Marinus II was the Duke of Naples from 968 to his death. He was the son and successor of John III

John III of Naples

John III was the longest-reigning Duke of Naples . 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...

 and brought Naples back into the Byzantine fold

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...

, receiving the title eminentissimus consul et dux, atque imperialis anthipatus patricius. In 970, Marinus did homage for his duchy to the patrician Eugene after the imprisonment of 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...

. He then participated in the siege of Capua

Capua

Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...

. He devastated the surrounding countryside and took an enormous booty before an army of Otto the Great forced the Greeks to retreat. In 974, Marinus allied with Manso I of Amalfi

Manso I of Amalfi

Manso I was the duke of Amalfi and prince of Salerno . He was the son of Duke Sergius I and the greatest independent ruler of Amalfi, which he controlled for nearly half a century...

 and Landulf of Conza

Landulf of Conza

Landulf of Conza , a Lombard nobleman, was briefly Prince of Benevento in 940 and then briefly Prince of Salerno in 973. The son of Atenulf II of Benevento, Landulf ruled on his father's death as co-prince with his uncle, Landulf I, who soon sent him into exile...

 to depose Gisulf I of Salerno

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, however, by the intervention of Pandulf Ironhead. On 4 November 981, the Emperor Otto II was in Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, probably with the permission of Marinus, who was moving away from his pro-Byzantine policy. He died in 997 and was succeeded by his son Sergius III

Sergius III of Naples

Sergius III was a duke of Naples. He was preceded by his father Marinus II and succeeded by John IV....

.

In 975, Marinus made a donation to the urban church of Saints Severinus and Sossus in Naples.

Sources

• Gay, Jules. L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre II. New York: Burt Franklin, 1904.
• Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Southern Italy.