John I ( la, Iohannes; grc-gre, Ιωάννης, Iōánnēs; died 615) was

Exarch of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...

from 611 until his death in 615. John was made

in 611, to replace

Smaragdus Smaragdus ( grc-gre, Σμαράγδος, Smarágdos) was Exarch of Ravenna from 585 to 589 and again from 603 to 611. During his first tenure, Smaragdus made an alliance with the Franks and Avars against the perennial foes of the Exarchate, the ...

. He seems to have avoided war with 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 and ...

throughout his 4 year reign from 611 to 615. In 615 he was killed along with a number of other officials. The ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adrian II (867� ...

'' mentions that one of the first acts of his successor, Eleutherius, was to kill the persons accused of playing a role in the Exarch John's death.Raymond Davis (translator), ''The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis)'', first edition (Liverpool: University Press, 1989), p. 63.

References

615 deaths 7th-century exarchs of Ravenna Year of birth unknown {{Byzantine-bio-stub