Sergius II was

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 870 to 877. He continued the policies of his father, Gregory III, and grandfather, Sergius I. He maintained good relations with the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

or the Byzantines only as it suited Neapolitan interests. He was briefly

prefect of Amalfi Medieval Duchy of Amalfi, Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes ( la, duces), sometimes called ''dogi'' (singular: ''doge''), corresponding with the republic of Venice, a maritime rival throughout the Middle A ...

for thirteen days in 866, following the prefect Maurus. In January 870, his father fell seriously ill and left him the government. Gregory died in March. It is written that Sergius made Naples "into another

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

, another

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

," by his friendly relations with the

Aghlabids The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a cen ...

.Taylor and Matthews. . For this, he earned the excommunication of

Pope John VIII Pope John VIII ( la, Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest popes of the 9th century. John devoted much of his papacy ...

. He also earned the opposition of his uncle, Bishop Athanasius I and exiled him to an island. Sergius was blinded and deposed by his brother Athanasius II, Bishop of Naples, who delivered him to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. His son Gregory IV eventually succeeded to the ducal throne.

Notes

Sources

Naples in the Dark Ages
by David Taylor and Jeff Matthews. *
9th-century deaths Sergius 2 Year of birth unknown {{Italy-noble-stub