The Normans appeared in southern Italy in the early 11th century. They came to this country for various purposes. Their original goal was not to conquer territory, but pilgrimage, warfare, and political asylum. The thought of conquest was raised by the locals, who were hired as soldiers. In about a hundred years, they managed to conquer most of southern Italy and later Sicily, thus they managed "to take" the territory from the hands of the Byzantines and the Arabs. Nevertheless, Arab and Byzantine culture and tradition were preserved until 1130, when the Norman Kingdom of Sicily was founded. Influences from Byzantium and the Arab world played a key part of the kingdom and the establishment of the Normans in the Western world. In the administration - which under the two rulers was first modelled on the Arab system of administration and later on the Byzantine system - we have seen experienced officials who helped run it. Their experience and knowledge gained in the Arab world and the Byzantine Empire, as well as the transfer of their own culture to the new administration, led to the latter being considered one of the forerunners of modern governments. As a result, it had a great influence on the administrations of the Western world, especially on the French, German, and even English administrations. The emergence of influences in art made it possible to create so-called Norman-Arab art. Thus, in individual architectural and painting monuments of that time, influences from the Byzantine and Arab worlds, and partly also from northern France can be found. The Norman rulers consciously commissioned and built monuments as they were aware of the political role they played. The monuments represented their power and rule in the conquered territory. The development of science, however, was based on the works of Arab and Byzantine writers, who consequently contributed to a very widespread translation activity. The development of science was marked mainly by the city of Salerno, which was the center of medical knowledge, and by the city of Palermo, where Muhammad al-Idrisi worked. He wrote one of the most important geographical works. Influences from Byzantium and the Arab world were taken over - to some extent even appropriated - by the Normans. On the basis of these influences they built their Norman kingdom, renowned for its political power and cultural wealth.
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