List of Dukes of Amalfi
Encyclopedia
The medieval Republic of Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes , sometimes called dogi (singular doge) in analogy to the Republic of Venice
, a maritime rival of the time. Before the dukeship was officially created in 957, there was a series of patrician
s. The Amalfitan duchy was one of the earliest maritime republics renowned throughout the Mediterranean, a trading city rivalling the cities of the north.
(or judges) is not well known. The numbering of the rulers of Amalfi usually begins again with the judgeship. Mastalus was elected judge upon his succession in 914.
, duke of Apulia. At some point, his son Guy
was made duke. Nevertheless, Amalfi rebelled twice, once electing the former prince of Salerno, Gisulf, and once electing a Neapolitan of that ducal family.
A certain Manso
was ruling in Amalfi—and minting his own coins there—with the title of vicedux (viceduke) sometime between 1077 and 1096, most probably during the reign of Robert's son Roger Borsa
. Manso recognised Norman overlordship and was probably a Norman appointee.
) was revived in the Kingdom of Naples
in the late 14th century. It passed to the Piccolomini
in 1461.
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, a maritime rival of the time. Before the dukeship was officially created in 957, there was a series of patrician
Patricianship
Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a class of patrician families whose members were the only people allowed to exercise many political functions...
s. The Amalfitan duchy was one of the earliest maritime republics renowned throughout the Mediterranean, a trading city rivalling the cities of the north.
Prefects (839–914)
The time of the prefecture is not well known. The first elected ruler of the city was a prefect (839).- 839–860 Marinus
- 860 Sergius (I)
- 860 Maurus
- 866– Marinus, again
- 866–879 Pulcharius
- 879–898 StephenStephen, Prefect of AmalfiStephen was the Prefect of Amalfi from 879 to 898. He was married to a daughter of the first known prefect Marinus.He succeeded his brother-in-law Pulcharius while the city was under an interdict. In 897, he entered into a war with the Duchy of Sorrento and that of Naples. He was captured by the...
- 898–914 Manso (I)Manso, Prefect of AmalfiManso I or II was the Prefect of Amalfi from 898 to 914.He succeeded, or may have deposed, Stephen, a relative of the first ruling family, and to whom he was unrelated. In 900, he associated his son Mastalus with him, following a practice that was to become widespread in the Mezzogiorno...
Patricians (914–957)
The time of the patriciansPatricianship
Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a class of patrician families whose members were the only people allowed to exercise many political functions...
(or judges) is not well known. The numbering of the rulers of Amalfi usually begins again with the judgeship. Mastalus was elected judge upon his succession in 914.
- 914–953 Mastalus IMastalus I of AmalfiMastalus I was the penultimate patricius of Amalfi. He was succeeded by his son, Mastalus II, who was raised to the status of dux. His own father was the last prefect, Manso I....
- 920–931 Leo
- 939–947 John (I)
- 953–957 Mastalus IIMastalus II of AmalfiMastalus II was the first duke of Amalfi from 957 until his death.He succeeded his father as patricius in 953, when he was still a minor. He came of age in 957 and was elected dux, raising him to equal rank with the Dukes of Gaeta and Naples. In the next year, he was assassinated by Sergius of...
Independent dukes (957–1073)
Mastalus was elected duke on his coming of age, but died the next year. A new dynasty was then inaugurated. It reign uninterrupted for the next 115 years, except during the period 1039–1052, when the duke of Salerno conquered the duchy.- 957–958 Mastalus IIMastalus II of AmalfiMastalus II was the first duke of Amalfi from 957 until his death.He succeeded his father as patricius in 953, when he was still a minor. He came of age in 957 and was elected dux, raising him to equal rank with the Dukes of Gaeta and Naples. In the next year, he was assassinated by Sergius of...
- 958–966 Sergius I (II)Sergius I of AmalfiSergius I was the second Duke of Amalfi and first of the Musco Comite family.In 958, Sergius, a citizen of the city of Amalfi, assassinated the first duke, Mastalus II and usurped the throne. In order to establish a ducal dynasty as in Naples and Gaeta, he immediately associated his son Manso I...
- 966–1004 Manso I (II)Manso I of AmalfiManso I was the duke of Amalfi and prince of Salerno . He was the son of Duke Sergius I and the greatest independent ruler of Amalfi, which he controlled for nearly half a century...
, also Prince of Salerno (981–983)- 984–986 AdelferAdelfer of AmalfiAdelfer or Adelferio was briefly the usurper duke of Amalfi from 984 to 986, while his brother, Manso I, was reigning in Salerno.Manso returned to Amalfi in 986 and forced Adlefer to flee with his wife Drosa to Naples.-Sources:...
, in opposition to Manso
- 984–986 Adelfer
- 1004–1007 John I (II)John I of AmalfiJohn I was the duke of Amalfi and prince of Salerno . He was the son of Manso I. His father associated him in the principality of Salerno, but their rule was unpopular and they were overthrown by John II. John inherited Amalfi on his father's death and ruled a short three...
, also Prince of Salerno (981–983) - 1007–1028 Sergius II (III)Sergius II of AmalfiSergius II was the Patrician and Duke of Amalfi, the son and successor of John I, who co-reigned with his father until the latter's death in 1007....
- 1028–1029 Manso II (III)Manso II of AmalfiManso II the Blind was the duke of Amalfi on three separate occasions: from 1028 to 1029, from 1034 to 1038, and from 1043 to 1052. He was the second son of Sergius II and Maria, sister of Pandulf IV of Capua. His whole ducal career consisted of wars with his brother, John II, over the throne. The...
with- 1028–1029 Maria, his mother
- 1029–1034 John II (III)John II of AmalfiJohn II was the duke of Amalfi from 1029 to 1069 with multiple interruptions. He was the son of Sergius II and Maria, sister of Pandulf IV of Capua. He was the last significant duke of Amalfi before the Norman conquest of 1073....
- 1034–1038 Manso II (III)Manso II of AmalfiManso II the Blind was the duke of Amalfi on three separate occasions: from 1028 to 1029, from 1034 to 1038, and from 1043 to 1052. He was the second son of Sergius II and Maria, sister of Pandulf IV of Capua. His whole ducal career consisted of wars with his brother, John II, over the throne. The...
, again (with Maria) - 1038–1039 John II (III)John II of AmalfiJohn II was the duke of Amalfi from 1029 to 1069 with multiple interruptions. He was the son of Sergius II and Maria, sister of Pandulf IV of Capua. He was the last significant duke of Amalfi before the Norman conquest of 1073....
, again (with Maria) - 1039–1052 Guaimar IGuaimar IV of SalernoGuaimar IV was Prince of Salerno , Duke of Amalfi , Duke of Gaeta , and Prince of Capua in Southern Italy over the period from 1027 to 1052. He was an important figure in the final phase of Byzantine authority in the Mezzogiorno and the commencement of Norman power...
, also Prince of Salerno (1027–1052)- 1043–1052 Manso II (III)Manso II of AmalfiManso II the Blind was the duke of Amalfi on three separate occasions: from 1028 to 1029, from 1034 to 1038, and from 1043 to 1052. He was the second son of Sergius II and Maria, sister of Pandulf IV of Capua. His whole ducal career consisted of wars with his brother, John II, over the throne. The...
, again - 1047–1052 Guaimar II, son, co-ruled with his father
- 1043–1052 Manso II (III)
- 1052–1069 John II (III)John II of AmalfiJohn II was the duke of Amalfi from 1029 to 1069 with multiple interruptions. He was the son of Sergius II and Maria, sister of Pandulf IV of Capua. He was the last significant duke of Amalfi before the Norman conquest of 1073....
, again - 1069–1073 Sergius III (IV)Sergius III of AmalfiSergius III was the duke of Amalfi from 1069, when he succeeded his father John II, until his death. He was first appointed co-regent by his father in 1031...
- 1073 John III (IV)John III of AmalfiJohn III or John IV was the duke of Amalfi briefly in 1073 by right of succession following the death of his father, Sergius III, in November. John was only an infant when his father died, The Amalfitans, who required a ruler who could defend them, quickly deposed and exiled him...
Norman domination
Amalfi was conquered by Robert GuiscardRobert 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...
, duke of Apulia. At some point, his son Guy
Guy, Duke of Amalfi
Guy of Hauteville was the second son of Robert Guiscard and his second wife, Sichelgaita. He was created duke of Amalfi sometime after the conquest of that city in 1073....
was made duke. Nevertheless, Amalfi rebelled twice, once electing the former prince of Salerno, Gisulf, and once electing a Neapolitan of that ducal family.
- 1088–1089 GisulfGisulf II of SalernoGisulf II was the last Lombard prince of Salerno ....
, also Prince of Salerno (1052–1078) - 1096–1100 Marinus SebastusMarinus Sebastus of AmalfiMarinus Sebastus was a scion of the dynasty of the Sergi and the Amalfitan family of the Capuano. He was a sebastos who was elected Duke of the Republic of Amalfi in 1096 in opposition to Norman suzerainty....
A certain Manso
Manso (viceduke)
Manso was a Lombard viceduke who ruled the Duchy of Amalfi during the reign of Roger Borsa, the Norman Duke of Apulia. He is known only from his coins: large, copper follari bearing the inscription MANSO VICEDUX on the reverse...
was ruling in Amalfi—and minting his own coins there—with the title of vicedux (viceduke) sometime between 1077 and 1096, most probably during the reign of Robert's son Roger Borsa
Roger Borsa
Roger Borsa was the Norman Duke of Apulia and effective ruler of southern Italy from 1085 until his death. He was the son of Robert Guiscard, the conqueror of southern Italy and Sicily; Roger was not as adept as his father, and most of his reign was spent in feudal anarchy.-Biography:Roger was the...
. Manso recognised Norman overlordship and was probably a Norman appointee.
Neapolitan dukes (1388–1673)
The title "Duke of Amalfi" (Duca di Amalfi in ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
) was revived in the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
in the late 14th century. It passed to the Piccolomini
Piccolomini
Piccolomini is the name of an Italian noble family, which was prominent in Siena from the beginning of the 13th century onwards. In 1220, Engelberto d'Ugo Piccolomini received the fief of Montertari in Val d'Orcia from the emperor Frederick II as a reward for services rendered...
in 1461.
- 1398–1405 Venceslao Sanseverino, also count of Tricario and Chiaromonte, and Duke of Venosa
- 1405–1438 Giordano Colonna
- 1438–1459 Raimondo II del Balzo Orsini, also Prince of Salerno (died 1459)
- 1461–? Antonio Todeschini Piccolomini
- ?–1498 Alfonso I Piccolomini, whose wife is the title character in The Duchess of MalfiThe Duchess of MalfiThe Duchess of Malfi is a macabre, tragic play written by the English dramatist John Webster in 1612–13. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, then before a more general audience at The Globe, in 1613-14...
- 1498–? Alfonso II Piccolomini
- ?–1575 Cesare I GonzagaCesare I GonzagaCesare I Gonzaga was count of Guastalla from 1557 until his death. He was a member of the House of Gonzaga, the first-born son of the imperial condottiero Ferrante Gonzaga and Isabella di Capua. From the latter he inherited also the title of Count of Amalfi. He was also Duke of Ariano and Prince...
- 1584–1632 Ferrante II GonzagaFerrante II GonzagaFerrante II Gonzaga was Count of Guastalla and since 1621 Duke of Guastalla.He was the son of Cesare I Gonzaga, Count of Guastalla and Duke of Amalfi and Camilla Borromeo. He succeeded his father in 1575...
- 1632–1656 Ottavio Piccolomini
- 1656–1673 Enea Silvio PiccolominiGeneral Enea Silvio PiccolominiEnea Silvio Piccolomini was an Italian nobleman coming from a well known family from Siena in Italy, who served in the Habsburg army...
Spanish duke
In the 19th century the title Duque de Amalfi was revived by the Spanish.- Antonio de Zayas y Beaumont
Sources
- Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Rome, 1960–Present.
- Skinner, Patricia. Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbours, 850-1139. Cambridge University Press: 1995.
- Chalandon, Ferdinand. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie. Paris, 1907.
- Gay, Jules. L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre II. Burt Franklin: New York, 1904.
- Stasser, Thierry. "Où sont les femmes?" Prosopon: The Journal of Prosopography. 2006.
- Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Southern Italy — Amalfi.