AdhemarAlso Ademar, Ademaro, Ademario, Adelmario, or Adamaro. was the

Duke of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

from 998 and Prince of Capua from 1000. Before his death, he lost both domains. He is not mentioned as duke of Spoleto after December 999.

Biography

He was the son of Balsamo, a Capuan cleric. He was educated at the court of

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

, alongside the future emperor

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

. In order to break the power of

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France. Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis IV of France ...

margrave of Tuscany The March of Tuscany (; Modern ) was a march of the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Located in northwestern central Italy, it bordered the Papal States to the south, the Ligurian Sea to the west and Lombardy to ...

, who had become duke of Spoleto, Otto III appointed one Conrad as duke in May 996. In December 998, Otto appointed his childhood companion Adhemar as duke. Otto then took him south and they marched on

Capua Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...

, where Laidulf, the reigning prince, was removed from his position for the assassination of his brother. They then marched on

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and took Duke John IV captive to Capua. Laidulf, along with his wife Maria and Gaideris and Lando of

Caiazzo Caiazzo is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta (Campania) in Italy. It is located on the right bank of the Volturnus, some northeast of Capua. History The ancient Caiatia was already in the hands of the Romans in 306 BC, and sinc ...

, were exiled from the city and Adhemar was left in charge. John of Naples was taken back by Otto to Germany. In 1000, Adhemar was named prince and entered Capua on 11 March. By July he was removed by the Capuans, who elected Landulf of Sant'Agata instead. As prince, however, he did create Atenulf as count of Aquino, thus inaugurating that dynasty.

References

* Ferrabino, Aldo (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani: I Aaron – Albertucci''. Rome, 1960.

Notes

10th-century dukes of Spoleto Lombard warriors Princes of Capua 10th-century Lombard people {{Italy-noble-stub