Mediaeval Malta: Normans (1090-1194), Hohenstauffens (1194-1266), Angevins (1266-1282)
During the eleventh century, Christians and Muslims battled over land throughout the Mediterranean. In Spain, the Christians and Muslims fought over Valencia, Barbastro and Toledo. The First Crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099. Malta also became a battlefield. Muslim pirates, using Malta as a base, raided southern Europe. Roger I, king of Sicily, retaliated and gained control of Malta in 1090. Thus Malta came under the rule of the Norman kings of Sicily.
Norman control of the island did little to change the way of life of Malta's inhabitants. The Muslims on the island continued to live much as they did before, but now they paid tribute to the Normans. Roger I and Roger II built and enhanced Christian churches in Malta, but the worship of Islam continued on the islands during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Constance, daughter and heir of Roger II, married Frederick II's son Henry under the terms of a treaty signed in 1184. Sicily and Malta became part of the domains of the Hohenstauffen dynasty after Henry succeeded his father as Henry VI in 1194.
The death of Henry VI in 1197 began a period of civil war in Germany marked by disputes with the papacy. His widow, Constance, named Pope Innocent III guardian of their young son, Frederick, upon her death in 1198. Frederick became Holy Roman Emperor (and ruler of the Kingdom of Sicily, including Malta) in 1220. Frederick II went on crusade in 1227 and secured the return of Jerusalem by treaty. He married Isabella, heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The papacy opposed his plans to impose Hohenstauffen rule over Italy, and Frederick died excommunicate in 1250. His legitimate son, Conrad IV, died in 1254. His illegitimate son, Manfred, then tried to reconstitute the Hohenstauffen realms. But Pope Clement IV supported the French candidate, Charles of Anjou, who took control of Sicily by defeating Manfred in 1266. Two years later, Charles of Anjou ended the male lineage of the Hohenstaufen dynasty with the execution of Conradin, the son of Conrad IV.
Charles of Anjou invaded Italy with papal support. He successfully took control of Sicily, but the Angevin rule of Sicily did not last long. Charles was unpopular because of high taxes and his reliance on French officials. In 1282, the revolt known as the Sicilian Vespers seriously impaired Angevin government.
Peter of Aragon, son-in-law of the late Manfred, offered aid to the revolt. On 4 December 1282 the Sicilian parliament acclaimed Peter of Aragon the new king. The Angevins retained control of the Italian mainland but the Aragonese now controlled Sicily and Malta.
Find detailed chronology here: History 04
