Sack of Rome (1084)
Encyclopedia
The Sack of Rome of May 1084 was a Norman sack, the result of the pope
's call for aid from the duke of Apulia, Robert Guiscard
.
Pope Gregory VII
was besieged in the Castel Sant'Angelo
by the Emperor Henry IV in June 1083. He held out and called for aid from the Guiscard, who was then fighting the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus in the Balkans
. He returned, however, to Italy and marched north with 36,000 men. He entered Rome and forced Henry to retire, but a riot of the citizens led to a three days' sack, after which Guiscard escorted the pope to the Lateran
. The Normans had mainly pillaged the old city, which was then one of the richest cities in Italy. After days of unending violence, the Romans rose up causing the Normans to set fire to the city. Many of the buildings of Rome were gutted on the Capitol and Palatine hills along with the area between the Colosseum and the Lateran. In the end the ravaged Roman populace succumbed to the Normans.
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
's call for aid from the duke of Apulia, 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...
.
Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
was besieged in the Castel Sant'Angelo
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...
by the Emperor Henry IV in June 1083. He held out and called for aid from the Guiscard, who was then fighting the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. He returned, however, to Italy and marched north with 36,000 men. He entered Rome and forced Henry to retire, but a riot of the citizens led to a three days' sack, after which Guiscard escorted the pope to the Lateran
Lateran
Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several architectural projects throughout Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the former Roman Empire...
. The Normans had mainly pillaged the old city, which was then one of the richest cities in Italy. After days of unending violence, the Romans rose up causing the Normans to set fire to the city. Many of the buildings of Rome were gutted on the Capitol and Palatine hills along with the area between the Colosseum and the Lateran. In the end the ravaged Roman populace succumbed to the Normans.