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Why did Pope John XII ask Otto I to return to Italy in 961?

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Stone sculptures of Otto I and his wife Edith, both crowned and seated, displayed side by side in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany. — Otto I Otto I and his wife Edith, sculptures in the cathedral at Magdeburg, Germany.

Pope John XII requested that Otto I return to Italy in 961 because he was being hard-pressed by Berengar II of Ivrea, who posed a significant threat to the papacy.1

By appealing to the German king for military support, the Pope sought protection against his political rival. Otto I accepted the appeal, and upon arriving in Rome in 962, he was crowned Holy Roman emperor by John XII.12