NAP 
built up, and the Neapolitans prepared for their defence, 
Exafperated at their perfidy, he renewed his attacks with 
vigour, but without any fuccefs ; the befieged defending 
themfelves with the utmoll obftinacy. At laft, perceiv¬ 
ing that they fliould not be able to hold out much longer, 
they confented to a peace on the following conditions, 
viz. That the Neapolitans fhould pay an annual tribute 
to the princes of Benevento, and confent to the tranf- 
porting of the body of St. Januarius from his church 
without the walls of Naples to Benevent'o. Thefe con¬ 
ditions being ratified, Sico returned with great honour 
to Benevento ; but foon after renewed the war, under 
pretence that the Neapolitans had negleCted to pay the 
ftipulated fum; and hoftilities continued till his death, 
which happened in 233. 
Sico was fucceeded in the government of Benevento by 
his fon Sicardo, who had married the daughter of Dau- 
ferius; and, being influenced by the evil counfels of Rof- 
frid’s his wife’s brother, opprefled his fubjeCls to fuch a 
degree, that they confpired againft his life. He befieged 
Naples with a powerful army, and took pofleflion of Acerra 
and Ateila, both of which he fortified. But Bonus, the 
Neapolitan duke, defended himfelf fo vigoroufly, that the 
Beneventans were obliged to retire, and even to abandon 
Acerra and Ateila, the fortifications of which were imme¬ 
diately demolifhed. At laft Sicardo agreed to a peace for 
five years, on the interceflion of Lothaire, emperor and 
king of Italy ; but his chief motive was thought to have 
been the fear of the Saracens, whom the duke of Naples 
had called over from Africa to his afliftance; for no 
fooner were they fent back, than Sicardo attempted to 
delay the concluiion of the treaty; but, the emperor in- 
terpofing his authority, a peace was concluded in the 
year 836, after the war had continued, with very little 
intermiflion, for fixteen years. 
Soon after the conclufion of this peace, the Saracens 
landed at Brindifi; and, having made themfelves mailers 
of the place, ravaged all the neighbouring country. Si¬ 
cardo marched againft them with a numerous army; but 
the Saracens, having dug a great number of ditches which 
they flightly covered over, found means to draw the Be¬ 
neventans in among them, whereby they were repulled 
with great lofs. However, Sicardo, having reinforced his 
army, marched again to attack them; but the Saracens, 
defpairing of fuccefs, pillaged and burnt Brindifi, and 
then retired with their booty, and a great many captives, 
to Sicily. Sicardo, then, without any apparent provoca¬ 
tion, attacked the city of Amalfi, levelled its walls with 
the ground, carried off all its wealth, and the body of its 
tutelar faint, Triphomen. A great many of the inhabi¬ 
tants were tranfported to Salerno ; and, by promoting al¬ 
liances between the inhabitants of both places, he en¬ 
deavoured to unite Amalfi to his own principality as 
firmly as pofiible. 
During all thefe tranfa&ions, Sicardo had tyrannized 
over his fubjeCls in fuch a manner, that at laft he became 
intolerable. Amongother aCls of injuftice, he impril'oned 
his own brother Siconolphus ; compelled him to turn 
rieft; and afterwards fent him bound to Tarento, where 
e caufedliim to be fhut up in an old tower that had been 
built for a ciftern. By fuch aCls of tyranny his nobles 
were provoked to conlpire againft him ; and in the year 
839 he was murdered in his tent. 
On the death of Sicardo, Radelchis, his fecretary or 
treafurer, was unanimoufly elected prince of Benevento; 
but Siconolphus, the laft king’s brother, having regained 
his liberty, formed a great party againft the new prince. 
Radelchis did not fail to oppole him with a formidable 
army; and a moil ruinous civil war enfued. Both parties 
by turns called in the Saracens ; and thefe treacherous al¬ 
lies aCled fometimes againft one,andfometimes againft the 
other ; or turned their arms againft both, as feemed moil 
fuitable to their own intereft. Thus the war continued 
with the utmoft animofity for twelve years, during which 
Vol. XVI. No. 1x33. 
L E S. - 533 
time the principality was almofl entirely ruined ; till at 
lall, the emperor Louis interpofed, and obliged the com¬ 
petitors to agree to a partition of the principality. By 
this treaty, Radelchis promifed to acknowledge Siconol¬ 
phus and his fuccefl'ors as lawful princes of the princi¬ 
pality of Salerno, which was declared to contain Tarento, 
Latiano, Caffano, Cofl’enzo, Laino, Lucadia, Confia, Mon- 
tella, Rota, Salerno, Sarno, Ciraterium, Furculo, Capua, 
Feano, Sora, and the half of the Gaftaldate of Acerenza, 
where it joins Latiano and Confia. The boundary be¬ 
twixt Benevento and Capua was fixed at St. Angelo ad 
Cerros ; Alii Peregrini was made the boundary betwixt 
Benevento and Salerno, and Staffilo betwixt Benevento 
and Confia. The monafteries of Monte Caflino and St. 
Vincent were declared to be immediately under the pro¬ 
tection of the emperor: both princes llipulated that no 
hoftilities fliould be committed by either, againft the fub¬ 
jeCls of each other ; and promifed to join their forces in 
order to drive out the Saracens. Soon after this pacifica¬ 
tion, however, both Radelchis and Siconolphus died; the 
former appointing his fon Radelgarius, or Radelcar, to 
fucceed him ; and the latter leaving an infant fon, Sico, 
to the care of his godfather Peter. 
The war with the Saracens proved very unfuccefsful: 
neither the united efforts of the princes, nor the aflift¬ 
ance of the emperor Louis himfelf, being able to expel 
the infidels; and in 854, Adelgife, the fecond fon of Ra¬ 
delchis, who had now fucceeded, on the death of his 
brother Radelcar, to the principality of Benevento, was 
obliged to pay them an annual fubfidy. Two years after, 
Lando count of Capua revolted from the prince of Sa¬ 
lerno, and could not be reduced. In the mean time, 
Sico, the lawful prince of Salerno, had been poifoned by 
count Lando, and the principality ufurped by Ademarius, 
the fon of Peter above mentioned ; but, in 861, Adema¬ 
rius himfelf was feized and imprifoned by Gauferius, the 
fon of Dauferius formerly mentioned. This was occa- 
fioned by his cruelty and rapacioufnefs, which entirely 
alienated the hearts of his fubjeCls from him, and encou¬ 
raged Gauferius to become the head of the confpirators. 
The Saracens in the mean time committed terrible ra¬ 
vages throughout the Beneventah territories; which at 
lalt obliged Adelgife to enter into an alliance with Gau¬ 
ferius, and both together lent a moll humble embafly to 
the emperor Louis, requefting him to take them under 
his protection. About the fame time an embafly arrived 
from Conllantinople, propofing a junction of the forces of 
the eaftern and weftern empires againft the infidels ; upon 
which Louis gave orders for aflembling a formidable army. 
But, in the mean time, Adelgife fell off from his alliance, 
and made peace with the Saracens; nay, according to 
fome, he encouraged them in their incurfions ; and it was 
at his defire that they invaded the duchy of Capua, and 
afterwards that of Naples, which they ravaged in a moft 
barbarous manner. The Neapolitants, in conjunction 
with the duke of Spoletoand the count of Marfi, endea¬ 
voured to oppofe them ; but, being defeated, the Saracens 
continued their ravages with redoubled fury, and retired 
to Bari, which was their capital city, with an immenfc 
booty. 
In 866, Louis arrived at Sora with his army; and, hav¬ 
ing marched to Capua, was there joined by Landulph, 
the bilhop and count, with a body of Capuans ; but, Lan¬ 
dulph foon after perfuading his countrymen to defert, 
Louis marched againft that city, which he took after a 
a liege of three months, and almoll totally deftroyed. At 
the end of the year he" was joined by Gauferius with his 
quota of troops, having ordered the eyes of Ademarius 
to be put out in his ablence. Louis confirmed him in the 
principality, and marched with his army to Benevento, 
where Adelgife received him with great refpeCl. Having 
reduced fome inconfiderable places belonging to the Sara¬ 
cens, Louis loon after invefted Bari; but, as the Saracens 
received continual fupplies front their countrymen fet- 
6 U tied' 
