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,
Flag of Sicily as the "trinacria", which is also an ancient name of Sicily. The name was also revived and used during the Aragonese period of the Kingdom of Sicily immediately after the Sicilian Vespers (1282) which ended Angevin rule. During the period of Muslim rule under Emirate of Sicily (831–1072), the island used a pure green flag, similar to the former national flag of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi. Flag of Sicily The flag of Sicily (; ) was first adopted in 1282, after the successful Sicilian Vespers revolt against the king Charles I of Sicily. This flag bears a resemblance to the