THE GREAT COUNT

“[ROGER] HEARD THAT SICILY WAS IN THE HANDS OF THE UNBELIEVERS. SEEING IT FROM CLOSE AT HAND WITH ONLY A SHORT STRETCH OF SEA LYING IN BETWEEN, HE WAS SEIZED BY THE DESIRE TO CAPTURE IT, FOR HE WAS ALWAYS EAGER FOR CONQUEST.”
Chronicler Geoffrey Malaterra

A small fleet glided through the dark waters at the southern end of the Strait of Messina in a nighttime passage to Sicily in May, 1061. Aboard the ships were several hundred Norman knights that made up the advance guard of an invasion force led by Norman commander Roger de Hauteville. The fleet sailed as quietly as possible to avoid detection by a squadron of Arab warships guarding the northern end of the strait.

After the Norman knights tramped ashore on an undefended beach, Roger led them north on a five-mile march to Messina. When his troops arrived before the south wall of the city, Roger ordered an immediate assault without awaiting the main body scheduled to follow in successive crossings. To the Normans’ great surprise, the town was undefended. Roger’s daring gamble had worked, and he captured the port city without losing a single man.

At the time