Key Facts
- Duration
- 1088–1465 (377 years)
- Founded for
- Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard
- Capital
- Taranto
- Territory
- Almost all of the heel of Apulia
- Absorbed by
- Kingdom of Naples, 1465
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
The Principality of Taranto was established in 1088 as a settlement between Bohemond I and his half-brother Roger Borsa following a succession dispute over the Duchy of Apulia after Robert Guiscard's death. Bohemond received Taranto and surrounding territories covering most of the Apulian heel, forming a substantial Norman lordship within the larger framework of southern Italian politics.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height, the principality functioned as a near-independent feudal fief within the Kingdom of Sicily, its princes wielding considerable military and political influence. During the Crusading era, Bohemond I used Taranto as a base for his campaigns in the East, and the principality remained a prestigious title conferred on heirs to the southern Italian crown and consorts of reigning queens.
Phase III: Decline
When the House of Anjou divided, Taranto passed to the Durazzo branch from 1394 to 1463. Ferdinand I of Naples finally absorbed the principality into his kingdom upon the death of his wife Isabella of Clermont in 1465, ending its independent existence. The title of Prince of Taranto was subsequently granted to royal sons, beginning with the future Alfonso II of Naples.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory