History of the Jews in Sicily of the Temple of Jerusalem. Rabbi Akiva visited the city of Syracuse during one of his trips abroad. The Jews lived in many Sicilian cities such as Palermo, Messina and Catania. From the late 7th century, Sicily joined with Calabria to form the Byzantine Theme of Sicily. In the 6th century, communications were sent to Pope Gregory I about the plight of the Jews in the Kingdom of Sicily. In 831, Sicily came under the Arab dominion, which treated the Jews justly. In 1072 Sicily fell to the Normans and the Jews were again brought under the supremacy and jurisdiction
Kingdom of Sicily with the creation of the brand-new Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with capital Naples in 1816. The people of Sicily rebelled to this violation of its centuries-old statutes (which every king, including Ferdinand, had sworn to respect) but were defeated by the Neapolitan and Austrian forces in 1820. In 1848-49 another Sicilian revolution of independence occurred, which was put down by the new king Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, who was nicknamed "Re Bomba" after his 5-day bombardment of Messina. The increased hostility of the peoples and the elites of Sicily towards Naples and the Bourbon dynasty created a