About the book: 2005 / The book tells about the rise and short-lived greatness of the House of Hauteville. About how in one generation the sons of Tancred turned from small landowners into kings of the richest island. Northern adventurers became sultans in the eastern capital. The pirates joined the culture of the Arab court. The marauders who burned Rome received from the hands of the pope a miter and a dalmatic - symbols of church power.