William II of Sicily in the context of "Monreale Cathedral"

The County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos existed from 1185 to 1479 as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The title and the right to rule the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos was originally given to Margaritus of Brindisi for his services to William II, King of Sicily, in 1185.

Following Margaritus, the county passed on to a branch of the Orsini family until 1325, when it passed briefly to Angevins and then, from 1357, to the Tocco family. The Tocco used the county as a springboard for their acquisition of lands in the Greek mainland, and were successful in gaining control over the Despotate of Epirus in 1411. However, facing the advance of the Ottoman Turks they successively lost their mainland territories and were once again reduced to the County Palatine, which they held until 1479, when it was divided between Venice and the Ottomans. Zakynthos was put under the direct rule of Venice.

Andronikos I Komnenos (Greek: Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός, romanized: Andrónikos Komnēnós; c. 1118/1120 – 12 September 1185), Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. A nephew of John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143), Andronikos rose to fame in the reign of his cousin Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), during which his life was marked by political failures, adventures, scandalous romances, and rivalry with the emperor.

After Manuel's death in 1180, the elderly Andronikos rose to prominence as the accession of the young Alexios II Komnenos led to power struggles in Constantinople. In 1182, Andronikos seized power in the capital, ostensibly as a guardian of the young emperor. Andronikos swiftly and ruthlessly eliminated his political rivals, including Alexios II's mother and regent, Maria of Antioch. In September 1183, Andronikos was crowned as co-emperor and had Alexios murdered, assuming power in his own name. Andronikos staunchly opposed the powerful Byzantine aristocracy and enacted brutal measures to curb their influence. Although he faced several revolts and the empire became increasingly unstable, his reforms had a favorable effect on the common citizenry. The capture of Thessaloniki by William II of Sicily in 1185 turned the people of Constantinople against Andronikos, who was captured and brutally murdered.

Maria Komnene (or Comnena) (Greek: Μαρία Κομνηνή, Maria Komnēnē; Constantinople, March 1152 – July 1182) was the eldest daughter of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos by his first wife, Bertha of Sulzbach. She was known as the Porphyrogennete (Πορφυρογέννητη) or Porphyrogenita because she had been "born in the Purple Chamber", i.e. born in the Palace at Constantinople to the wife of a reigning emperor.

Maria was probably born in March 1152. According to Cinnamus, she was given the title Augusta at her birth. In 1163 she was engaged to the future King Béla III of Hungary; Manuel, no longer expecting to father a legitimate son, was at that time ready to designate Béla (whom he had given the new court dignity of despotes and had renamed "Alexios") as his eventual successor. This engagement was broken off in 1169, soon after Manuel's son Alexios was born. Maria was then engaged to King William II of Sicily, but this engagement, too, was broken off by her father. Finally, in 1179, Maria was married to Renier of Montferrat, who was renamed "John" and given the title of Caesar.

Monreale (/ˌmɒnriˈæl/; Italian pronunciation: [monreˈaːle]; Sicilian: Murriali) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, Southern Italy. It is located 310 meters (1017.06 ft) above the sea level on the slope of Mount Caputo, a small promontory overlooking the valley of Palermo, from which it is approximately 7 km (4 miles) to the south.

The town developed on a site used by the Norman kings for hunting. They built a royal palace there, hence the name Mons Regalis. The city gained great importance when king William II of Sicily built Monreale Cathedral with the adjoining Benedictine monastery. In 1183, it became the seat of the archbishop.

Margaritus of Brindisi (also Margarito; Italian: Margaritone, Greek: Megareites or Margaritoni [Μαργαριτώνη]; c. 1149 – 1197), called "the new Neptune", was the last great ammiratus ammiratorum (Grand Admiral) of the Kingdom of Sicily. Following in the footsteps of Christodulus, George of Antioch and Maio of Bari, Margaritus commanded the kingdom's fleets during the reigns of William II (1166–1189) and Tancred (1189–1194). He probably began as a Greek pirate and gradually rose to the rank of privateer before becoming a permanent admiral of the navy. In 1185, he became the first count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos. In 1192, he became the first Count of Malta.

Hugo Falcandus was a historian who chronicled the reigns of William I of Sicily and the minority of his son William II in a highly critical work entitled The History of the Tyrants of Sicily (or Liber de Regno Sicilie). The Latin of the work is polished. There is some doubt as to whether "Hugo Falcandus" is a real name or a pseudonym. Evelyn Jamison argued that he was Eugenius, amiratus from 1190. The Frenchman Hugues Foucaud (Hugo Fulcaudus), abbot of Saint-Denis, has been proposed as an author. His name, Falcandus, is apparently a cacography for Falcaudus, Latin for "Foucaud", a French surname. According to Graham Loud, "Hugo Falcandus", was a native of the Kingdom of Sicily rather than someone from northern Europe.

The History covers the period from the death of Roger II in 1154 to the majority of William II, in 1169. Hugo concentrates on the internal politics of the Palermitan Norman court. Intrigues and scandals are never ignored. He has a low opinion of most of his contemporaries and ascribes villainous intent to next to all actions. Nevertheless, his detailed account is so far above other narratives of like time and place that he cannot on grounds of bias be overlooked. According to Lord Norwich, he "has been compared to Tacitus and Thucydides."