greeks as Enna. Enna had been an important Byzantine fortress on the island, and the Greeks still remembered its fall to the Muslims in 859, when the besieging Arabs sneaked into the hillside fortress via one of its sewers and massacred 8,000 Greek inhabitants. Nonetheless, Alexandros’ army was ill-prepared to maintain a siege of Enna’s vertiginous citadel for long. With campaigning season drawing to a close, Alexandros abandoned the siege and returned to Syracuse, having nonetheless expanded his power to the west.

With the cities of Syracuse and Messina newly fortified and garrisoned, and a large force of Greek and Norman adventurers at his back, Alexandros Nautikos marched on inland Sicily in the summer of 1045. This commenced his conquest of the remainder of Sicily.​

Alexandros and his court spent a comfortable winter in Syracuse, where his Norman wife, Beatrix de Hauteville, gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, in January 1046. The child was christened Zoë, in honor of the reigning empress and - some have alleged - Alexandros’ secret mother. (A second daughter, Theodora, also named in honor of the empress, was born in 1051.) Alexandros’ visitors during this time included a deputation from Pope Gregory VI, curious rumors having reached Rome of the Greek lord of Syracuse who had nonetheless made himself a friend to the Normans and the Latins of Sicily. The pope’s legates reported that the Greek was: “A lord of graceful shape, most eloquent in speech, and cool in counsel. He is far-seeing in arranging all his actions, pleasant and merry with all men; strong and brave, and furious in battle.” In the summer of 1046, Alexandros again took to campaigning, and his principal achievement of that year was the capture of the strategic town of Troina and its commanding hilltop fortress. Alexandros overwintered here, and plundered all the way to Agrigento in the spring of 1047. The Muslims used this overextension as an opportunity to launch a counterattack on Syracuse, attacking by sea in order to bypass the various fortified towns Alexandros had captured to defend his capital.

While Alexandros campaigned in the west, the Muslims launched a surprise attack on Syracuse by sea in the spring of 1047. The attack would falter against the city's rebuilt, Norman-influenced walls. ​

Alexandros’ wife and infant daughter were among those besieged in the city, but the Arabs made little headway against the city’s walls, which Alexandros, benefiting from the counsel of his allies, had rebuilt to modern, Norman designs. Alexandros returned rapidly from the west, and his relief force broke through the siege lines and drove the Muslims back to the sea. Syracuse again feted Alexandros as its deliverer. Around this time, Beatrix fell pregnant a second time, and gave birth to a boy – named Leon, perhaps after a battlefield epithet of his father – in the summer of 1048.

​

With Syracuse again secure, Alexandros resumed his attacks on the Sicilian interior. Unbeknownst to him, after the failure of their counterattack the Muslim lords had sought help from their co-religionists in the Zirid emirate of Ifriqiya. The Zirids sent a relief force, primarily composed of Berber tribesmen mercenaries, to the island, which combined with disciplined levies from the Sicilian-Arab cities of Palermo, Agrigento, and Trapani to form a powerful Muslim counter-force. After two years of inconclusive skirmishing, Alexandros and the Muslims finally met in full force in the summer of 1050, when the Muslims besieged Troina. Knowing the loss of Troina would again open Syracuse itself to attack, Alexandros and his full army came out to meet them. Although the Muslim force was larger, Alexandros’ Graeco-Norman army was better disciplined and trained. After three hours of bloody, man-to-man fighting in the valley of Troina, the Zirid mercenaries, homesick and disillusioned after two years in the field, broke before the superior courage and resolve of the Graeco-Normans. The undisciplined Zirids fled, precipitating a general rout of the remaining Sicilian-Arab troops. Before long the entire Muslim army had descended into a chaotic retreat, which Alexandros’ Norman cavalry exploited without mercy, scattering the Muslims deep into the surrounding mountains.

A 19th Century depiction of the Battle of Troina. Alexandros’ victory made Syracuse the predominant power in Sicily.​

Alexandros’ victory made Syracuse the predominant power in Sicily, and wrecked the Muslims’ hopes that they might expel him from the island. The Arab-Sicilians blamed the Zirids for the defeat at Troina, straining their alliance. After squabbles with the local emirs, the Zirids gathered what was left of their forces and returned to North Africa. Having lost the last vestiges of a field army, the remaining Arab-Sicilian lords could only watch from their walls as Alexandros consolidated his control of the island more or less at his leisure. Agrigento surrendered in 1053, its emir having negotiated protection for his people and safe passage for himself back to North Africa. In 1056, Alexandros launched his long foreshadowed assault on Palermo itself, attacking by land and sea. The great Muslim metropolis proved a challenging target: Alexandros and his Norman allies had never besieged such a populous city with such powerful walls. After a five month siege, during which Alexandros’ army constructed numerous siege towers and war machines, the Graeco-Normans finally breached the walls. In an uncharacteristically ruthless act, Alexandros permitted his Norman followers to sack the rich city.

In 1056, Alexandros launched his long foreshadowed assault on Palermo itself, attacking by land and sea. The great Muslim metropolis proved a challenging target: Alexandros and his Norman allies had never besieged such a populous city with such powerful walls.​

Palermo endured almost a week of pillage and violence before Alexandros ordered an end to the bloodshed and the surviving authorities of the city were permitted to formally negotiate their surrender. Thereafter, the city went unmolested, but the Normans had carried off many of its riches. Alexandros installed one of his lieutenants to rule over the previously semi-republican city as katepano; though the rights of Muslims were guaranteed, many with the means fled to North Africa. Historians have debated Alexandros’ motivations for these actions: undoubtedly, he sought to reward his loyal (but tempestuous) Norman allies with plunder, and perhaps saw Palermo as a necessary sacrifice. Thus sated, many veterans of Alexandros’ campaigns returned to Normandy and other realms as rich men, and their gold and experience would play an important role in Norman conquests to come, including of England in 1066. For Alexandros himself, the sack of Palermo also had political purposes. Though Palermo would gradually recover over the next decades, it would never regain its pre-eminence in comparison with Alexandros’ favored capital, Syracuse. Moreover, the humbling of the Palermitans sent an unequivocal message to the remaining, fortified Muslim cities. Trapani, known to the Greeks as Drépanon, capitulated to Alexandros without bloodshed the same year.

Alexandros' realm, 'Great Syracuse', c.1058. After his conquest of the major population centers, the interior gradually succumbed, surrendered, or acceded to the new regime over the next thirty to forty years.
​

The loss of the main port cities dealt a severe blow to Muslim power on the island, and effectively ended organized resistance to Alexandros’ rule. In the Sicilian interior, independent Muslim polities would endure for another thirty to forty years as individual walled villages or the domains of petty Muslim lords. Alexandros increasingly entrusted the subordination of these holdouts and the suppression of periodic, localized Muslim revolts to his Graceo-Norman lieutenants. In 1058, Alexandros held a great feoffment, apportioning the island among his principal officers. Thereafter, he styled himself in the Byzantine manner as doux and his new realm not as Sicily or Ṣiqilliya in the Latin or Arab fashion, but Megálē Surakoûsai (Latinized as Magna Syracusae - Great(er) Syracuse) reflecting the centrality of Syracuse and its Hellenic heritage to Alexandros’ own legitimacy and dynastic mythos. The new Graeco-Norman aristocracy was small and stratocratic, with each katepano administering a roughly equal parcel and no great, undivided fiefs. In emulation of Alexandros himself, many of the Norman lieutenants took Greek wives or vice versa, leading to a quick cultural amalgamation. Over time, Arab blood also entered the aristocracy, with many of the holdout Muslim lords simply converting to Christianity in the following years and remaining on their ancestral estates. Sicilian Arabic remained the lingua franca of the island, particularly the merchant and bureaucratic classes, and would remain so until the 13th century.

12th Century Sicilian Arabic text. Sicilian Arabic remained the lingua franca of the new, multicultural realm until until the 13th century.​

Alexandros spent most of his later years in Syracuse attending to administrative affairs, where his household evolved from a rough camp of mercenaries and veterans to a prestigious court. Perhaps sensitive to his own low origins, he seems to have dedicated particular effort to the education of his children, ensuring they received a proper courtly upbringing. Diplomatically, Alexandros continued to tread a careful line between Byzantium and the Latin powers of the Mediterranean. The deaths of sister-empresses Zoë and Theodora in 1050 and 1056 brought the 200-year-old Makedonian dynasty to an end, and led to a period of weak emperors and short reigns in Constantinople. Although Alexandros continued to send the necessary homages to their successors, the end of the Makedonian line further distanced him from Byzantium. His more immediate priority was maintaining good relations with the rising Norman powers of mainland Italy, illustrated by his negotiation of Italian marriages for each of his children.

In 1069, aged approximately 55, Alexandros launched one final campaign against the strategic island of Malta. The Maltese archipelago had remained under Muslim control after Alexandros' conquest of the mainland. ​

In 1069, aged approximately 55, Alexandros launched one final campaign against the strategic island of Malta. The Maltese archipelago had remained under Muslim control since Alexandros’ conquest of Sicily, leading to periodic rumors that various North African lords or adventurers intended to use it as a staging point for invasion. At the time, Malta had a small population of a few thousand Muslims and a smaller number of Christian captives, who were primarily the victims of piracy and slave raids on the Italian coast. The island had been depopulated following an Aghlabid attack in 870 and was only repopulated by a Muslim community in the mid-11th century, who may have been refugees from the Arab-Byzantine Wars. Arriving with a small force, Alexandros besieged Medina, the main settlement on the island. The city’s inhabitants were reportedly terrified, and asked to meet Alexandros to discuss peace terms. They freed all the Christian prisoners, and gave horses, mules, and a sum of money to Alexandros. They also agreed to swear an oath of loyalty and pay an annual tribute. The Christian captives reportedly rejoiced at their freedom and flung themselves at Alexandros’ feet; Alexandros gave them passage home aboard his ships, a strategic act of charity that endeared Alexandros to his Latin neighbors at a time of growing tension between the Greek and Roman churches following the Schism of 1053. Alexandros’ invasion of Malta did not otherwise bring about any major political changes, but it secured his southern flank, and paved the way for the re-Christianization of the island in the 12th Century. Indeed, Alexandros - perhaps mindful of his advancing years - used the ransom of Medina to establish a hermitage overlooking the Grand Harbour that would later be developed into the fortress-abbey of Maria-Stella-Maris de Malta, an important waypoint on the Crusades and the principal resting place of later generations of the Nautikos dynasty.

Great Syracuse after the submission of Malta. Alexandros left the local Muslim authorities in place in return for their fealty; his Maltese campaign paved the way for the re-Christianization of the island in the 12th Century.​

Alexandros returned to Syracuse, where he died in the winter of 1074, aged approximately 60. He was buried in the ancient Cathedral of Syracuse, which he had restored to Christian hands some 30 years before; the cathedral was extensively damaged in an earthquake in 1693, and the tomb is now lost. Alexandros’ son, Leon, was acclaimed as Doux of Great Syracuse by his father’s assembled katepanos. From obscure beginnings, Alexandros had succeeded in building a prosperous realm and stable succession for his inheritors, benefiting from a time of political and social change in Europe, and his own considerable skills.

House Nautikos at the time of the death of Alexandros Nautikos.​

 

[stnylan]

Unification complete, with a nice little addition on the side.