The Exarchate of Ravenna had risen in revolt in 726 at the imposition of iconoclasm; the Exarch Paul lost his life attempting to quash the revolt. In response, Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741) sent the eunuch Eutychius to take control of the situation.[1][2] In certain historical works, Eutychius is mentioned as having served as exarch already in 710/11–713, between the tenures of John III Rizocopus and Scholasticus. This is however a modern interpolation based on an erroneous reading of the Liber pontificalis.[3] Eutychius landed in Naples, where he called upon loyal citizens to assassinate Pope Gregory II. When the citizens responded by pledging to defend the Pope and to die in his defense, Eutychius turned his attention to the Lombards, offering King Liutprand and the Lombard dukes bribes if they would abandon Pope Gregory. Despite all of this, according to Jeffrey Richards, Pope Gregory persisted in his efforts to preserve imperial rule in Italy.[4]
Eutychius's efforts eventually gained results: King Liutprand came to an agreement with the Exarch, and agreed to support him in return for assistance in subjecting the duchies of Benevento and Spoleto. Pope Gregory, however, met with Liutprand, and convinced him to abandon the effort, then with Liutprand's help effected a reconciliation with Eutychius. When one Tiberius Petasius proclaimed himself emperor in Tuscia and Eutychius found himself critically short of manpower, Pope Gregory ordered the Roman army to help him put down the rebellion, and Petasius was killed.[2][5]
Exile and appeal for helpedit
Conflict with the Lombards resulted in disaster in 737, when the exarchate's capital, Ravenna, was seized by Liutprand. Further warfare erupted in 739. Pope Gregory III had supported the dukes of Benevento and Spoleto against Liutprand, causing the latter to invade central Italy. The exarchate, as well as the Duchy of Rome, was ravaged and Ravenna fell to the Lombards; Eutychius was forced to seek refuge in the Venetian islands. He appealed to the inhabitants to help liberate Ravenna, and the Venetian fleet sailed with him to recover the city.[6]
Papal intervention in Ravennaedit
Shortly after the accession of Pope Zachary in 741, Liutprand planned to campaign against the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto, which had defied him. Zachary, however, marched north to the Lombard capital of Pavia and convinced Liutprand to abort the expedition and to restore some of the territory he had captured.[7] Nevertheless, Liutprand saw this treaty as between him and the Pope alone; in the words of Jeffrey Richards, "he still regarded the exarch as fair game."
In 743, Liutprand marched on Ravenna, and Eutychius was so impoverished in resources that he, Archbishop John V of Ravenna, and the leading citizens petitioned the pope to intervene. Pope Zachary began a diplomatic offensive to dissuade Liutprand from conquering Ravenna, and on his journey to the Lombard court at Ticinum, he was met at the church of St. Christopher at Aquila by Exarch Eutychius and citizens of Ravenna. "The sight of the exarch begging the pope to save him from the Lombards testifies more powerfully than anything else to the utter enfeeblement of the exarchate and the effective transfer of authority in Catholic Byzantine Italy from the imperial governor to the pope," observes Richards.[8] Pope Zachary was successful in convincing Liutprand to put off his intended campaign and return the rural districts around Ravenna he had seized.
Fall of the Exarchateedit
Several years later, however, in 751, the Lombard king Aistulf captured Ravenna.[2] The Exarchate came to an end, and Byzantine Italy was confined to Sicily and the southern, Greek-speaking regions.
Brown, Thomas S. (1993). "Eutichio". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 43 (in Italian). Treccani.it - L'enciclopedia italiana. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
eutychius, exarch, eutychius, greek, Ευτύχιος, translit, eutúkhios, last, exarch, ravenna, heading, exarchate, from, until, contents, arrival, italy, first, struggles, exile, appeal, help, papal, intervention, ravenna, fall, exarchate, references, sourcesarriv. Eutychius Greek Eytyxios translit Eutukhios was the last Exarch of Ravenna heading the Exarchate from 726 or 727 until 751 Contents 1 Arrival in Italy and first struggles 2 Exile and appeal for help 3 Papal intervention in Ravenna 4 Fall of the Exarchate 5 References 6 SourcesArrival in Italy and first struggles editThe Exarchate of Ravenna had risen in revolt in 726 at the imposition of iconoclasm the Exarch Paul lost his life attempting to quash the revolt In response Emperor Leo III the Isaurian r 717 741 sent the eunuch Eutychius to take control of the situation 1 2 In certain historical works Eutychius is mentioned as having served as exarch already in 710 11 713 between the tenures of John III Rizocopus and Scholasticus This is however a modern interpolation based on an erroneous reading of the Liber pontificalis 3 Eutychius landed in Naples where he called upon loyal citizens to assassinate Pope Gregory II When the citizens responded by pledging to defend the Pope and to die in his defense Eutychius turned his attention to the Lombards offering King Liutprand and the Lombard dukes bribes if they would abandon Pope Gregory Despite all of this according to Jeffrey Richards Pope Gregory persisted in his efforts to preserve imperial rule in Italy 4 Eutychius s efforts eventually gained results King Liutprand came to an agreement with the Exarch and agreed to support him in return for assistance in subjecting the duchies of Benevento and Spoleto Pope Gregory however met with Liutprand and convinced him to abandon the effort then with Liutprand s help effected a reconciliation with Eutychius When one Tiberius Petasius proclaimed himself emperor in Tuscia and Eutychius found himself critically short of manpower Pope Gregory ordered the Roman army to help him put down the rebellion and Petasius was killed 2 5 Exile and appeal for help editConflict with the Lombards resulted in disaster in 737 when the exarchate s capital Ravenna was seized by Liutprand Further warfare erupted in 739 Pope Gregory III had supported the dukes of Benevento and Spoleto against Liutprand causing the latter to invade central Italy The exarchate as well as the Duchy of Rome was ravaged and Ravenna fell to the Lombards Eutychius was forced to seek refuge in the Venetian islands He appealed to the inhabitants to help liberate Ravenna and the Venetian fleet sailed with him to recover the city 6 Papal intervention in Ravenna editShortly after the accession of Pope Zachary in 741 Liutprand planned to campaign against the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto which had defied him Zachary however marched north to the Lombard capital of Pavia and convinced Liutprand to abort the expedition and to restore some of the territory he had captured 7 Nevertheless Liutprand saw this treaty as between him and the Pope alone in the words of Jeffrey Richards he still regarded the exarch as fair game In 743 Liutprand marched on Ravenna and Eutychius was so impoverished in resources that he Archbishop John V of Ravenna and the leading citizens petitioned the pope to intervene Pope Zachary began a diplomatic offensive to dissuade Liutprand from conquering Ravenna and on his journey to the Lombard court at Ticinum he was met at the church of St Christopher at Aquila by Exarch Eutychius and citizens of Ravenna The sight of the exarch begging the pope to save him from the Lombards testifies more powerfully than anything else to the utter enfeeblement of the exarchate and the effective transfer of authority in Catholic Byzantine Italy from the imperial governor to the pope observes Richards 8 Pope Zachary was successful in convincing Liutprand to put off his intended campaign and return the rural districts around Ravenna he had seized Fall of the Exarchate editSeveral years later however in 751 the Lombard king Aistulf captured Ravenna 2 The Exarchate came to an end and Byzantine Italy was confined to Sicily and the southern Greek speaking regions References edit Richards 1979 p 220f a b c Hollingsworth 1991 Brown 1993 Richards 1979 p 221 Richards 1979 p 221f Richards 1979 p 224 Richards 1979 p 228 Richards 1979 p 229 Sources editRichards Jeffrey 1979 The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages 476 752 London and Boston Routledge amp Kegan Paul ISBN 0 7100 0098 7 Hollingsworth Paul A 1991 Eutychios In Kazhdan Alexander ed The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium Oxford and New York Oxford University Press pp 759 760 ISBN 0 19 504652 8 Brown Thomas S 1993 Eutichio Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Volume 43 in Italian Treccani it L enciclopedia italiana Retrieved 29 June 2013 Preceded byPaul Exarch of Ravenna728 752 Exarchate conquered by the Lombards Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eutychius exarch amp oldid 1185454550, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
