John VI of Naples

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John VI (died 1120 or 1123) was the Duke of Naples from 1097 or 1107 to his death. He was the son and successor of Sergius VI. His reign is very obscure on the basis of slight documentary evidence. He followed his father's policy of close relations with Byzantium in light of Norman attacks, and was at some point granted the Byzantine title of protosebastos . [1] He married Eva (or Anna), daughter of Geoffrey Ridell. Through her he was the father of the last duke of Naples, Sergius VII.

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, 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.

Byzantine Empire Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages

The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural and military force in Europe. "Byzantine Empire" is a term created after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire simply as the Roman Empire, or Romania (Ῥωμανία), and to themselves as "Romans".

Norman conquest of southern Italy Historical event in the European Middle Ages

The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1139, involving many battles and independent conquerors. In 1130 these territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily, the southern third of the Italian Peninsula, the archipelago of Malta and parts of North Africa.

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Sergius VI was the magister militum and duke of Naples from 1077 to his death. He was the son of the Neapolitan senator John, and succeeded his uncle, John's elder brother, Sergius V. His sister Inmilgia married Duke Landulf of Gaeta. His reign is very obscure because of the slight documentary evidence.

Sergius of Naples may refer to

Events in the year 1137 in Italy

References

  1. ↑ Vera von Falkenhausen (2007), "The South Italian Sources," Proceedings of the British Academy, 132, 107.
Preceded by
Sergius VI 		Duke of Naples
1097/1107 – 1120/1123		Succeeded by
Sergius VII
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