William II offering the Monreale Cathedral to the Virgin Mary. Monreale ( Sicilian: Murriali) is a town and Comune in the Province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy,

William II (French language: Guillaume II, 1155 – November 11, 1189 Palermo), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Palermo ( Sicilian: Palermu, Greek: Panormus, al-Madinah during Muslim rule is a historic City in The Kingdom of Sicily (Regnum Siciliae or Sicilie Regno di Sicilia, commonly abbreviated Regno) was a state that existed in the south of Italy

William was only eleven years old at the death of his father William I, when he was placed under the regency of his mother, Margaret of Navarre. William I ( 1131 - May 7 1166) called the Bad or the Wicked, was the second King of Sicily, ruling from his father's death Until the king was declared adult in 1171 the government was controlled first by the chancellor Stephen du Perche, cousin of Margaret (1166–1168), and then by Walter Ophamil, archbishop of Palermo, and Matthew of Ajello, the vice-chancellor. Stephen du Perche was the Chancellor of Sicily (1166&ndash1168 and Archbishop of Palermo (1167&ndash1168 during the early regency of his cousin Queen Walter of the Mill ( fl 1160&ndash1191 Italianised as Gualtiero Offamiglio or Offamilio and Latinised as Ophamilius Palermo ( Sicilian: Palermu, Greek: Panormus, al-Madinah during Muslim rule is a historic City in Matthew of Ajello (Matteo d'Ajello was a high-ranking member of the Norman court of the Kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century

William's character is very indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his palace life at Palermo. Yet his reign is marked by an ambitious foreign policy and a vigorous diplomacy. Champion of the papacy and in secret league with the Lombard cities he was able to defy the common enemy, Frederick I Barbarossa. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Lombardy (Lombardia Latin: Langobardia, Western Lombard: Lumbardìa, Eastern Lombard: Lombardia) is one of the Frederick I Barbarossa (1122 &ndash 10 June 1190) was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned In 1174 and 1175 he made treaties with Genoa and Venice and his marriage in February 1177 with Joan, daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, marks his high position in European politics. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Joan of England (October 1165 &ndash 4 September 1199 was the seventh child of Henry II of England and his Queen consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine. For other Eleanors of England see Eleanor of England (disambiguation Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine (1122&ndash1 April 1204

In July 1177, he sent a delegation of Archbishop Romuald of Salerno and Count Roger of Andria to sign the Treaty of Venice with the emperor. Roger, count of Andria and Great Chamberlain of Sicily was a claimant for the Sicilian throne after the death of William II in 1189 The Treaty or Peace of Venice, 1177, was an important peace treaty between the Papacy and its allies the north Italian city-states of the Lombard To secure the peace, he sanctioned the marriage of his aunt Constance, daughter of Roger II, with Frederick's son Henry, afterwards the emperor Henry VI, causing a general oath to be taken to her as his successor in case of his death without heirs. Constance of Sicily (1154 &ndash November 27, 1198) was the heiress of the Norman kings of Sicily and the wife of Henry VI Holy Roman Emperor Roger II ( 22 December 1095 &ndash 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his Henry VI (November 1165 – 28 September 1197) was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197 Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King This step, fatal to the Norman kingdom, was possibly taken that William might devote himself to foreign conquests. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France.

Monreale Cathedral, built during William's II reign. Monreale ( Sicilian: Murriali) is a town and Comune in the Province of Palermo, in Sicily, Italy, William and his parents are buried there.

Unable to revive the African dominion, William directed his attack on Egypt, from which Saladin threatened the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Salahadin Ayyubi ( Arabic:صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب Kurdish: سه‌لاحه‌دین ئه‌یوبی Selah'edînê Eyubî; c This article is about the Christian kingdom For the history of the city see History of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Christian In July 1174, 50,000 men were landed before Alexandria, but Saladin's arrival forced the Sicilians to re-embark in disorder. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια Salahadin Ayyubi ( Arabic:صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب Kurdish: سه‌لاحه‌دین ئه‌یوبی Selah'edînê Eyubî; c A better prospect opened in the confusion in Byzantine affairs which followed the death of Manuel Comnenus (1180), and William took up the old design and feud against Constantinople. For the eldest son of Andronikos I Komnenos and father of Alexios I of Trebizond, see Manuel Komnenos (born 1145. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Durazzo was captured (June 11, 1185). Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Afterwards while the army (80,000 men including 5,000 knights) marched upon Thessalonica, the fleet (200 ships) sailed towards the same target capturing on their way the Ionian islands of Corfu, Cephalonia, Ithaca and Zakynthos. Thessaloniki (Θεσσαλονίκη), Thessalonica, or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia Corfu (Κέρκυρα Kérkyra, ˈkʲe̞ɾkʲiɾa Κέρκυρα or Κόρκυρα Corcyra Corfù is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea The island of Kefalonia, also known as Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia (Ancient Greek Κεφαλληνία Modern Ithaca or Ithaka (in Greek, Ιθάκη, Ithaki) is an island in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of 118 km² In August Thessalonica fell to the joint attack of the Sicilian fleet and army and was subsequently sacked (7,000 Greeks died). Thessaloniki (Θεσσαλονίκη), Thessalonica, or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia

The troops then marched upon the capital, but the army of the emperor Isaac Angelus defeated the invaders on the banks of the Strymon (September 7, 1185). Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( Greek: Ισαάκιος Β’ Άγγελος Isaakios II Angelos) (September 1156 &ndash January 1204 was Byzantine Strymon redirects here For the Strymon Gulf see Strymonian Gulf. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. Thessalonica was at once abandoned and in 1189 William made peace with Isaac, abandoning all the conquests. He was now planning to induce the crusading armies of the West to pass through his territories, and seemed about to play a leading part in the Third Crusade. The Third Crusade (1189&ndash1192 also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin His admiral Margarito, a naval genius equal to George of Antioch, with 60 vessels kept the eastern Mediterranean open for the Franks, and forced the all-victorious Saladin to retire from before Tripoli in the spring of 1188. Margaritus of Brindisi (also Margarito; Italian Margaritone or Greek Megareites or Margaritoni: c George of Antioch (died 1151 or 1152 was the first true ammiratus ammiratorum, successor of the great Christodulus. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group Tripoli ( Lebanese Arabic: طرابلس Ṭrāblos or Ṭrēblos locally Ṭrōbles Standard Arabic: Ṭarābulus Τρίπολις Tripolis is the second-largest

Palermo in mourning for the death of William II, from the Liber ad honorem Augusti by Peter of Eboli. Peter of Eboli or Petrus de Ebulo (flourished ca 1196&ndash1220 was a Didactic Versifier and Chronicler who wrote in Latin.

In November 1189 William died, leaving no children. Though Orderic Vitalis records a (presumably short-lived) son in 1181: Bohemond, Duke of Apulia. Orderic Vitalis (1075&ndashc 1142 was an English chronicler who wrote one of the great contemporary Chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Bohemond or Boamund is the only recorded son of William II of Sicily and his wife Joanna of England. His title of "the Good" is due perhaps less to his character than to the cessation of internal troubles in his reign.

In the Divine Comedy, Dante places William II in Paradise:

Ancestry

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
• Matthew, Donald. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily. Cambridge University Press: 1992. Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP is a Publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534 Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar)