Syracuse, Sicily Sicily until it fell to the Aghlabids after another siege on 20/21 May 878. During the two centuries of Muslim rule, the capital of the Emirate of Sicily was moved from Syracuse to Palermo. The Cathedral was converted into a mosque and the quarter on the Ortygia island was gradually rebuilt along Islamic styles. The city, nevertheless, maintained important trade relationships, and housed a relatively flourishing cultural and artistic life: several Arab poets, including Ibn Hamdis, the most important Sicilian Arab poet of the 12th century, flourished in the city. In 1038, the Byzantine general George Maniakes reconquered the city,
Margaret of Sicily Margaret of Sicily Margaret of Sicily (also called Margaret of Hohenstaufen or Margaret of Germany) (1 December 1241, in Foggia – 8 August 1270, in Frankfurt-am-Main) was a Princess of Sicily and Germany, and a member of the House of Hohenstaufen. By marriage she was Landgravine of Thuringia and Countess Palatine of Saxony (German: "Landgräfin von Thüringen und Pfalzgräfin von Sachsen"). She was the daughter of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Sicily and Germany, by his third wife, Isabella of England. Her paternal grandparents were Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Constance of Sicily. Her maternal grandparents were