John III of Naples
Encyclopedia
John III was the longest-reigning Duke of Naples (928–968). He was the son and successor of Marinus I
.
At the beginning of his reign, he warred against the Saracens and then made a treaty with them after they appeared beneath his walls in 929. He then allied with Lombards
Atenulf III of Benevento
, with whom he signed a pact, and Landulf I
, joint-prince of Benevento, against the Byzantines
. A Greek force was sent to Apulia
and the rebellious vassals were constrained to recognise the authority of the emperor in Constantinople
. John then confirmed a treaty with the princes salve fidelitate sanctorum imperatorum.
In 946, he allied with Landulf II of Benevento
in an invasion of Salerno
with the intent of deposing Prince Gisulf I
. They were defeated by an army of Mastalus I of Amalfi
and John retired to Naples. Landulf turned around and joined with Gisulf in attacking the Neapolitan duchy. They took Nola
.
In 949, John made a donation to the church of Saints Severinus and Sossus, which had possibly been founded by one of his predecessors. In 950, he himself founded the church of Saint Michael Porta Nova in Naples. In 955, he attempted again to throw off the imperial yoke and again an army was sent to Italy under the strategos
of Calabria
and Langobardia, Marinus Argyrus. Refused entry into Naples, it landed in the harbour and pillaged the city, forcing John to submit. In 962, however, John switched his allegiance to the new emperor in the West, Otto I
. In 958, Naples was subject to another Muslim siege.
John's wife was the Roman
senatrix Theodora, daughter of the famous Theodora and Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum
. John was thus related by marriage to the famed Marozia
. He sent his son Landulf to be raised in Rome by Marozia. His sister Orania married Docibilis II of Gaeta
, cementing alliance between Gaeta
and Naples. His elder son, Marinus
, would succeed him in Naples. In 944, Marinus was appointed co-duke, and, in that same year, Odo of Cluny
visited and influenced John to affirm the possessions of the monasteries in his domains.
John was a man of letters and an amateur philosopher. He and Theodora commissioned the archpriest Leo to go to Constantinople as ambassador and bring back as many Greek manuscripts as possible. Leo returned with the Chronographia of Theophanes
, the Antiquities of the Jews
by Flavius Josephus, De Prodigiis by Livy
, the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
, and the Historia Alexandri Magni. After Theodora's death, John took to reading and theorising, contemplation and translation into Latin, according to Leo. He is owed a debt to this day for his translation work.
An interesting anecdote is told of this duke by Peter Damian
. The legend probably dates from 981 and may have basis in historical fact. In a vision, John saw a group of devils leading a line of horses drawing carts full of hay for the purpose of burning Pandulf Ironhead
, the deceased prince of Capua, and himself, still very alive. John decided then and there to abdicate, but only with the permission of the Emperor Otto II first. This he died before receiving.
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Marinus I of Naples
Marinus I was the Duke of Naples from 919 to his death. He was the second son of Gregory IV and successor of his brother John II. The Chronicon ducum et principum Beneventi, Salerni, et Capuae et ducum Neapolis calls him Marianus. According to that document, he reigned eight years, nine months,...
.
At the beginning of his reign, he warred against the Saracens and then made a treaty with them after they appeared beneath his walls in 929. He then allied with Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
Atenulf III of Benevento
Atenulf III of Benevento
Atenulf III, called Carinola, was the co-prince of Capua and Benevento from 933, when his father, Landulf I, and uncle, Atenulf II, made him so. His younger brother Landulf the Red succeeded co-prince Atenulf in 939 or 940. When the elder Landulf died on 10 April 943, the younger Landulf removed...
, with whom he signed a pact, and Landulf I
Landulf I of Benevento
Landulf I , sometimes called Antipater, was a Lombard nobleman and the Prince of Benevento and of Capua from 12 January 901, when his father, Atenulf I, prince of Capua and conqueror of Benevento, associated his with him in power...
, joint-prince of Benevento, against the Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. A Greek force was sent to Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
and the rebellious vassals were constrained to recognise the authority of the emperor in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. John then confirmed a treaty with the princes salve fidelitate sanctorum imperatorum.
In 946, he allied with Landulf II of Benevento
Landulf II of Benevento
Landulf II , called the Red, was the Lombard prince of Benevento and prince of Capua from 939 or 940, when his father, Landulf I, first associated him with the government, his mother was Gemma, daughter of Athanasius of Naples. He may have been associated as early as 933, when his elder brother,...
in an invasion of Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
with the intent of deposing Prince Gisulf I
Gisulf I of Salerno
Gisulf I was the eldest son of his father, Guaimar II, and his second wife Gaitelgrima. He was associated with his father as prince of Salerno in 943 and he succeeded him on his death in 952...
. They were defeated by an army of Mastalus I of Amalfi
Mastalus I of Amalfi
Mastalus I was the penultimate patricius of Amalfi. He was succeeded by his son, Mastalus II, who was raised to the status of dux. His own father was the last prefect, Manso I....
and John retired to Naples. Landulf turned around and joined with Gisulf in attacking the Neapolitan duchy. They took Nola
Nola
Nola is a city and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines...
.
In 949, John made a donation to the church of Saints Severinus and Sossus, which had possibly been founded by one of his predecessors. In 950, he himself founded the church of Saint Michael Porta Nova in Naples. In 955, he attempted again to throw off the imperial yoke and again an army was sent to Italy under the strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
of Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
and Langobardia, Marinus Argyrus. Refused entry into Naples, it landed in the harbour and pillaged the city, forcing John to submit. In 962, however, John switched his allegiance to the new emperor in the West, Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
. In 958, Naples was subject to another Muslim siege.
John's wife was the Roman
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
senatrix Theodora, daughter of the famous Theodora and Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum
Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum
Theophylact I was a medieval Count of Tusculum who served Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor as judex and then was elected to head Rome as consul by the city's nobility in 915, an appointment that was confirmed by the Pope. He also was styled as senator, glorissimus dux, judex dativus, and magister...
. John was thus related by marriage to the famed Marozia
Marozia
Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza , was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles senatrix and patricia of Rome by Pope John X.Edward Gibbon wrote of her that the "influence of two sister prostitutes,...
. He sent his son Landulf to be raised in Rome by Marozia. His sister Orania married Docibilis II of Gaeta
Docibilis II of Gaeta
Docibilis II was the ruler of Gaeta, in one capacity or another, from 906 until his death. He was the son of the hypatus John I, who made him co-ruler in 906 or thereabouts....
, cementing alliance between Gaeta
Duchy of Gaeta
The Duchy of Gaeta was an early medieval state centred on the coastal South Italian city of Gaeta. It began in the early ninth century as the local community began to grow autonomous as Byzantine power lagged in the Mediterranean and the peninsula thanks to Lombard and Saracen incursions.Our...
and Naples. His elder son, Marinus
Marinus II of Naples
Marinus II was the Duke of Naples from 968 to his death. He was the son and successor of John III and brought Naples back into the Byzantine fold, receiving the title eminentissimus consul et dux, atque imperialis anthipatus patricius. In 970, Marinus did homage for his duchy to the patrician...
, would succeed him in Naples. In 944, Marinus was appointed co-duke, and, in that same year, Odo of Cluny
Odo of Cluny
Saint Odo of Cluny , a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, was the second abbot of Cluny. He enacted various reforms in the Cluniac monastery system of France and Italy....
visited and influenced John to affirm the possessions of the monasteries in his domains.
John was a man of letters and an amateur philosopher. He and Theodora commissioned the archpriest Leo to go to Constantinople as ambassador and bring back as many Greek manuscripts as possible. Leo returned with the Chronographia of Theophanes
Theophanes the Confessor
Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...
, the Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews
Antiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
by Flavius Josephus, De Prodigiis by Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, was a Christian theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the Corpus Areopagiticum . The author is identified as "Dionysos" in the corpus, which later incorrectly came to be attributed to Dionysius...
, and the Historia Alexandri Magni. After Theodora's death, John took to reading and theorising, contemplation and translation into Latin, according to Leo. He is owed a debt to this day for his translation work.
An interesting anecdote is told of this duke by Peter Damian
Peter Damian
Saint Peter Damian, O.S.B. was a reforming monk in the circle of Pope Gregory VII and a cardinal. In 1823, he was declared a Doctor of the Church...
. The legend probably dates from 981 and may have basis in historical fact. In a vision, John saw a group of devils leading a line of horses drawing carts full of hay for the purpose of burning Pandulf Ironhead
Pandulf Ironhead
Pandulf I Ironhead was the Prince of Benevento and Capua from 943 until his death. He was made Duke of Spoleto and Camerino in 967 and succeeded as Prince of Salerno in 977 or 978...
, the deceased prince of Capua, and himself, still very alive. John decided then and there to abdicate, but only with the permission of the Emperor Otto II first. This he died before receiving.
Sources
- Caravale, Mario (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani LV Ginammi – Giovanni da Crema. Rome: 2000.
- Chalandon, Ferdinand. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie. Paris: 1907.
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