The County of Sicily was a Norman state comprising the islands of Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

 and Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 from 1071 until 1130. The county began to form during the Christian reconquest of Sicily

Norman conquest of southern Italy

The Norman conquest of southern Italy spanned the late eleventh and much of the twelfth centuries, involving many battles and many independent players conquering territories of their own...

 (1061–91) from the Muslim Emirate

Emirate of Sicily

The Emirate of Sicily was an Islamic state on the island of Sicily , which existed from 965 to 1072.-First Arab invasions of Sicily:...

, established by conquest in 965. The county is thus a transitionary period in the history of Sicily

History of Sicily

The history of Sicily has seen Sicily usually controlled by greater powers—Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Islamic, Norman, Hohenstaufen, Catalan, Spaniard—but also experiencing short periods of independence, as under the Greeks and later as the Emirate then Kingdom of Sicily...

. After the Muslims had been defeated and either forced out or incorporated into the Norman military, a further period of transition took place for the county and the Sicilians.

The County of Sicily was created by Robert Guiscard

Robert Guiscard

Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...

 in 1071 for his younger brother Roger Bosso. Guiscard himself had received the title Duke of Sicily (dux Siciliae) in 1059 from Pope Nicholas II

Pope Nicholas II

Pope Nicholas II , born Gérard de Bourgogne, Pope from 1059 to July 1061, was at the time of his election the Bishop of Florence.-Antipope Benedict X:...

 as encouragement to conquer it from the Muslims. In 1061 the first permanent Norman conquest (Messina) was made and in 1071, after the fall of Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, the capital of the emirate and future capital of the county, Guiscard invested Roger with the title of count and gave him full jurisdiction in the island save for half the city of Palermo, Messina, and the Val Demone, which he retained for himself. Roger was to hold the county which comprised conquests yet to be made under Guiscard. In February 1091 the conquest of Sicily was completed when Noto

Noto

Noto is a city and comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily . Its located 32 km southwest of the city of Syracuse at the foot of the Iblean Mountains and gives its name to the surrounding valley, Val di Noto...

 fell. The conquest of Malta was begun later that year; it was completed in 1127 when the Arab administration of the island was expelled.

Robert Guiscard left Roger in an ambiguous relationship with his successors of the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria. During the reigns of Roger II of Sicily

Roger II of Sicily

Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...

 and William II of Apulia conflict broke out between the two Norman principalities, first cousins through Roger and Robert respectively. Through the mediation of Pope Calistus II and in return for aid against a rebellion led by Jordan of Ariano

Jordan of Ariano

Jordan , count of Ariano , was a petty baron in Apulia during the reign of the Duke William II. He was the son and successor of Count Eribert and Altrude of Buonalbergo....

 in 1121, the childless William ceded all his Sicilian territories to Roger and named him his heir. When William died in 1127, Roger inherited the mainland duchy; three years later he merged his holdings to form the Kingdom of Sicily

Kingdom of Sicily

The Kingdom of Sicily 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...

 with the approval of Pope Anacletus II.

List of counts

Sicily was granted, pending its Christian reconquest, to Robert Guiscard as "duke" in 1059 by Pope Nicholas II. The Guiscard granted it as a county to his brother Roger.

Count	| Portrait	Birth	| Marriages	| Death
Roger I Roger I of Sicily Roger I , called Bosso and the Great Count, was the Norman Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was the last great leader of the Norman conquest of southern Italy.-Conquest of Calabria and Sicily:...   1071–1101		1031 son of Tancred of Hauteville Tancred of Hauteville Tancred of Hauteville was an 11th-century Norman petty lord about whom little is known. His historical importance comes entirely from the accomplishments of his sons and later descendants...  and Fredisenda	Judith of Évreux 1061 4 children Eremburga of Mortain 1077 8 children Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto was the third wife of Roger I of Sicily and mother of Roger II of Sicily, as well as Queen consort of Jerusalem due to her later marriage to Baldwin I of Jerusalem, as his third wife.-Family:She was the daughter of Manfred del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto (Adelasia, Azalaïs) (c.... 1087 4 children	1101 Mileto Mileto Mileto is a comune in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about 60 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 6 km south of Vibo Valentia.Mileto is the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Mileto.... aged 80
Simon Simon, Count of Sicily Simon of Hauteville , called Simon de Hauteville in French and Simone D'Altavilla in Italian, was the eldest son and successor of Roger the Great Count, count of Sicily, and Adelaide del Vasto, under whose regency he reigned.... 1101–1105		1093 son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I of Sicily Roger I , called Bosso and the Great Count, was the Norman Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was the last great leader of the Norman conquest of southern Italy.-Conquest of Calabria and Sicily:...  and Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto was the third wife of Roger I of Sicily and mother of Roger II of Sicily, as well as Queen consort of Jerusalem due to her later marriage to Baldwin I of Jerusalem, as his third wife.-Family:She was the daughter of Manfred del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto (Adelasia, Azalaïs) (c....	never married	1105 Mileto Mileto Mileto is a comune in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about 60 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 6 km south of Vibo Valentia.Mileto is the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Mileto.... aged 12
Roger II Roger II of Sicily Roger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily... 1105–1130		22 December 1095 Mileto Mileto Mileto is a comune in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about 60 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 6 km south of Vibo Valentia.Mileto is the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Mileto.... son of Roger I of Sicily Roger I of Sicily Roger I , called Bosso and the Great Count, was the Norman Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was the last great leader of the Norman conquest of southern Italy.-Conquest of Calabria and Sicily:...  and Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto was the third wife of Roger I of Sicily and mother of Roger II of Sicily, as well as Queen consort of Jerusalem due to her later marriage to Baldwin I of Jerusalem, as his third wife.-Family:She was the daughter of Manfred del Vasto Adelaide del Vasto (Adelasia, Azalaïs) (c....	Elvira of Castile Elvira of Castile (Sicilian queen) Elvira of Castile was the first Queen of Sicily.- Background and upbringing :She was a daughter of Alfonso VI of Castile by his fourth queen, Isabella... 1117 6 children Sibyl of Burgundy Sibyl of Burgundy Sibylla of Burgundy was the second queen consort of Roger II of Sicily.-Family:She was a daughter of Hugh II, Duke of Burgundy and his wife Felicia-Matilda of Mayenne.... 1149 2 children Beatrix of Rethel Beatrix of Rethel Beatrice of Rethel was a French noblewoman, and the third Queen consort of King Roger II of Sicily.-Family:Beatrice was born sometime between 1130 and 1132, the eldest daughter and one of the nine children of Ithier, Count of Rethel and Beatrix of Namur... 1151 1 child	26 February 1154 Palermo Palermo Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old... aged 59