John IV was the mostly absentee

duke of Naples The Dukes of Naples were the military commanders of the ''ducatus Neapolitanus'', a Byzantine outpost in Italy, one of the few remaining after the conquest of the Lombards. In 661, Emperor Constans II, highly interested in south Italian affairs (h ...

from 997 to after 1002. He was the son and successor of Sergius III. John IV originally recognised the suzerainty of the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

. In 999, he was captured and taken a prisoner first to

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...

, then back to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

, the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, who had just visited

Saint Nilus the Younger Nilus the Younger, also called Neilos of Rossano ( it, Nilo di Rossano, gr, Όσιος Νείλος, ο εκ Καλαβρίας; 910 – 27 December 1005) was a monk, abbot, and founder of Italo-Byzantine monasticism in southern Italy. He is ven ...

Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...

. During his absence, Naples seems to have continued in allegiance to the Greeks, though it was technically governed by Adhemar of Spoleto. In 1002, John reappears in his duchy, probably released by Otto's successor, Henry II. John had one son, Sergius, who succeeded him, and two daughters. The elder was Sichelgaita (whose name may imply that John had a Lombard wife), who married

John IV of Gaeta John IV (died April or August 1012) was the eldest son of John III of Gaeta who was appointed co-duke in 991 while still young (he was a minor even in 994). John succeeded his father in 1008 or 1009 and ruled for a brief four years. John married Si ...

and thus cemented alliance between her brother and Duke

John V of Gaeta John V (c. 1010 – c. 1040) was the consul and duke of Gaeta from 1012 to 1032. He was the son of John IV and Sichelgaita, sister of Sergius IV of Naples. He was either very young (an infant) when he succeeded his father or perhaps he was even ...

. A second daughter is recorded unnamed by

Amatus of Montecassino Amatus of Montecassino ( la, Amatus Casinensis), (11th century) was a Benedictine monk of the Abbey of Montecassino who is best known for his historical chronicles of his era. His ''History of the Normans'' (which has survived only in its medieva ...

as having been widowed by the count of Gaeta and remarrying soon after to

Ranulf Drengot Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; died June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in Italy When ...

, the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

count of Aversa In 1030, the first Norman foothold in the Mezzogiorno was created when Sergius IV of Naples gave the town and vicinity of Aversa as a county to Ranulf. The following are the counts of Aversa: *Rainulf I 1030–1045 * Asclettin 1045 (nephew of pr ...

. This latter account is confusing, but not impossible.

Sources

*Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie''.

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, 1907. 10th-century dukes of Naples 11th-century deaths Year of birth unknown 11th-century dukes of Naples {{Italy-noble-stub