born Dec. 22, 1095
died Feb. 26, 1154, Palermo
Grand count of Sicily (1105–30) and king of Sicily (1130–54).
The son of Roger I , he was a capable and energetic ruler who incorporated the mainland territories of Calabria (1122) and Apulia (1127). He was crowned king by the antipope Anacletus II , and he forced Innocent II to confirm him in 1139. He built a powerful navy but refused to join the Second Crusade , preferring as the ruler of a largely Arab population to show tolerance toward Muslims. He promulgated a law code (1140), and his court was an intellectual center for both Arab and Western scholars.