During the 6th century BC, the town—then likely the Omphace described by Pausanias—was abandoned and was rebuilt only during the period of Timoleon, shortly after the middle of the fourth century BC It was, however, a small village inhabited by farmers, subject to external aggression throughout the early Middle Ages. Butera, being situated close to Gela, one of the most prominent ancient Greek cities of Sicily under Magna Graecia, was itself settled by Greeks, especially from Crete. The dialect spoken in the region was Doric Greek. Butera was captured by the Aghlabids during the Muslim conquest of Sicily, following a 5-month siege in 853. Out of the three valli of Sicily, it was part of the Val di Noto, in the southeastern corner of the island. Following the fall of Butera to the Normans in 1091, the town's Muslim leaders were resettled in Calabria to prevent them from fomenting rebellion among the rest of the population. However, a mosque in the town is recorded even in the 12th century, as with certain other Sicilian cities such as Catania, Syracuse, Segesta and Alcamo. It was one of the last Muslim strongholds to fall, due to stubborn resistance, and was described as "one of the strongest outposts of anti-Norman sentiment." A notable Buteresi of the Norman period was 12th century poet and Quran reciter 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muhammed ibn 'Umar al-Buthayri, who wrote: "No life can be serene, save that in the shadows of sweet Sicily." Following Butera's conquest by the Normans, it became an important Lombard town and indeed was the capital of the prominent under the Aleramici, a noble Northwest Italian family of Frankish origin, as well as the Alagona, an Aragonese family, from 1089 to 1392. Settlers from Northern Italy (including Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna) as well as southern France migrated to the county, which is reflected in the presence of Gallo-Italic dialects which are still spoken in certain Sicilian towns such as Piazza Armerina and Aidone. Butera itself was re-populated with Swabians from southern Germany following its destruction by William I as a reaction to anti-monarchical resistance in 1161. In 1392, the Alagona family lost possession of the County following their defeat by Martin I, and was passed to the Catalan prince Ugo of Santapau. In 1543, Ambrogio Santapau was nominated Prince of Butera, after defeating Hayreddin Barbarossa, the Ottoman pirate. Up until the 19th century, this