Rome, while others called upon Carthage. Both answered the appeal, but wished to act alone. In 264 Appius Claudius landed an army and defeated the Carthaginian and Syracusan forces which had united to oppose him. Some sixty-seven cities yielded to the Romans; and even Hiero became their tributary (263). In 262 Girgenti, then the centre of the Carthaginian military power in the island, was captured. The victories of Mylæ (260) and Panormus (254), and the capture of the Egadi (241), secured to Rome the possession of the island, but the cities which voluntarily surrendered remained federated.

In the Second Punic War, Syracuse was allied with Hannibal, but was retaken by Marcellus (212). Sicily became a Roman province and acquired very great importance as the granary of Rome. It was divided into two quæstorships, Syracuse and Lilybæum. The latinizing of the island continued, though the Greek element never entirely disappeared, so that in the Byzantine epoch the hellenization of Sicily progressed easily. In proportion as the political greatness of the Greek cities in the island increased, their artistic and literary fame diminished. The greed and cupidity of the prætors and other Roman officials (Verres, for instance) impoverished private individuals as well as the temples. The land fell into the hands of a few great landholders, who cultivated the rich soil by the labour of immense bands of slaves. These slaves rebelled in 135, proclaiming Eunus, one of their number, king. Eunus defeated the Roman army several times, but in 133 he was vanquished by Rufilius near Messina; the war ended with the capture of Tauromenium and Enna (132), and about 20,000 of the unfortunate slaves were crucified. A second furious revolt occurred between 103 and 100 under "King Trypho" and the leadership of Athenio. During the last triumvirate Sicily was the scene of a war between the triumvirs and Sextus Pompey, who, victorious at first, was finally defeated by Agrippa in the naval fight at Mylæ (36 B. C.).

Another rebellion of the slaves took place under Valerian, and in a. D. 278 the island was devastated by a Frankish horde. From 440 on the Vandals repeatedly devastated the island, but they never obtained complete control of it. In 476 they abandoned it to Odoacer in return for an annual tribute, retaining, however, the region about Lilybæum (Marsala). Theodoric recaptured Lilybæum and ceased paying tribute. At the beginning of the Gothic War (535) Sicily was seized by Belisarius for the Byzantines; Totila regained it (550), but not for long. Meanwhile Christianity had been established in the island. A few cities boasted of having been evangelized by St. Peter and St. Paul or by the immediate disciples of the Apostles (Catania, Messina, Palermo, Girgenti, Taormina). St. Paul stayed three days at Syracuse, without St. Luke's making any mention of his visiting the brethren, as he does at Puteoli. That St. Paul preached in Sicily, is recorded by St. Chrysostom. The "Prædestinatus" mentions bishops of Palermo and Lilybæum in the first quarter of the second century; it is certain that in the latter part of that century Christianity was flourishing in the island. Pantæneus, the teacher of St. Clement of Alexandria and director of the famous Alexandrian school was a Sicilian; Clement himself, in the voyages he made to increase his knowledge of Christianity, visited Sicily. From the letters of St. Cyprian we learn that the Church in Sicily was in frequent relations with the Church in Rome and in Carthage, and that the questions discussed at those centres were followed with interest in the island. Through the efforts of Heracleon, the Gnostics made some progress there. Some Christians were martyred at Catania (St. Agatha, St. Euplus) and Syracuse (St. Lucy, St. Marcianus).

Christian cemeteries have been discovered at Catania, Girgenti (2), Lentini, Marsala, Mazzara, Mes

sina, Palermo (5), Ragusa, Selinunte, Syracuse, and its environs (Valley of the Molinello, Canicatti, the Valleys of Priolo, Pantalica, S. Alfano, etc.). Christian inscriptions, excepting those at Syracuse, are generally in Latin. As in all Italy south of the Po, the bishops of Sicily were immediately subject to the Bishop of Rome, by whom ordination was conferred, and to whom a visit was to be made every five years at least. For the election of bishops, at least in the sixth century, the pope was accustomed to appoint a visitor, who was charged with the administration during the vacancy, and presided at the election, which was afterwards confirmed by the pope, when the bishop-elect presented himself for ordination. At the commencement of the Saracen invasion there were the following sees: Syracuse, Palermo, Cefalù, Lilybæum, Drepanum (?), Messina, Lipari, Girgenti, Taormina, Čatani, Leontini, Therma (Sciacca?), Alesa, Cronion, Camarina, Tindari (Patti), Malta. Till after the time of St. Gregory, and probably down to the eighth century, the Roman Rite was observed in the island, and the liturgical language was Latin. In the dogmatic controversies, the Sicilian bishops were always among the defenders of orthodoxy, except that in the fifth century Pelagianism (through the personal efforts of Pelagius and Celestius) and Arianism (one Maximinus their chief was aided by the Vandals) obtained a foothold. Ecclesiastical affairs were thrown into disorder by the Vandal incursions, as is shown by the measures which Pope Gelasius was obliged to take. St. Leo the Great introduced into Sicily the obligation of celibacy even for subdeacons. Sicily was of great importance from the point of view of the Roman Church on account of the great amount of ecclesiastical property there, which was divided into two patrimonia (Palermitanum and Syracusarum). Each patrimonium had a rector, with inferior officers, defensores, notarii, actionarii, etc. The rector was generally a subdeacon of the Church of Rome, and was empowered to intervene in the ecclesiastical questions of the various dioceses. The Churches of Milan and of Melitene in Armenia also had property in the island. Monasticism was first introduced into Sicily by St. Hilarion. It was greatly increased by the large number of bishops or monks who were expelled from Africa or forced to emigrate to escape the Vandal persecution. St. Benedict sent a colony of his monks to Messina, under St. Placidus; the monastery was destroyed later by pagan (perhaps Slavic) pirates. St. Gregory the Great personally founded six monasteries, among them that of St. Hermes at Palermo. The number of monks was increased by the bands that flocked from Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, when Islamism began its triumphant march, and the Monothelites and Iconoclasts drove them from the Orient. Thus a strong hellenizing element, which was certainly encouraged by the Byzantine Government, settled in the island: Greek replaced Latin in the liturgy in many of the Churches. Leo the Isaurian (718-41) afterwards detached Sicily and Southern Italy from the metropolitan jurisdiction of Rome, but it is to be noted that, 100 years later, Nicholas I protested against this abuse. In the ninth century Syracuse was raised by the Patriarch of Constantinople to the rank of metropolis of Sicily and the adjacent islands.

Concerning the state of the Sicilian Church during the Saracen domination we have no information: not the name of a single bishop is known. In the eleventh century the hierarchy seems to have been extinct, so that Cardinal Humbertus (later of Silva Candida) was appointed by Leo IX as Bishop of Sicily, though he could not enter the island. The Saracen attempt to invade Sicily was in 669, after the assassination of the Emperor Constans II at Syracuse. The Arabs subsequently made several descents and raids on the island, but occupied it only

when the Sicilians were weary of the Byzantine misgovernment. About 820 the patricus Elpidius, governor of Sicily, rebelled against the Empress Irene; but he was defeated before the arrival of the Arabs whose aid he had asked, and who in 820 captured Palermo, whence they were afterwards expelled by. pirates. In 827, again, the general, Euphemius, invited Ziadeth Allah, Prince of Kairowan, to come; the latter captured Girgenti the same year and then proceeded to make a conquest on his own account. The Byzantines made a gallant effort to repel an enemy so much superior to themselves. Messina was taken in 831, Palermo in 832, Syracuse was reduced by famine only in 878, Taormina fell in 902, and it was not until 941, after a struggle of one hundred and fourteen years, that the Arabs completed the conquest of the island.

The Arab domination was a benefit to Sicily from the point of view of material prosperity. To a certain extent liberty was enjoyed by the Christian population. Only those found in arms were reduced to slavery. This tolerance was, moreover, indeed, good policy on the part of the new masters, who, after the conquest, became independent of the great caliph. Agriculture flourished, new plants were introduced from Africa-the quince and the sugar-cane. Architecture was encouraged by the munificence of the princes (Palermo for instance had three hundred mosques); Arabic and Greek poets sang the beauties and the happiness of the island; not a few Arab writers were born there. The Aglabiti, and the family of Ziadeth were succeeded, in 909, as rulers by the Fatimidi, who were in their turn replaced, in 948, by the Kebbidi. The island was divided into three departments (valli): Val Demone in the north-east; Val Mazzara in the north-west; Val di Noto in the south; a division that was maintained later by the Normans. In a census taken at this time there were in the island 1,590,665 Mussulmans, 1,217,033 Christians, making a total of 2,807,698 inhabitants. The Byzantines were naturally desirous of reconquering the island, but the emperors of the West coveted it. Otho II had been negotiating with Venice about seizing it; Henry II, in the Treaty of Bamberg (1020), promised it to the popes. But it was the Normans who obtained it. Discord broke out in the Kebbidi family, and anarchy resulted: every alcalde and petty captain aspired to independence. Encouraged by these conditions, the Emperor Michael IV sent the catapan Leo Opus (1037) with a fleet, which, after varying fortunes, was forced to retire.

In the following year he sent George Maniakis with an army which contained some Normans who had chanced to be at Calabria. Messina and Syracuse were taken, and the Arabs badly defeated near Troina. But Maniakis offended the Normans; they returned to the peninsula, and then began their conquests there. The victories of Maniakis continued until 1040, but their fruits were lost when he was recalled. Meanwhile the Normans had formed a state on the peninsula. Roger, brother of Robert Guiscard, crossed the Strait in 1060. In the following year, Becumen, a Saracen noble, asked him for assistance. With this aid, the whole Val Demone was conquered within the year. If progress was not more rapid, it was because Roger had been recalled to Italy. We may mention the siege of Troina (1062), the battle of Cerami (1063), of Misilmeri (1068), the capture of Palermo (1072), which had been attempted previously by the Pisans (1063), the defeat of the Saracens at Mazzara, the capture of Syracuse (1086), Girgenti (1087), and Noto (1091). In thirty years the Normans had conquered the whole island. To ensure their conquest they had to grant religious liberty to the Mohammedans, whose emigration in a body would have been a great blow to the country. Sicily became subject to Roger, who assumed the title of

"Great Count"; Robert Guiscard, who had aided him in the conquest, reserved certain rights to himself. Palermo continued to be the capital. The prosperity that followed the coming of the Arabs continued under the Normans, and later under the Swabians. Roger was succeeded by his son, Roger II, who in 1127 on the death of William II, became master of all the Norman territory and obtained from the antipope Anacletus II (1130) the title of King of Sicily, which title was confirmed by Innocent II. The government of the island was almost always different from that of the other parts of the kingdom. As Robert Guiscard had recognized the suzerainty of the Holy See over Calabria and Aquileia, paying an annual tribute, so Roger II recognized it over Sicily and paid an annual tribute of 600 schifati. Costanza and Innocent III fixed the tribute for the whole kingdom at 1000 aurei. The official title was "the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies", thus marking the distinction between Sicily on the hither side and Sicily beyond the Faro (the Straits of Messina). The custom of calling the south of Italy Sicily went back to the time of the Byzantine governors, who, while the island was under Arab domination continued to be called governors of Sicily. The Normans therefore considered that there were two Sicilies, one held by the Byzantines, and one held by the Arabs. For the Holy See the high sovereignty over that kingdom was necessarily a source of constant trouble and war. (For the history of the kingdom down to the Sicilian Vespers, see NAPLES). The admission of the burghers to the Sicilian Parliament by Frederick II, in 1241, deserves mention here.

Immediately after the first conquest of the island the Normans re-established the dioceses, and in all of them the Latin-Gallican Rite was adopted. The Norman kings, moreover, considered ecclesiastical affairs as part of the business of the State, and this caused incessant difficulties with the Holy See, which was forced to make many concessions. Thus, Urban II granted to Roger I the right of putting into execution the orders of the pontifical legates. On the other hand, we must consider as apocryphal the document known as the "Monarchia Sicula", containing all the ecclesiastical rights and privileges presumed and exercised by the King of Sicily, among which, in particular, is the legatio sicula, making the king the legatus natus of the pope in that kingdom, whence it followed that the pope could not have any other legates in Sicily. The privilege granted by Urban II (1098) to Roger, confirmed and interpreted by Paschal II (1117), declares that Roger and his heirs held the vicem legati (the position of acting in place of a legate), in the sense that what the pope would have done or ordered through a legate (quæ per legatum acturi sumus) was to be carried into effect (exhiberi volumus) by the king's diligence (per vestram industriam). The pope certainly contemplated the possibility of sending legates into Sicily. This was the interpretation put by Paschal II on the privilege. The kings, especially the Aragonese, claimed for themselves full ecclesiastical authority in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, excluding the right of the Holy See to intervene. Ón the other hand, it is an error to deny the authenticity of the privilege itself as granted by Urban II and Paschal II (Baronius, Orsi, and others). Philip II (1578) sought to have the "Monarchia Sicula" confirmed, but did not succeed, notwithstanding which, in 1579, he established the office of the "judex monarchiæ sicula", who in the king's name, exercised all the rights derived from the privilege of the Legation, and prohibited appeals to Rome from the decisions of that tribunal.

The disputes with the Holy See became exceedingly grave when Sicily was given to Amadeus of Savoy (1713). The judex monarchiæ claimed the right of absolving from censures reserved to the pope. Clem

ent XI (1715) declared the "Monarchia" at an end. But Benedict XIII (1728) thought it advisable to come to an agreement; and granted the king the right of nominating the judge of the Monarchy (always an ecclesiastic), who in that way became a delegate of the Holy See with supreme jurisdiction in ecclesiastical affairs. But the causes of dissension were not removed. Pius IX, in 1864, abolished the tribunal of the Monarchy. The Italian Government protested, but, in the Law of the Guarantees (art. 15), it expressly renounced all claim to the privilege. The Sicilian Vespers resulted in once more separating the island from the kingdom, which was then held by the House of Anjou. Peter of Aragon, who claimed the right, as heir of the House of Swabia, was summoned by the Sicilians, and defended the island against the Angevin fleet, in spite of the excommunication of Martin IV. His son James, in 1291, ceded the island to the pope, who wished to restore it to the Angevins, but the Sicilians, in the Parliament of 1296, proclaimed James's brother Frederick king. This caused a fresh war, which was ended by the Peace of Caltabellotta (1302), by which Frederick retained the title of King of Trinacria, but only for his life, and paid in return an annual tribute of 3000 ounces of gold to the Holy See. Contrary to the provisions of the peace, Frederick's son Pietro succeeded (1337) and, after him (1342), his five-year old son Louis, and to him again (1355) his brother Frederick III, then thirteen years of age. Frederick II (Emperor Frederick II and Frederick I of Sicily) had restricted his own authority in favour of the Parliament. The barons profited by this to form four great divisions, over which they placed four great families, the Alagona, Chiaramonti, Palici, and Ventimiglia, whose bloody wars desolated Sicily. Roberto and Giovanna of Naples tried to take advantage of this state of anarchy to recover the island, but without success. In 1377 Frederick III was succeeded by his only daughter Maria, who married (1392) Martin, son of Martin of Momblanco, son of Peter IV of Aragon; in 1409 the kingdom passed by inheritance to the elder Martin, and thus the island was united to the Kingdom of Aragon and ruled by a viceroy. The attempt of Martin II to break the power of the barons gave rise to the idea of having a national king, and so one Peralta was proclaimed at Palermo. But Catania and Syracuse would have no Palermitan king; Messina submitted spontaneously to John XXIII, who declared the Aragonese line deposed. The latter, however, took advantage of the prevailing discord: in 1412 Ferdinand, son of Martin II, was acknowledged, and succeeded in curbing the powers of the Parliament. His son Alfonso (1416-58) united the Kingdom of Naples (1442) with Sicily. On his death, Sicily was given to John of Aragon, whose son Ferdinand (1479-1516) became King of Aragon and Castile (and of Naples, 1503). Sicily thus became a distant province of Spain. There were occasional Sicilian uprisings and conspiracies against Spanish rule: at Palermo, in 1511, there was a second Sicilian Vespers; and in 1517 the whole island was thrown into confusion by the conspiracy of Gian Lesca. Then followed the civil war between the Luna and the Perollo (1529), the attempt of the brothers Imperatori and Marcantonio Colonna to conquer the island, and incursions of the Turks.

More serious were the revolts at Messina, Palermo, and other cities, in 1647, caused by famine. At Palermo Francesco Ventimiglia, a nobleman, was proclaimed king, and one Giuseppe Alessi captain of the people. Alessi met with the same fate as Masaniello at Naples, being slain by the populace whose idol he had been. As Messina, alone of all the cities, had preserved its municipal liberty: the attempt to destroy this provoked a rising (1674), and annexation to France was proclaimed. Louis XIV agreed to this

arrangement, but in 1676 withdrew his troops and warships from Messina. In 1713, by the Peace of Utrecht, Victor Amadeus II was made King of Sicily, and the Sicilians were contented with independence. But in 1718 war broke out again; Victor Amadeus had to abandon Sicily and Sardinia, and the former was given to Austria. In 1736 it was again united to Naples. The reign of the Bourbons was certainly advantageous to the island. During the Parthenopean Republic (1798), and the reign of Joseph Bonaparte and Murat (1806-15), Sicily was the asylum of the royal family, and was protected by the British fleet. At that time (1812) the island had a Constitution like the English Constitution. But, on being restored to the Throne of Naples, Ferdinand IV revoked the Constitution, which indeed had not been very acceptable to the people; he also put an end to the Parliament and all the laws and privileges of the Sicilians, and the island was thus put on the same footing as all the other provinces of the kingdom (Organic Laws of 1817). This caused great discontent in Sicily.

When the Revolution of 1820 broke out at Naples, the Sicilians expected to obtain their independence; they received an evasive answer which diminished their hopes. General Florestano Pepe, sent into Sicily by the Neapolitan Parliament, was at first excluded from Palermo, but later welcomed, when he had given promises regarding their independence. These promises were not confirmed by the Parliament, which, to punish Palermo, declared Messina the capital of the island; widespread disorders followed, which made it easy for 12,000 Austrians to re-establish the authority of Ferdinand I in the island. The disturbances did not cease until they were put down by General Del Carretto. In 1847 a new agitation to obtain complete autonomy for Sicily, with its own Constitution, sprang up; but no one thought of Italian unity. On 10 July, 1848, Ferdinando Maria, Duke of Genoa, was proclaimed King of Sicily, but he refused to accept the throne. Peace having been restored on the Continent, the island was recovered in a few weeks (March and April, 1849). Some disturbances (as at Bentivenga, 1856) were crushed. Meanwhile, the idea of Italian unity had spread among the Liberals, while the populace continued to look forward to Sicilian independence. In 1862 Garibaldi's "Thousand" landed in Sicily and soon won the island for Victor Emmanuel II. The bright hopes of independence and prosperity, however, were not fulfilled; there were risings against the Italian Government (1867), though these were of little importance.

Among ecclesiastical events it should be noted that, in the general re-organization (1818) of the Church in the kingdom, the Dioceses of Caltagirone, Nicosia, and Piazza Armerina were established; in 1844 those of Noto, Trapani, and Caltanisetta were added, and Syracuse was restored to metropolitan rank.

CHIESI, Sicilia illustrata (Milan, 1892); BATTAGLIA, L'evolu zione sociale della Sicilia (Palermo, 1895); SLADEN, In Sicily (London, 1901); PIRRO, Sicilia Sacra (Palermo, 1733); LANCIA DI BROLO, Storia della Chiesa in Sicilia nei primi dieci secoli del cristianesimo (Palermo, 2 vols., 1884); SCADUTO, Stato e Chiesa, nelle due Sicilie (Palermo, 1887); STRAZZULLA, La Sicilia Sacra (Palermo, 1900); ANON., Documenti per servire alla storia di Sicilia (Palermo, 1873-): GARUFI. I documenti inediti dell' epoca normanna in Sicilia (Palermo, 1899); AMARI, I musulmani in Sicilia (Florence, 1854-72); Archivio storico siciliano (Palermo, 1873-); Arch. stor. per la Sic. Orientale (Catania, 1904-); MIRA, Bibliografia siciliana (Palermo, 1875, 1881). For the Legatio Sicula, see FORNO, Storia dell' A post. Legazione annessa alla corona di Sicilia (Palermo, 1868); SENTIS, Die Monarchia Sicula (Freiburg, 1869); GIANNONE, Il tribunale della Monar, di Sicilia (Rome, 1892); FREEMAN, History of Sicily from the Earliest Times (London, 1891-). U. BENIGNI.

Sidon, the seat of a Melchite and a Maronite see in Syria. Sidon is the oldest city of the Phoenicians, and the metropolis of the great colonial empire established by this people (Strabo, XVI, i, 22). It is mentioned in the ethnological table of Genesis (x, 19);