Who he was
John was born at Tossignano in Romagna, served as a deacon and became Archbishop of Ravenna around 905. In 914 the nobles who then controlled Rome, led by the family of the senator Theophylact, to whom John was related, had him made pope. A later writer's scandalous account of his rise is generally rejected by historians as slander.
What he is remembered for
He was an energetic pope who united the princes of Italy against the Saracens, crowned Berengar emperor in 915, and in August 916 led the allied army himself to rout the Saracens at the Garigliano. He worked to bring the Slavs of Dalmatia and the Bulgarians closer to Rome. His alliance with Hugh of Provence turned the powerful Marozia against him: in 928 his brother was murdered and John was thrown into prison, where he died soon after.
Sources
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