Catepanate of Italy
The Katepanat Italy (Greek κατεπανάτον Ἰταλίας ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire in Italy, which was located south of a line from Gargano to the Gulf of Salerno. Also, Amalfi and Naples, although north of this line located, were under the Byzantine Katepan in Bari. The Katepanat is the result of the reorganization of the topic Longobardia by Nikephoros II and John Tzimiskes and included Apulia, the Salento peninsula and parts of Basilicata.
History
870 reconquered by the Byzantines Bari, which was occupied by the Saracens in 840. They set up the theme Langobardia Minor, which was administered by a strategos, based in Bari. The topics Kalabria and Sikelia passed next to continue, Calabria was repeatedly co-ruled in personal union from Bari. 969 was the strategist of Bari Katepan the title of Italy. Katepano ( κατεπάνω ) in Greek means " commander ".
1009 captured insurgents under the Lombard nobles Meles of Bari and his brother- Dattus the city of Bari, which could be recovered at June 11, 1011 by a Byzantine army under the command of Katepan Basil Mesardonites.
1016 campaigned Meles some Norman pilgrims who were on their way to the shrine of the Archangel Michael at Monte Gargano, for his cause. They supported the 1017 Lombard cities of Apulia in the fight against the Byzantines. From 1016 to 1030 the Normans were only mercenaries, the Lombards and other times served the Byzantines once.
1030 Duke Sergius IV of Naples gave the leader of the Norman mercenaries Rainulf Drengot the County of Aversa as a fief and the Normans began the systematic conquest of the country. 1030 met William Iron Arm and Drogo of Hauteville a the eldest sons of Tancred of Hauteville, a nobleman from Coutances in Normandy in Italy. The two took a concerted effort to conquer Apulia and reached that the Byzantine Empire had to give up in 1040 lost the greater part of the province. As Bari fell on 16 April 1071, the Byzantines were finally ousted from southern Italy. They returned briefly back in 1156, to lay siege to Bari unsuccessful.
The title catepanus remained like other Byzantine titles function at the local level under the Norman domination continued in use.