John Fabriacus (Giovanni Fabriciaco in Italian) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

magister militum (Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander, ...

per Venetiae'' in charge of the duchy of Venice in 742. Following the murder of the doge

Orso Ipato Orso Ipato (Latin: ''Ursus Hypatus''; died 737) was the third traditional Doge of Venice (726–737) and the first historically known. During his eleven-year reign, he brought great change to the Venetian navy, aided in the recapture of Ravenn ...

in 737, the

Exarch of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...

imposed administration by annual ''magistri militum'' on Venice who replaced the doge. John was the fifth and last of these officials. John's rule was particularly harsh. He sided with Heraclea in its conflict with its neighbour and rival Equilium during a violent clash between the two towns. He was deposed, and then, following a Byzantine custom, blinded and, finally, exiled. The Exarch of Ravenna allowed the resumption of the dogeship and the popular assembly elected

Teodato Ipato Teodato Ipato (also Diodato or Deusdedit; la, Theodatus Hypatus) was Doge of Venice from 742 to 755. With his election came the restoration of the dogato, which had been defunct since the assassination of his father, Orso Ipato. Before his ele ...

, who was the son of Orso Ipato (the first historical doge) and who had been a ''magister militum'' three years earlier. Because administration by the ''magistri militum'' was a relatively short interruption of the dogeship, this period is often referred to as an interregnum.

References

*Samuele Romanin, Storia documentata di Venezia, Venezia, Pietro Naratovich tipografo editore, 1853. 8th-century Doges of Venice Magistri militum {{Italy-politician-stub