Marozia

He was the son of Marozia (dominant lady of the Roman Crescentii family) perhaps by her reputed lover, Pope Sergius III. John was consecrated in February/March 931. He served his mother’s political ends until 932/933, when his half-brother Alberic II (Marozia’s son by Duke Alberic I of Spoleto), the self-proclaimed…

…and of the powerful senator Marozia and her son, the princeps (prince) Alberic, who were able and effective rulers between 924 and 954. Hugh of Arles (king 926–947) found the situation irreversible. He could no longer use Carolingian-style procedures, such as new legislation or local administrative intervention, to assert his…

This enraged Theophylactus’ daughter, Marozia, herself a powerful Roman senator; she ordered John imprisoned in Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, where he was probably smothered to death.