The Dukes of Naples were the military commanders of the ''
ducatus Neapolitanus
The Duchy of Naples ( la, Ducatus Neapolitanus, it, Ducato di Napoli) began as a Byzantine province that was constituted in the seventh century, in the reduced coastal lands that the Lombards had not conquered during their invasion of Italy in ...
'', a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
outpost in Italy, one of the few remaining after the conquest of the
Lombards
The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...
. In 661, Emperor
Constans II, highly interested in south Italian affairs (he established his court in
Syracuse), appointed a Neapolitan named Basil ''
dux
''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...
'' or ''
magister militum
(Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...
''. Thereafter a line of dukes, often largely independent and dynastic from the mid-ninth century, ruled until the coming of the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
, a new menace they could not weather. The thirty-ninth and last duke,
Sergius VII
Sergius VII (died 30 October 1137) was the thirty-ninth and last duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, ...
, surrendered his city to King
Roger II of Sicily in 1137.
Dukes appointed by Byzantium
*
Gudeliscus, as duke of Campania (''dux Campaniae'')
*
Guduin, first recorded duke of Naples
**'' seized by the rebel
John of Conza''
*
Anatolius
*661–666
Basil
Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...
*666–670
Theophylactus I
*670–673
Cosmas
*673–677
Andrew I
*677–684
Caesarius I
*684–687
Stephen I
*687–696
Bonellus
*696–706
Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name.
Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium
...
*706–711
Caesarius II
*711–719
John I
*719–729
Theodore I
*729–739
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
*739–755
Gregory I
*755–766
Stephen II
*767–794
Gregory II
*794–801
Theophylactus II
*801–
Anthimus
*–821
Theoctistus
*821
Theodore II
*821–832
Stephen III
*832–834
Bonus
Bonus commonly means:
* Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy
* Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive
Bonus may also refer to:
Plac ...
*834 Leo
*834–840
Andrew II
*840
Contardus
Hereditary dukes
These dukes were more independent than their predecessors and they were not chosen by the emperor, but the descendants of
Sergius I, who was elected by the citizens.
Sergian dynasty (Sergii)
*840–864/865
Sergius I
*864/865–870
Gregory III
*870–877/878
Sergius II
*877/878–898
Athanasius
Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
*898–
Gregory IV
*–919
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
*919–928
Marinus I
*928–968/969
John III
*968/969–992/997
Marinus II
Pope Marinus II (died May 946) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 30 October 942 to his death. He has also been mistakenly called Martinus III. He ruled during the ''Saeculum obscurum''. He was also erroneously called Mart ...
*992–997/999
Sergius III
*997/999–1005
John IV
*1005–1038
Sergius IV, co-ruling with his son (below) after 1033
**''1027–1029 under control of
Pandulf IV of Capua
Pandulf IVAlso spelled ''Randulf'', ''Bandulf'', ''Pandulph'', ''Pandolf'', ''Paldolf'', or ''Pandolfo''. (died 1049/50) was the Prince of Capua on three separate occasions.
From February 1016 to 1022 he ruled in association with his cousin Pa ...
''
*1033–1050
John V, co-ruling with his father (above) before 1038 and with his son (below) after
*1038–1076
Sergius V, co-ruling with his father (above) until 1050
*1077–1107
Sergius VI Sergius VI (died 1107) was the ''magister militum'' and duke of Naples from 1077 to his death. He was the son of the Neapolitan senator John, and succeeded his uncle, John's elder brother, Sergius V. His sister Inmilgia married Duke Landulf of Gaet ...
, co-ruling with his son (below) after 1090
*1090–1122
John VI, co-ruling with his father (above) until 1107
*1122–1137
Sergius VII
Sergius VII (died 30 October 1137) was the thirty-ninth and last duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, ...
**''1137–1139 vacant''
In 1139, Naples capitulated to the Normans and shortly after elected a Norman ruler from
the ruling dynasty.
[The late chronology is taken from Paul Arthur, ''Naples, from Roman Town to City-state: An Archaeological Perspective'' (London: British School at Rome, 2002), p. 167.]
House of Hauteville
*1139–1144
Alfonso
Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
*1144–1154
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
In 1154, William succeeded to the Sicilian crown and the line of dukes ends.
Notes
External links
Naples in the Dark Agesby David Taylor and Jeff Matthews.
Further reading
*
Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile'', 2 vol. Paris: 1907.
*
Norwich, John Julius. ''The Normans in the South 1016–1130''. Longmans: London, 1967.
*
Norwich, John Julius. ''The Kingdom in the Sun 1130–1194''. Longman: London, 1970.
*
Oman, Charles. ''The Dark Ages 476–918''. Rivingtons: London, 1914.
*
Skinner, Patricia. ''Family Power in Southern Italy: The Duchy of Gaeta and its Neighbours, 850-1139''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dukes Of Naples
Naples Dukes
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...