In 1121, Count Roger II of Sicily invaded the Basilicata to annex the county of Montescaglioso which had formerly been held by his sister Emma in right of her deceased husband Rudolf Maccabeus.
In the spring of 1129, Roger entered the peninsula with a great army to claim Apulia after William's death (1127).
There he "dug in," as Lord Norwich informs, and took command of the Apulian rebels, who held Melfi, Venosa, Barletta, and many other cities.
Roger fell on them and took the central cities, cutting Tancred off from his Capuan allies and then isolated Montepeloso itself.
[T]he King decreed that Roger should forthwith be hanged by the neck, and that Tancred himself, with his own hand, should pull on the rope.