The International Influence of Sicilians

[alfieb]

Outside of Sicily, and indeed our neighbors in Italy, the influence of Sicilians can be seen throughout the world.

This thread is here to showcase just some of the broad impact the Sicilian people have had outside of our own homeland. In other words, this thread isn't to discuss the numerous Catholic Popes who were from Sicily, or great inventors like Archimedes whose works changed the world - because they lived in what is today the Republic of Italy.




Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, two Sicilian brothers whose family are from Cefalu [Palermo] own the UFC, and previously owned Strikeforce, Pride FC, and WEC before merging them into the UFC. When the brothers purchased the UFC in January of 2001, it was only worth two million dollars, whereas now the company is estimated to be valued in the billions.




Cardinal Giulio Mazzarini, whose father was from Mazzarino [Caltanissetta], was the Prime Minister of France for twenty years under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV, and tutored the latter, who had been a child, and later went on to become one of the most powerful and longest-reigning kings in history.




Dionysus the Elder, a Sicilian dictator from Syracuse, founded the city of Lissos, now Lezhe (Albania), the home of the Kastrioti family, including Skanderbeg, the national hero of the Albanians, who was buried there.




Gawhar al-Siqilli (Jawhar the Sicilian), born to a Greek-speaking Christian family, became a great Shi'ite Muslim general under the Arab caliphate, and founded the city of Cairo (Egypt), now the largest city in Africa and called the "Capital of the Arab World". Alongside building Cairo, which took four years, he also founded the Al-Azhar Mosque, one of the most famous in the world.




Martin Scorsese, whose parents were both Palermitan, is an American filmmaker. Known for his films, such as "Taxi Driver", "Raging Bull", "The Last Temptation of Christ", "Goodfellas", "Cape Fear", "Casino", "Gangs of New York" and "The Departed", Scorsese is considered one of the greatest American film directors of all-time.




Antonin Scalia, whose father was an immigrant from Sicily, has been a member of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1986, making him the longest-tenured member on the court. Considered the most conservative member of the court, he has had a profound influence on American law, and on American lawyers as a whole.

[wvwvw]

Gawhar al-Siqilli (Jawhar the Sicilian), born to a Greek-speaking Christian family, became a great Shi'ite Muslim general under the Arab caliphate, and founded the city of Cairo (Egypt), now the largest city in Africa and called the "Capital of the Arab World". Alongside building Cairo, which took four years, he also founded the Al-Azhar Mosque, one of the most famous in the world.

Interesting. Never heard of him before!

I've found some more info about him:

Jawhar ibn Abdallah, surnamed al-Siqilli, born early 10th century, died 992),[1] was the most important military leader in Fatimid history.[2] He led the conquest of North Africa[3] and then of Egypt, founded the city of Cairo[4] and the great al-Azhar mosque.

^ Saunders, John Joseph (1990). A History of Medieval Islam. Routledge. p. 133. ISBN 0415059143. "Under Mu’izz (955-975) the Fatimids reached the height of their glory, and the universal triumph of isma ‘ilism appeared not far distant.

"The fourth Fatimid Caliph is an attractive character: humane and generous, simple and just, he was a good administrator, tolerant and conciliatory. Served by one of the greatest generals of the age, Jawhar al-Rumi, a former Greek slave, he took fullest advantage of the growing confusion in the Sunnite world."

^ Khan, H.S.H. Prince Aly S. (1973). The Great Ismaili heroes: contains the life sketches and the works of thirty great Ismaili figures. H.S.H. Prince Aly S. Khan Cology Religious Night School. p. 23. OCLC 18340773. "Jawhar was a European mamluk (of Greek origin. Arab historians called these Western Byzantines as Rumis), in the sense he was brought as a slave to Qayrwan, the then capital of the Fatimids in the North Western Africa."

^ Watterson, Barbara (1998). The Egyptians. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 257. ISBN 0631211950. "In AD 969, a Fatimid army of 100,000 men entered Egypt, led by the greatest general of the day, Gohar al-Siqilli al-Rumi, who, as his name makes clear, was of Christian slave origin, al-Siqilli meaning ‘the Sicilian' and al-Rumi ‘the Greek'."

^ Collomb, Rodney (2006). The rise and fall of the Arab Empire and the founding of Western pre-eminence. Spellmount. p. 73. ISBN 1862273278. "a Greek mercenary born in Sicily, and his 100000-man army had little"

^ Asante, Molefi K. (2002). Culture and customs of Egypt. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 15. ISBN 0313317402. "Al-Mo'izz, the Fatimid leader, put an army of 100000 men at the disposal of a converted Greek named Gohar"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawhar_al-Siqilli

^ Chodorow, Stanley – Knox, MacGregor – Shirokauer, Conrad – Strayer, Joseph R. – Gatzke, Hans W. (1994). The Mainstream of Civilization. Harcourt Press. p. 209. ISBN 0155011979. "The architect of his military system was a general named Jawhar, an islamicized Greek slave who had led the conquest of North Africa and then of Egypt"

[alfieb]

Any good general with an 100,000 man army at his disposal has the potential to be quite dangerous. Unfortunately for Sunni Muslims, Gowhar the Sicilian was, and he was their enemy.

[wvwvw]

A slave who rose to become one of "the most important military leader in Fatimid history, led the conquest of North Africa, and then of Egypt, founded the city of Cairo, and the great al-Azhar mosque".now that's impressive

[alfieb]

Yeah, I read on an Ismaili site that he is considered one of the main heroes of Shi'a Islam. Yet most people have never heard of him. I guess it's because Sunnis make up like 90% of Muslims, and Muslims make up less than one percent of modern-day Sicilians.

[Peyrol]

You forgot Ettore Majorana...without him, no atomic weapons for USA...

[alfieb]

Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, a Palermitan chef, founded Café Procope, the oldest restaurant in Paris that is still open today, in 1686. It is still a popular attraction.



Methodius was a Syracusan priest who became the Patriarch of Constantinople (in present day, de-facto leader of the Orthodox faith). He was responsible for the end of the Byzantine Iconoclasm (destruction of religious symbols and relics) in 843. He is considered a saint by both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.