ABSTRACT
Chapter Four considers the interplay between the loss of Sicily’s North African possessions and the gradually changing identity of the kingdom during the reign of William I, and whether this changed the perception of the kingdom in the Latin East. The chapter contends that a convergence of interest with the Latin East rather than a direct commitment to its preservation underpinned the majority of the campaigns of William II, including the attack on Alexandria in 1174, until the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. It argues that William’s actions were governed by a recognition of the different potential political and economic threats to Sicily. In so-doing, the kingdom became increasingly orientated towards Latin concerns, which in turn reflected the changing nature of the kingdom itself. The mobilisation of the Sicilian navy to bring succour to the Holy Land in 1188 demonstrated this new alignment. William’s unexpected death, the ensuing civil war, and eventual accession of Henry VI saw the kingdom continuing to participate in crusading enterprises, but this was in its capacity as locale rather than through direct involvement of its ruling elite.
