Zotto (Longobard)
Zotto (also: Zoto, Zottone, Zotone ) († spring 591 in Benevento ), was Duke of Benevento from 571 to 591 .
Life
The Lombards invaded central Italy around 570, coming from the north, pushing the Byzantines back to their fortified places on the coast. There were no major battles, rather the country was penetrated by so-called farae , larger wandering associations of Lombards, who were both settlers and armed troops and each under the leadership of a leader who, after the conquest of the land, became the duke of the occupied territory has been. For the Lombards advancing south, Zotto took over this role, who was initially under the formal sovereignty of the first two Lombard kings Alboin and Cleph . The city of Benevento became the seat of the dux (Duke) Zotto in 571 . During the ten-year kingship interregnum that followed Cleph's death (574-584), he was able to rule with complete sovereignty. So he continued the fight against Byzantium in order to expand his dominion. In 577 he devastated Campania , in particular Aquino and the monastery of Monte Cassino were badly affected. The monks of the monastery - as well as many other Catholic clergy in the area who saw the Arian conquerors as heretics - fled to Rome or to the port cities that had remained Byzantine. But as early as 579 the Lombards besieged Rome for the first time and two years later Naples without being able to take these cities. Even after the reestablishment of the Lombard kingdom in 584 by Authari (584-590), Zotto kept his independent position until his death in the spring of 591. As Zotto died 591, put Agilulf (590-615), king of the Lombards, the from Friuli originating Arichis I. as his successor one.
swell
- Paulus Diaconus , Historia Langobardorum , ed. Ludwig Bethmann and Georg Waitz , in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica , Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum et Italicarum saec. VI – IX , Hahn, Hanover 1878
literature
- Wilfried Menghin : The Lombards . Theiss-Verlag, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 978-3-8062-0364-6 .
- Bruno W. Häuptli : Zotto, Duke of Benevento. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 24, Bautz, Nordhausen 2005, ISBN 3-88309-247-9 , Sp. 1597-1600.
Web links
Individual evidence
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| - |
Duke of Benevento 571-591 |
Arichis I. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zotto |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zoto; Zottone; Zotone |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duke of Benevento |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 6th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 591 |
| Place of death | Benevento |