Roger II of Sicily

Roger II, called Roger the Great (1095 to 1154), began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in 1127, King of Sicily in 1130 and King of Africa in 1148. He was the son of Roger I of Sicily and succeeded his brother Simon. In the history of law he is known for the Assizes of Ariano, a great act of legislation promulgated in 1140 at Ariano after his campaigns on the mainland. The assizes were an attempt to establish his dominions in southern Italy as a coherent state, invested the king and his bureaucracy with absolute powers and reduced the authority of rebellious vassals. In the same year he introduced a new standard coinage, the ducat.