The
Mahdia campaign of 1087 was an attack on the
North AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia,Mauritania, and...
n town of
MahdiaMahdia, Arabic: المهدية , is a Tunisian coastal city with 37,000 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as weaving...
by armed ships from
GenoaGenoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000...
and
PisaPisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
in northern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. It had been prompted by the actions of its ruler Tamim (rule 1062–1108) as a pirate in waters off the Italian peninsula, along with his involvement in
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
fighting the Norman invasion. The attack was led by Hugh of Pisa, with military aid from
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
; the nobleman Pantaleone from
AmalfiAmalfi is a town and commune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, c. 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto , surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery...
was also involved, and the whole endeavour had the backing of
Matilda of TuscanyMatilda of Canossa , called la Gran Contessa or the Great Countess, was an Italian noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy. She is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments...
.
The
Mahdia campaign of 1087 was an attack on the
North AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the UN definition of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia,Mauritania, and...
n town of
MahdiaMahdia, Arabic: المهدية , is a Tunisian coastal city with 37,000 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as weaving...
by armed ships from
GenoaGenoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000...
and
PisaPisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
in northern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. It had been prompted by the actions of its ruler Tamim (rule 1062–1108) as a pirate in waters off the Italian peninsula, along with his involvement in
SicilySicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily....
fighting the Norman invasion. The attack was led by Hugh of Pisa, with military aid from
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
; the nobleman Pantaleone from
AmalfiAmalfi is a town and commune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, c. 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto , surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery...
was also involved, and the whole endeavour had the backing of
Matilda of TuscanyMatilda of Canossa , called la Gran Contessa or the Great Countess, was an Italian noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy. She is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments...
. It succeeded in capturing the city, but they could not hold it; the money from the plunder was spent on the cathedral at Pisa and to build a new church.
Crusade historian
Carl ErdmannCarl Erdmann was a German historian who specialized in medieval political and intellectual history. He is noted in particular for his study of the origins of the idea of crusading in medieval Latin Christendom, as well as his work on letter collections and correspondence among secular and...
considers the raid a direct precursor to the
First CrusadeThe First Crusade was a military expedition by European Christians to regain the Holy Lands taken by the Muslim conquest of the Levant, which resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099. It was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the primary goal of responding to the appeal from Byzantine...
which occurred eight years later, as it was conducted under the banner of
St. PeterSimon Peter , Pétros “Rock”, Kephas in Hellenized Aramaic) was a leader of the early Christian Church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Peter was the son of John, and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee...
against a Muslim ruler who was demonised in the accounts of it, and a form of
indulgenceAn indulgence, in Catholic Theology, is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution. The belief is that indulgences draw on the storehouse of merit...
was granted to the campaigners by
Pope Victor IIIPope Blessed Victor III , born Daufer , Latinised Dauferius, was the Pope as the successor of Pope Gregory VII, yet his pontificate is far less impressive in history than his time as Desiderius, the great Abbot of Monte Cassino.-Early life and abbacy:He was born in 1026 or 1027 of a non-regnant...
.