Sergius I (died 864) was the first duke of Naples of his dynasty, often dubbed the "Sergi," which ruled over Naples for almost three centuries from his accession in 840 until the death of his namesake Sergius VII in 1137. Events Khan Boris I of Bulgaria is baptized an Orthodox Christian. ... Events After the death of Louis the Pious, his sons Lothar, Charles the Bald and Louis the German fight over the division of the empire, with Lothair succeding as Emperor. ... // Groups BL1137 is the (now defunct) Unix group at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ where Unix and C were invented. ...

Sergius was originally the dux of Cumae, a Neapolitan dependency. In 840, with the Franks trying to take the city, the people elected Sergius as duke (or magister militum) of Naples. This was a move towards complete independence from the Byzantine Empire, which was incapable of defending the Ducatus Neapolitanus from the Lombards. Sergius continued the beneficial alliance the Neapolitans had made with the Saracens of Palermo earlier. He aided them in taking Bari from the Greeks in 841 and Messina in 842. By turning away from the Greeks and towards the papacy and the Franks, he opened the way for the expulsion of the Moslems from the Campania. Dux is Latin for leader (from the verb ducere, to lead) and could refer to anyone who commanded troops, such as tribal leaders. ... Cumae (Cuma, in Italian) is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. ... Events After the death of Louis the Pious, his sons Lothar, Charles the Bald and Louis the German fight over the division of the empire, with Lothair succeding as Emperor. ... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... Magister militum (Latin for Master of the Soldiers) was a top-level command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine. ... Byzantine Empire (native Greek name: - Basileia tōn Romaiōn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Duchy of Naples (Latin: Ducatus Neapolitanus), born as a Byzantine province governed by a military commander (dux), rapidly became a de facto independent state, lasting more than five centuries during the Early and High Middle Ages. ... The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, from which the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from Northern Europe that entered the late Roman Empire. ... For the rugby club Saracens see Saracens (rugby club) The term Saracen comes from Greek sarakenoi. ... Nickname: Palermu Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Location within Italy Bari is the capital of the province of Bari and of the Apulia (or Puglia) region, on the Adriatic sea, in Italy. ... Events June 25: Battle of Fontenay _ Louis the German and Charles the Bald defeat Lothar. ... Messina, Italy Strait of Messina, Italy. ... Events Oaths of Strasbourg — alliance of Louis the German and Charles the Bald against emperor Lothar — sworn and recorded in vernacular languages. ... The Pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. ... Campania is a region of Southern Italy, bordering on Lazio to the north-west, Molise to the north, Puglia to the north-east, Basilicata to the east, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ...

The Saracens soon became too dangerous to keep as friends and Naples was forced to ally with Amalfi, Gaeta, and Sorrento, its practically independent underlings, and make war on the Moslems. The Christians forced them out of Ponza and defended Rome in 846, though the Vatican was sacked. In 849, Sergius led his fleet alongside that of Gaeta and the Vatican in the successful Battle of Ostia. The Amalfi coast. ... Gaeta (ancient Latin name Caieta) is a city in Province of Latina, in Lazio, Italy. ... Sorrento is the name of many cities and towns: Sorrento,_Italy Sorrento,_Florida, United States of America Sorrento, suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Sorrento, suburb of Perth, Western Australia, Australia Sorrento, Hong Kong, the largest residential development on Kowloon Station This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists... Ponza and the Pontine Islands. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the Roman People) coordinates: 41°54′N 12°29′E Time Zone: UTC+1 Administration Subdivisions 19 municipi Province Rome Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni ( The Union ) Characteristics Area 1,285 km² Population 2,547,677 (2005 estimate) Density 1983/km... Events The Moors temporarily recapture León. ... Events Births Deaths August 18 - Walafrid Strabo, German monk and theologian Categories: 849 ... The Battle of Ostia was a naval battle fought in 849 AD between the Muslims of souther Italy and a Christian League of Papal, Neapolitan and Gaetan ships. ...

Sergius allied himself, furthermore, with the Emperors Lothair I and Louis II. In 847, Sergius was charged, along with Guy I of Spoleto, with establishing peace between the Lombard princes Siconulf of Salerno and Radelchis I of Benevento. In 850, Sergius attempted (successfully) to make the duchy hereditary when he appointed his eldest son, Gregory, as co-duke. He began to mint his own coins with his own effigy on them. Lothair I Lothair I (German: Lothar, French: Lothaire, Italian: Lotario) (795 – 2 March 855), king of Italy (818 – 855) and Holy Roman Emperor (840 – 855), was the eldest son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his wife Ermengarde of Hesbaye, daughter of Ingerman, duke of Hesbaye. ... Louis II, (825 – 875), Holy Roman Emperor (sole ruler 855 – 875), eldest son of the emperor Lothair I, became the designated king of Italy in 839, and taking up his residence in that country was crowned king at Rome by Pope Sergius II on June 15, 844. ... Events Succession of Pope Leo IV, (847 - 855) Births Alfred the Great (d. ... Guy I (d. ... Radelchis I (also Radalgis) (d. ... Events April 20 - Guntherus becomes Bishop of Cologne. ...

In 859, Sergius made war with Capua. He married his daughter to Landulf, gastald of Suessola, son of Lando I of Capua. With the gastald, he sent his sons Gregory and Caesar to sack New Capua. They failed. Sergius' other sons, Athanasius and Stephen, also played an important role in Neapolitan politics. The former became bishop of Naples, an imperial familiaris, and a papal legate and intimate of the Roman curia. Stephen held the bishopric of Sorrento. Before dying, Sergius bade Gregory to follow the counsel of his brother the bishop. Gregory did succeed on Sergius' death and the hereditary, independent dukedom was born. Events Battle of Abelda: Asturias beats the Muslims. ... Country Italy Region Campania Province Caserta (CE) Mayor Elevation m Area 30 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 43,139  - Density 1,329/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Capuani Dialing code 0823 Postal code 81025 Frazioni Cantone Patron St. ... A gastald (Latin gastaldus or castaldus, Italian gastaldo or guastaldo) was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldia or castaldia) with civil, martial, and judicial powers. ...

Sources

• Naples in the Dark Ages by David Taylor and Jeff Matthews.
• Erchempert. Historia Langabardorvm Beneventarnorvm at The Latin Library.
• Caravale, Mario (ed). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: LIX Graziando – Grossi Gondi. Rome, 2002.
• Chalandon, Ferdinand. Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie. Paris, 1907.