Pope John X

Pope John X was a significant religious and political leader. He served as the bishop of Rome from March 914 until 928.

His leadership occurred during a period called the Saeculum obscurum. This was a time of great political change in Italy. John was born in Tossignano near the Santerno river. He was a relative of the powerful counts of Tusculum. Theodora, the wife of Theophylact I, was a very influential figure. She helped John rise through the church hierarchy. He first became an archbishop in 905 through the influence of the Tusculan family.

John's early career involved many responsibilities. As archbishop of Ravenna, he worked with Pope Sergius III. They both tried to replace Louis the Blind with Berengar of Friuli. Berengar claimed the title of King of Italy. John also had to defend his authority over Nonantola Abbey. After Pope Lando died in 914, a group of Roman nobles called John to Rome. They wanted him to take the papal chair. Some people criticized this move. They said it broke canon law because he was moved from one see to another.

One of John's most important achievements was military coordination. A group called the Saracens held a base on the Garigliano River. They used this outpost to pillage the Italian countryside. John sought help from many different sources. He consulted Landulf I of Benevento for advice. He sent messengers to the Byzantine Empire and various Italian princes. This created a large Christian alliance. This group included leaders from Benevento, Gaeta, Naples, Salerno, and Spoleto.

This alliance was a precursor to the later Crusades.

John X personally participated in the military campaign. He went to the field alongside Duke Alberic I of Spoleto. The allied forces fought the Saracens at the Battle of Garigliano. They conducted a siege that lasted for three months. Eventually, the Saracens tried to break out of the encirclement. The allies caught and killed them. This victory removed the Saracen threat from the Italian mainland. Following this, John used his political leverage with Berengar of Friuli. In December 915, John crowned Berengar as emperor at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Political shifts in the 920s made John's position very unstable. In 923, Italian princes defeated Berengar. Berengar was later assassinated in 924. By 925, three of John's main supporters had died. These included Theophylact of Tusculum and Alberic I of Spoleto. This left John vulnerable to Marozia. Marozia was the daughter of Theodora and Theophylact. She began a power struggle against the Pope. John tried to counter this by inviting Hugh of Provence to be king of Italy. He also tried to help his brother, Peter, gain power. Peter even used a group of Magyars to intimidate Marozia and her husband, Guy of Tuscany.

John X also managed complex affairs in Eastern Europe. In 920, he helped resolve a religious schism involving the Byzantine Empire. He sent legates to Constantinople to confirm certain church acts. In 925, he worked to influence the liturgy in Dalmatia. He wanted the Mass to be said in Latin rather than the Slav tongue. He wrote to King Tomislav of the Croats regarding these rules.

He also interacted with Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria. Although Simeon wanted to move away from Byzantine influence, John's representatives crowned Simeon's son, Peter I, as Tsar in 927.

In Western Europe, John was a very active figure. He supported King Conrad I of Germany against his rivals. He also intervened in disputes in France. In 920, he dealt with a rebellion in the Bishopric of Liège involving Charles the Simple. John ordered the leaders to appear before him in Rome. He eventually excommunicated one of the rebels. He also faced challenges from Count Herbert II of Vermandois. Herbert even forced John to accept his five-year-old son, Hugh, as an archbishop. Despite these struggles, John remained a central figure in European politics until his death. Marozia eventually had him deposed and imprisoned. He died on May 28, 928.