Europe · The early medieval west
Principality of Salerno
drawn on the map AD 840–979, 990–1084
The Principality of Salerno was a Lombard principality on the Campanian coast, established around 849 when it seceded from Benevento after a civil war, with its capital at Salerno. It became the most prosperous and cultured of the southern Lombard states, famous especially for the Schola Medica Salernitana, the medical school often called the first of medieval Europe.
- Shown on the map
- AD 840–979, 990–1084 (2 periods)
- Peak area
- 18k km²
- Region
- Europe
Overview
The Principality of Salerno was a Lombard principality on the Campanian coast, established around 849 when it seceded from Benevento after a civil war, with its capital at Salerno. It became the most prosperous and cultured of the southern Lombard states, famous especially for the Schola Medica Salernitana, the medical school often called the first of medieval Europe.
Decline and legacy
Salerno flourished under princes such as Arechis and Guaimar IV (r. 1027–1052), who briefly dominated much of southern Italy. Its last Lombard prince was Gisulf II (r. 1052–1077). Salerno fell to the Normans when Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia (Gisulf's own brother-in-law), besieged and captured the city in 1077, ending Lombard rule and incorporating Salerno into the Norman state; it became a favored Norman capital.
Common questions
- What was the Principality of Salerno?
- The Principality of Salerno was a Lombard principality on the Campanian coast, established around 849 when it seceded from Benevento after a civil war, with its capital at Salerno. It became the most prosperous and cultured of the southern Lombard states, famous especially for the Schola Medica Salernitana, the medical school often called the first of medieval Europe.
- When is the Principality of Salerno shown on the map?
- The border data draws the Principality of Salerno AD 840–979, 990–1084, in 2 separate periods. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.
- How large was the Principality of Salerno?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Principality of Salerno covered about 18,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- How did the Principality of Salerno end?
- Salerno flourished under princes such as Arechis and Guaimar IV (r. 1027–1052), who briefly dominated much of southern Italy. Its last Lombard prince was Gisulf II (r. 1052–1077).
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each polity as the primary basis, cross-checked against Encyclopædia Britannica and the World History Encyclopedia, while flagging entries built on thin or contested evidence — Samo's Empire on a single Fredegar passage, Venice's 697 founding date as legendary, the Pacta conventa as a probable forgery. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Principality of Salerno en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Salerno
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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