Battle of Cerami

Battle of Cerami
Part of the Norman conquest of southern Italy

Roger I of Sicily at the Battle of Cerami,
by Prosper Lafaye
DateJune 1063
Location
Cerami (near Troina), Sicily
Result Norman victory
Belligerents
Normans Kalbids
Zirids
Commanders and leaders
Roger I of Sicily
Serlo II of Hauteville
Roussel de Bailleul
Arisgot du Pucheuil		 Ibn al-Hawas
Prince Ayyub
Prince 'Ali
Strength
136 mounted knights
"only slightly more" infantry		 3,000[1]–50,000[a]
Casualties and losses
Unknown, very few 15,000[3]

The Battle of Cerami was fought in June 1063 and was one of the most significant battles in the Norman conquest of Sicily, 1060–1091. The battle was fought between a Norman expeditionary force and a Muslim alliance of Sicilian and Zirid troops. The Normans fought under the command of Roger de Hauteville, the youngest son of Tancred of Hauteville and brother of Robert Guiscard. The Muslim alliance consisted of the native Sicilian Muslims under the Kalbid ruling class of Palermo, led by Ibn al-Hawas, and Zirid reinforcements from North Africa led by the two princes, Ayyub and 'Ali.[4] The battle was a resounding Norman victory that utterly routed the opposing force, causing divisions amongst the Muslim aristocracy which ultimately paved the way for the eventual capture of the Sicilian capital, Palermo, by the Normans and subsequently the rest of the island.

The initial battle took place at the hilltop town of Cerami, around five miles to the west of the Norman stronghold at Troina. However, the main battle was joined in the valley just to the south. By all accounts the Normans, numbering 136 knights with probably only slightly more infantry,[5] were heavily outnumbered by their Muslim opponents who some sources claim were as many as 50,000 strong.[6] The best-surviving source of information for the battle is found in Geoffrey of Malaterra's De rebus gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae comitis et Roberti Guiscardi Ducis fratris eius.[7]

  1. ^ Malaterra 2005, p. 108.
  2. ^ Lopez 1969, p. 62.
  3. ^ Malaterra 2005, p. 110.
  4. ^ Cobb. The Race for Paradise: An Islamic History of the Crusades. p. 56.
  5. ^ Theotokis. "The Norman Invasion of Sicily, 1061-1072: Numbers and Military Tactics, in War In History, 2010, vol. 19". p. 397.
  6. ^ Malaterra. The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of His Brother Duke Robert Guiscard. p. book 2, chapter 33.
  7. ^ Malaterra. The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily and of His Brother Duke Robert Guiscard.


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