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 (he moved his capital to Syracuse), appointed a Neapolitan named Basil dux or magister militum. Thereafter a line of dukes, often largely independent and dynastic from the mid-ninth century, ruled until the coming of the Normans, a new menace they could not weather. The thirty-ninth and last duke, Sergius VII, surrendered his city to King Roger II of Sicily in 1137.

Dukes appointed by Byzantium

• 661–666 Basil
• 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
• 706–711 Caesarius II
• 711–719 John I
• 719–729 Theodore I
• 729–739 George
• 739–755 Gregory I
• 755–766 Stephen II
• 767–794 Gregory II
• 794–801 Theophylactus II
• 801–c. 818 Anthimus
• c. 818–821 Theoctistus
• 821 Theodore II
• 821–832 Stephen III
• 832–834 Bonus
• 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.

Sergii dynasty

• 840–864/865 Sergius I
• 864/865–870 Gregory III
• 870–877/878 Sergius II
• 877/878–898 Athanasius
• 898–c. 915 Gregory IV
• c. 915–919 John II
• 919–928 Marinus I
• 928–968/969 John III
• 968/969–992/997 Marinus II
• 992–997/999 Sergius III
• 997/999–1002 John IV
• 1002–c. 1036 Sergius IV
  • 1027–1029/1030 under control of Pandulf IV of Capua
• c. 1036–1053 John V
• 1053–after 1074 Sergius V
• after 1074–1107 Sergius VI
• 1107–1120/1123 John VI
• 1120/1123–1137 Sergius VII

Alfonso, Prince of Capua, was elected by the Neapolitans to succeed Sergius and Naples became a Norman possession afterwards.

Sources

• Naples in the Dark Ages by David Taylor and Jeff Matthews.
• 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. ISBN 0-521-46479-X.