Kingdom of Sicily

The Kingdom of Sicily (Italian: Regno di Sicilia, Latin: Regnum Siciliae, Sicilian: Regnu di Sicilia, Neapolitan: Regno 'e Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy. Until 1282 the Kingdom (sometimes called the regnum Apuliae et Siciliae) covered not only the island of Sicily, but also the whole Mezzogiorno region of southern Italy and the Maltese archipelago. The island was divided into three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto.

In 1282 a revolt against the Angevin rule, known as the Sicilian Vespers, threw off Charles of Anjou's rule of the island of Sicily. The Angevins managed to maintain control in the mainland part of the kingdom, which became a separate entity also styled Kingdom of Sicily, although it is commonly referred to as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital. The island became a separate kingdom as a kingdom of the Crown of Aragon. After 1302 the island kingdom was sometimes called the Kingdom of Trinacria. Often the kingship was vested in another monarch such as the King of Aragon, the King of Spain or the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1816 the island Kingdom of Sicily merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1861 its areas were united with the Kingdom of Italy.