Duchy of Naples (jan 1, 661 – jan 1, 840)

Description:

From 661, Naples was allowed to be ruled by a local duke, Basilius, with the permission of Byzantine Emperor Constans II, and their allegiance to the emperor became merely nominal. The Neapolitan patriciate of the ducal era was represented by the 'magnate families' in the seats of the medieval city, who would have particular importance in the civil life in the city starting in the 10th century.

In 763 Duke Stephen II switched his allegiance from Constantinople to the Pope. The papacy had come to the duke's aid against the Lombard when Byzantine aid was non forthcoming. Stephen II's reign was a period of transition from the East to the papal West. The Byzantine Greeks soon became as much a threat to the Neapolitans as the Lombards. IN 813, when Byzantine Emperor Leo V called for aid against pirates preying on Sicily, Duke Anthems could ignore the order, feeling practically independent already (though their underlings felt independent as well). In 840, Duke Sergius I made the succession to the duchy hereditary, and thenceforth Naples was de facto independent.