Duchy of Amalfi Ducatus Amalphitanus | |||||||||
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| 958–1137 | |||||||||
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 Italy, and the Duchy of Amalfi (a small state in bright yellow), at the close of the tenth century. | |||||||||
| Status | Independent state | ||||||||
| Capital | Amalfi | ||||||||
| Common languages | Latin, Greek, and Neapolitan | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Eastern Orthodox Church | ||||||||
| Government | Elective duchy | ||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||
• 957–958 | Mastalus II (first) | ||||||||
• 1096–c.1100 | Marinus Sebastus (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Duke elected | 958 | ||||||||
• Sacked by Pisa | 1137 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1131 | 70,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | Solidus Tarì | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Italy | ||||||||
The Duchy of Amalfi (Latin: Ducatus Amalphitanus) or the Republic of Amalfi was a de facto independent state centered on the Southern Italian city of Amalfi during the 10th and 11th centuries. The city and its territory were originally part of the larger ducatus Neapolitanus, governed by a patrician, but it extracted itself from Byzantine vassalage and first elected a duke (or doge) in 958.
During the 10th and 11th centuries Amalfi was estimated to have a population of 50,000–70,000 people.[1] It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade in the ninth and tenth centuries, before being surpassed and superseded by the other maritime republics of the North and the Centre: Pisa, Venice, Genoa, Ancona and Gaeta. In 1073, Amalfi lost its independence, falling to Norman invasion and subsequently to Pisa in 1137.
- ^ Aczel, Amir D. (2001). The riddle of the compass : the invention that changed the world (1st ed.). New York: Harcourt. ISBN 0151005060. OCLC 45102891.