The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from to , involving many battles and independent conquerors. In , the territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily , which included the island of Sicily , the southern third of the Italian Peninsula except Benevento , which was briefly held twice , the archipelago of Malta , and parts of North Africa.
Itinerant Norman forces arrived in southern Italy as mercenaries in the service of Lombard and Byzantine factions, communicating swiftly back home news about opportunities in the Mediterranean. Unlike the Norman Conquest of England , which took a few years after one decisive battle , the conquest of southern Italy was the product of decades and a number of battles, few decisive. Many territories were conquered independently, and only later were unified into a single state. Compared to the conquest of England, it was unplanned and disorganised, but equally complete.
There is little evidence of Viking activity in Italy as a precursor to the arrival of the Normans in , but some raiding is recorded. Ermentarius of Noirmoutier , the Annales Bertiniani , and several additional Moorish sources provide accounts of Vikings based in Frankia France , raiding in Iberia, then proceeding to raid in other parts of the Mediterranean around Once converted, Hastein faked his death with the final wish to be buried in the town's church.
Many Norsemen fought as mercenaries in Southern Italy, including the Varangian Guard led by Harald Hardrada , who later became king of Norway , who conquered Sicily between and , with the help of Norman mercenaries, under William de Hauteville , who won his nickname Iron Arm by defeating the emir of Syracuse in single combat, and a Lombard contingent, led by Arduin.
The earliest reported date of the arrival of Norman knights in southern Italy is , although it may be assumed that they had visited before then. The city and its environs were attacked by Saracens from Africa demanding payment of an overdue annual tribute. While Guaimar began to collect the tribute, the Normans ridiculed him and his Lombard subjects for cowardice, and they assaulted their besiegers. The Saracens fled. Booty was confiscated and a grateful Guaimar asked the Normans to stay.
