Theophylactus (Exarch)

Theophylactus was an Eastern Roman valet, Patricius and Exarch of Ravenna around 701/705.

Italy may have been without an exarch for a few years. Theophylactus then appears in Rome under Emperor Tiberios II , coming from Sicily. When the troops stationed around Rome heard of his arrival, they rose against him, so that Pope John VI. closed the city gates and sent priests to appease the rebels. The fact that the Pope protected Theophylactus was probably due in part to the fact that Gisulf I of Benevento was advancing from the south , and that it might not seem advisable to the Pope to break completely with Byzantium. When certain malevolent individuals made allegations against some wealthy residents of Rome who appeared to be trying to appropriate property, Theophylactus punished the accusers.

Since the exarch's official residence is normally Ravenna, but the Liber Pontificalis expressly informs that the exarch had come to Rome from Sicily, it could have been the newly appointed exarch taking office. In this case, a more precise dating than 701–705 would not be possible and the exarch's visit to Rome would be more of a coincidence. The presence of the entire Italian troops, however, suggests that there was a concrete reason for such a concentration of forces, one might think of the incursion of Gisulf of Benevento into Roman Campania. The uprising against Theophylactus could, independently of this, be explained with a party dispute in Rome, in which the one (defeated) party had called on the exarch.

literature

• Ludo Moritz Hartmann : Studies on the history of the Byzantine administration in Italy . Leipzig 1889, p. 20f.

Remarks

1. ↑ Le Liber pontificalis . Texts, introduction et commentaire par L. Duchesne, I – II, Paris 1886. 1892 (Bibliothèque des Écoles Françaises d'Athènes et de Rome, Sér. II 3); III: Additions et corrections de Mgr. L. Duchesne, publ. par C. Vogel, Paris 1957.

predecessor	Office	successor
Johannes Platys	Exarchs of Ravenna-Italy	Johannes Rizocopus