Roger III, Duke of Apulia

Roger III
Hauteville coat of arms
duke of Apulia and Calabria
Reign	1135 - 1148
Predecessor	Roger II of Sicily
Successor	William I of Sicily
Born	1118
Died	2 or 12 May 1148
Spouse	Isabella of Blois/Champagne (mistress) Emma of Lecce
Issue	Tancred, King of Sicily
House	Hauteville
Father	Roger II of Sicily
Mother	Elvira of Castile

Roger III (1118 – 2 or 12 May 1148) was the Norman duke of Apulia from 1135. He was the eldest son of King Roger II of Sicily and Elvira of Castile.

Roger makes his first appearance in the chronicles at Melfi in 1129, jointly accepting with his father and his younger brother Tancred the fealty of the rebellious peninsular barons. After his investiture as duke of Apulia in 1135, where he was perhaps put under the tutelage or guardianship of Robert of Selby, he took part in his father's campaigns there, distinguishing himself in the campaigns of 1137 against Ranulf of Alife, whom Pope Innocent II and the Emperor Lothair II had invested as rival duke of Apulia. His first major engagement was the Battle of Rignano on 30 October; a battle in which more experienced warriors, like his father, fled and some, like Duke Sergius VII of Naples, died. Roger's bravery, and success in the first charge, at Rignano solidified his martial reputation early.

After Ranulf's death (1139), Apulia was secured, but Innocent and the dispossessed Prince Robert II of Capua began to march on the prince's nominal capital. At Galluccio, Roger ambushed the papal troops with only a thousand knights and captured the pope and his entourage. Three days later, on July 25 at Mignano, Innocent confirmed the elder Roger as king, the younger as duke, and the third son, Alfonso, as prince of Capua—officially severing Robert from his support. Next, Duke Roger took the city of Naples into his possession and made it an integral part of the kingdom, ending the republican government which had continued after Sergius' death.