Duchy of Naples

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Byzantine emperors did not cease to consider its land as part of their, also Roman, empire. Under Emperor Justinian I (527-565), finally, favorable conditions developed for the subordination of independent barbarian kingdoms to Constantinople. As a result of the twenty-year Byzantine-Gothic wars, the Byzantine Empire liquidated the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and established its full control over Italy . However, thirteen years passed, and in 568-572, after the death of Emperor Justinian I , the Lombards conquered the whole of Northern and most of the rest of Italy and created their own Lombard Kingdom .

At that time, Naples was a significant city with a population of 30,000–35,000 people, and it managed to remain unchallenged by the Lombards.

To effectively fight the new opponents, the lands of Central and Southern Italy, which remained under the control of Byzantium, were united into the so-called Ravenna Exarchate , whose ruler enjoyed almost imperial power.

In 615, Naples rebelled against the exarch . After the suppression of the uprising, the exarch Eleutherius established in Naples in 638 a new administrative unit - the duchy led by dooku (the Greek title " duka " is equivalent to the western " duke "). The Neapolitan Duca was appointed to his post by the exarch and submitted to the Byzantine stratigum of Sicily . The duchy, established in this way, covered an area roughly corresponding to the modern province of Naples , and included, in addition to the cities, the surroundings of Vesuvius , the Sorrento , Giuliano , Aversa , Afragola , Nola , as well as the islands of Ischia and Procida .

In 661, Emperor Constant II , the only of the Byzantine emperors who moved to Italy, granted Naples the right to self-government. The Neapolitan Duke Basil , had considerable power, and Gaeta and Amalfi came under the control of the duchy. During this era, the Duchy of Naples continued to remain Greek in population and language, and emperor profiles and Greek inscriptions were minted on local coins.

In the 8th century, Naples gradually got out of the control of Byzantium and took over the patronage of the popes . Duke John I ( 711 - 719 years ) appointed by Byzantium in his struggle against the Lombards did not wait for help from the emperor, but received support from Rome . The beginning of the iconoclastic turmoil in Byzantium led to the breakup of popes with Byzantium, and the example of pontiffs was followed by the Neapolitan dukes. In 763, Duke Stefan II recognized the sovereignty of the popes over Naples. The reign of Stephen II meant for Naples a turn from iconoclastic Byzantium to papal Rome.

At the beginning of the 9th century, the Latin language supplants Greek from official documents, Neapolitan coins begin to be minted with Latin inscriptions, and Saint Januarius , the patron saint of the city, takes the place of the emperor on coins. The documents continued to date from the years of the rule of the Byzantine emperors, but in fact the Byzantines did not have any control over the duchy. So, in 812, the emperor called on his Italian vassals to support the Byzantine fleet in Sicily in the fight against Arab pirates, but the Neapolitan duke Anfim ignored the imperial order. At the same time, the cities of Gaeta and Amalfi , which were part of the duchy, sent their fleet to Sicily. Thus, the Neapolitans demonstrated their independence from Constantinople , and their vassals, on the contrary, fulfilled their duty to the emperor.

In the VIII-IX centuries, the dignity of the duke was not hereditary. In 818, the Stratig of Sicily appointed Feoktist , Duke of Naples, without waiting for the consent of the emperor. Constantinople did not recognize this appointment and sent its duke Theodore II to Naples. In 821, the latter, in turn, was expelled from Naples, and the post passed to Stephen III, chosen by the local population.

In 840, Duke Sergius I entered the Neapolitan throne without waiting for approval in Constantinople . In 850, Sergius I appointed his son co-ruler, marking the beginning of the transfer of power in the duchy by inheritance. During the 9th century, Naples became a strong regional power, taking part in numerous local conflicts. Unlike the shopping centers of Gaeta and Amalfi , which achieved actual independence from the dukes, Naples had a significant navy, which took part in the battle of Ostia against the Saracens in 849 . At certain points, Naples joined forces with Muslims against the strong Lombard neighbors - the principalities of Benevento and Capua . A long confrontation with the latter ultimately led to a decrease in the territory of the duchy.

The heyday of the Duchy of Naples falls on the reign of Duke Bishop Athanasius and his closest successors (two of them, Gregory IV and John II , took part in the Battle of Garigliano in 915). Then the duchy gradually declines, and for a short time ( 1028 - 1029 ) submits to its neighbor Pandulf IV, Prince of Capua , nicknamed "The Wolf of Abruzzi ."

In the fight against Kapui, Duke Sergius IV called for help from the Normans and was the first of the southern Italians to give them flax - the county of Aversu ( 1030 ). To strengthen his ties with the new Count of Aversa, Rainulf Drengo, Sergius IV gave his sister to him as a wife. After her death ( 1034 ), Rainulf went over to the side of Prince Kapui, and the disappointed Sergius IV left power and went to the monastery. The son of Sergius IV, John V entered into an alliance with Prince Salerno, Guemar IV, and managed to maintain the independence of Naples.

As a result of skillful maneuvering, the Neapolitan dukes, longer than all their neighbors, maintained their independence from the Normans. Only in 1137 did Sergius VII recognize Roger II as his overlord, and as his vassal took part in the battle of Rignano against Raynulf Alifansky , in which he died on October 30, 1137 . After the death of the duke in Naples, republican rule was established, but already in 1139 the Neapolitans recognized the power of Roger II. Roger II granted the title of Duke of Naples to his son Alfonso , but the latter ruled Naples only as a royal vassal. After the death of Alfonso in 1144, Naples finally came under the direct control of the crown .

Designated Dukes

• 661 - 666 : Vasily
• 666 - 670 : Theophylact I
• 670 - 673 :: Cosmas
• 673 - 677 : Andrew I
• 677 - 684 : Caesar I
• 684 - 687 : Stephen I
• 687 - 696 : Bonell
• 696 - 706 : Theodosius
• 706 - 711 : Caesar II
• 711 - 719 : John I
• 719 - 729 : Theodore I
• 729 - 739 : George
• 739 - 755 : Gregory I
• 755 - 766 : Stephen II
• 767 - 794 : Gregory II
• 794-801 : Theophylact II
• 801 - 818 : Anfim
• 818 - 821 : Theoctist
• 821 : Theodore II
• 821 - 832 : Stephen III
• 832 - 834 : Bon
• 834 : Leo
• 834 - 840 : Andrew II
• 840 : Counter

Hereditary Dukes

• 840 - 864 : Sergius I
• 864 - 870 : Gregory III
• 870 - 877/878 : Sergius II
• 877/878 - 898 : Athanasius
• 898 - 915 : Gregory IV
• 915 - 919 : John II
• 919 - 928 : Marine I
• 928 - 968 : John III
• 968 - 992 : Marine II
• 992 - 997/999 : Sergius III
• 997/999 - 1002 : John IV
• 1002-1034 / 1036 : Sergius IV
  • 1027-1029 / 1030 : under the control of Pandulf IV
• 1034/1036 - 1042 : John V
• 1042 - 1077/1082 : Sergius V
• 1077/1082 - 1107 : Sergius VI
• 1107 - 1120/1123 : John VI
• 1120/1123 - 1137 : Sergius VII

• Skinner, Patricia. Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbors, 850-1139 . Cambridge University Press: 1995.
• Norwich, John . Normans in Sicily. Second Norman Conquest: 1016–1130 - M, 2005. ISBN 5-9524-1751-5

• David Taylor and Jeff Matthews . Naples in the Dark Ages