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The Siege of Messina was a 13th century military engagement. Fought during the opening months of the War of the Sicilian Vespers, the engagement began when an Angevin army laid siege to the city of Messina, which was controlled by pro-independence rebels. The siege was lifted by an Aragonese relief force, resulting in an early defeat for the Angevin Kingdom of Naples.
Background
In the late 13th century, the island of Sicily was under the control of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples, ruled by Charles of Anjou. Messina was key to the control of the island; In addition to being a hub of Sicilian commerce, it lay on the northeast corner of the island, was a center of Sicilian shipbuilding, and controlled the vital Strait of Messina. Having conquered Sicily in 1268, Charles established a large Angevin garrison in Messina and transformed the city's port into a major naval base.
In March 1268, Sicily erupted into revolt against Angevin Naples with the outbreak of the Sicilian Vespers. Starting in Palermo, the rebellion spread eastward, resulting in the collapse of Angevin rule over the island. Of the major cities of Sicily, only Messina did not join the revolt. Messina had a number of reasons for refraining from rebelling; the city housed a large Angevin garrison and was the home port of an Angevin crusader fleet, was geographically close to Charles' capital at Naples, and the city had benefitted economically from a large military buildup started by Charles in the 1270s. During a rebellion of Sicilian nobles in 1268, Messina had been a stronghold of Angevin loyalist support, and have even contributed troops to assist Charles in crushing the rebellion.
However, within weeks of the Versperan revolt, rebel sentiment in Messina had begun to rise. The success of the revolt in other Sicilian cities, coupled with a slow Angevin response the the rebellion, eroded Charles' control over the city and emboldened the rebels. The Vicar of Messina, Herbert of Orleans, believed that the main threat to Angevin-controlled Messina was rebels infiltrating the city from the west. As such, he reinforced Angevins forts guarding the mountainous hills to the west of Messina. However, the withdraw of some Angevin troops from the city caused rebel sentiment to flare up; fearing a widescale civil revolt, Herbert and the Angevin garrison withdrew to the city's citadel, the formidable Mategriffon, leaving the rest of the city to the rebels. Led by Captain of the People Alaimo da Lentini, the citizens of Messina declared the city a free commune, independent of Angevin rule. After several days' negotiations, Herbert and the Angevin garrison at Mategriffon were allowed to leave the city peacefully. In chaos that followed the Angevin withdraw, rioters seized the city's shipyards and burned the Angevin fleet stationed there, a major blow to Charles' Mediterranean ambitions.
By June the island was under the control of the Sicilian Rebels. Charles landed north of Messina on 24 July, stayed 5 weeks, withdrew (24) September.[1]
- Fleet leader, Henri de Girard[2]
References
- ^ Welsh, William E. “Papal Strongman: Charles of Anjou.” Medieval Warfare 6, no. 2 (2016): 20–23. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48578551.
- ^ Pryor, J. H. (2008). "Soldiers of fortune in the fleets of Charles I Of Anjou, King of Sicily,ca 1265–85". In Mercenaries and Paid Men. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. https://doi-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1163/ej.9789004164475.i-415.45