Radelchis I (also ''Radalgis'') (died 851) was the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

, then prince of Benevento from 839, when he assumed the throne upon the assassination (possibly at his instigation) of Sicard and imprisonment of Sicard's brother, Siconulf, to his death, though in his time the principality was divided. According to the ''Chronica S. Benedicti Casinensis'', the ''

gastald A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers. ...

'' of

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 Etrus ...

, Landulf the Old, who had been an ally of Sicard, freed the imprisoned Siconulf and, with the support of Guaifer, chief of the Dauferidi family of Salerno, brought him to that city to be proclaimed prince in opposition to Radelchis. This was the beginning of a civil war which was to last more than a decade. In 841, Radelchis brought in the aid of

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

mercenaries, as

Andrew II of Naples Andrew II was the duke of Naples from 834 to 840. During his reign, he was constantly at war with the Lombards and he allowed Gaeta, his vassal, to move towards independence under its own consuls. In September 834, Andrew overthrew his son-in-law, ...

had four years prior. The mercenaries sacked the city of Capua, forcing Landulf to found a new capital nearby on the hill of Triflisco. Siconulf responded by leasing his own band of Saracens. The depredations of the two Christian rulers and their Saracen helpers so disturbed the

king of Italy King of Italy ( it, links=no, Re d'Italia; la, links=no, Rex Italiae) was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian military leader ...

, Louis II, that when he was crowned co-

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in 850, he immediately set out to pacify the Mezzogiorno. In 851, Louis forced a peace on Radelchis and Siconulf and expelled the Saracen mercenaries, warriors from the

Emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

of Bari, out of Benevento. He divided the principality permanently. Radelchis did not live long thereafter and was succeeded by his eldest son Radelgar. His younger son was

Adelchis Adalgis or Adelchis ( – 788) was an associate king of the Lombards from August 759, reigning with his father, Desiderius, until their deposition in June 774. His mother was Ansa. He is also remembered today as the hero of the play '' Adelchi'' ...

Sources

* Gwatkin, H.M., Whitney, J.P. (ed) et al. ''The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, 1926. *Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LXIII Labroca – Laterza''.

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 ...

, 2004.
Chronica S. Benedicti Casinensis
851 deaths Lombard warriors Radelchis 1 9th-century rulers in Europe 9th-century Lombard people Year of birth unknown {{Italy-bio-stub