John X
John X
Pope, according to Liutprand (discredited by Milman, Latin Christianity, 3, 163), owed his promotion in ecclesiastical offices to the dissolute Theodora (q.v.), who, attracted by his handsome figure, made him successively archbishop of Bologna, Ravenna, and finally pope (May 15, 914). The profligacy of his times, especially in Rome, surpassed that of the most degenerate period of paganism. The popes were merely the contemptible creatures of the Roman nobility. But, if the archbishop of Ravenna was not a fit example of piety or holiness to be selected for the spiritual head of Christendom, "he appears," says Milman (Latin Christianity, 3, 161), "to have been highly qualified for the secular part of his office." He was a man of ability and daring, eminently needed at this juncture to save Rome from becoming the prey of Mohammedan conquest. The Saracens from Africa, who had landed in Italy and fortified themselves near the banks of the Liris, had made frequent irruptions into the Roman territory. At first John contented himself with inciting the neighboring dukes to come to his defense; but, finding the aid of the two emperors necessary to combat successfully the Mohammedans, he crowned Berenger emperor of the West, March 24, 916, and, after having united all forces previously at his command with Berenger and the dukes of Benevento and Naples, he marched in person against them, and completely routed and exterminated them. After a reign of fourteen years, this powerful prelate of Rome came to a miserable end by the legitimate consequences of the same vices that had been instrumental in raising him to his high dignity. Marozia, the daughter of Theodora, anxious to secure for herself and her lover the government of Rome, and finding John too much in their way, surprised him in the Lateran palace, and thrust him into a prison, where, some months after, he died, either of want or by some more summary means (A.D. 929). Comp. Bower, Hist. of the Popes, 5, 90 sq. Hoier, Die deutschen Pabste, 1, 18; Milman, Lat. Christ. 3, 158 sq. (J.H.W.)
