John X

John · 914 – 928

A politically active pope who personally led troops against Saracen invaders at the Battle of the Garigliano in 915.

John was from Tossignano near Bologna. He rose through Church ranks with the support of the powerful Theophylact family. Unlike many of his predecessors, John was an active and capable leader. In 915, he organized a coalition of Italian princes and personally accompanied the army that defeated the Saracens at the Battle of the Garigliano, ending decades of Muslim raiding in central Italy. He also crowned Berengar I as emperor. His political independence eventually angered the Roman aristocrat Marozia, who had him arrested and imprisoned. He died in captivity around 928, likely murdered.

A Pope at War

John X did something almost no other pope has done: he went to the battlefield. The Saracens had terrorized southern Italy for decades, and John decided that organizing the fight was not enough. He rode with the army to the Garigliano in 915 and watched the enemy destroyed. It was a turning point for Italy's security, even if John himself would later fall to enemies closer to home.