Roger of Salerno (or Roger of the Principate) (died June 28, 1119) was regent of the

Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It exte ...

from 1112 to 1119. He was the son of

Richard of the Principate Richard of Salerno ( 1060 – 1114), was a participant in the First Crusade and governor of the County of Edessa from 1104 to 1108. He was the cousin of Richard of Hauteville. Biography Richard was born around 1060, the third son of William of t ...

and the 2nd cousin of

Tancred, Prince of Galilee Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo- Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grandson ...

, both participants on the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

. He became regent of Antioch when Tancred died in 1112; the actual prince, Bohemund II, was still a child. Like Tancred, Roger was almost constantly at war with the nearby Muslim states such as Aleppo. In 1114 there was an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

that destroyed many of the fortifications of the principality, and Roger took great care to rebuild them, especially those near the frontier. Roger defeated

Bursuq ibn Bursuq Bursuq ibn Bursuq, also known as Bursuk ibn Bursuk (died in 1116 or 1117), was the emir (or lord) of Hamadan. General He was the most notable son of Bursuq the Elder. Bursuq ibn Bursuq was a Turkic general in the service of the Seljuq Sultan M ...

in 1115 at the Battle of Tell Danith. With

Joscelin I of Edessa Joscelin of Courtenay (or Joscelin I) (died 1131), Prince of Galilee and Lord of Turbessel (1115–1131) and Count of Edessa (1119–1131), ruled over the County of Edessa during its zenith, from 1118 to 1131. Captured twice, Joscelin continu ...

, Roger put enough military pressure on Aleppo that the city allied with Ortoqid emir Ilghazi in 1118. Ilghazi invaded the Principality in 1119, and despite the urging of the

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

, Roger did not wait for reinforcements from

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. At the ensuing Battle of Ager Sanguinis he had 700 knights and 3000 foot soldiers, including 500

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

cavalry, but nearly all were killed, including Roger himself. Ilghazi's forces scattered to plunder the surrounding land and did not attack

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

itself.

Baldwin II of Jerusalem Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Bourcq or Bourg (; – 21August 1131), was Count of Edessa from 1100 to 1118, and King of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death. He accompanied his cousins Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Boulogne to th ...

came north to take over the regency of the principality. He married Cecilia of Le Bourcq, daughter of

Hugh I, Count of Rethel Hugh I, Count of Rethel (1040 in Bourg – 1118 in Rethel) was a son of Count Manasses III of Rethel and his wife Judith. He succeeded his father in 1065 as Count of Rethel. Hugh married Melisende of Crécy, the daughter of Lord Guy I of M ...

and sister of Baldwin II. No children of this union are recorded. Roger's reign was chronicled by his chancellor Walter. Roger is also known in numismatic history for the unique series of coins, minted during his reign. Despite ruling for less than seven years, he had two different types of coin, minted in his name at Antioch. Roger of Salerno Copper Coin (1112-1119)

Roger of Salerno Copper Coin (1112-1119)

The first type bore the image of the Mother of God

Orans Orans (/ˈoː.rans/), a loanword from Medieval Latin ''ōrāns'' translated as ''one who is praying or pleading'', also orant or orante, as well as lifting up holy hands, is a posture or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elb ...

, standing full-height. The second type bore the image of the Miracle of Saint George and the Dragon. It is quite possible that it was minted after Roger's great victory at the Battle of Tell Danith. Prince Roger was in fact the first ruler in the Christian world to depict the Miracle of Saint George and the Dragon on his coinage.

References

Sources

* * *{{Cite news, url=https://www.academia.edu/5631323 , first=Sergei , last=Brun , title=Byzantine iconography on the coinage of the Norman Prince Roger of Antioch, year=2017, language=en 1119 deaths Christians of the Crusades Military personnel killed in action Italo-Normans Norman warriors Year of birth unknown Regents of Antioch