Docibilis II (; 880 – c. 954) was the ruler of Gaeta, in one capacity or another, from 906 until his death. He was the son of the

hypatus (; : , ) and the variant (; ) was a Byzantine court dignity, originally the Greek translation of Latin (the literal meaning of is 'the supreme one', which reflects the office, but not the etymology of ''). The dignity arose from the honorary ...

John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...

, who made him co-ruler in 906 or thereabouts. Docibilis took part in the

Battle of Garigliano The Battle of Garigliano was fought in 915 between Christian forces and the Saracens. Pope John X personally led the Christian forces into battle. The aim was to destroy the Arab fortress on the Garigliano River, which had threatened central It ...

in 915. In 930, he began adding the title of duke (), to his title of . This was meant to signify a new status or rank, though the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, to which he was always legally a vassal, always recognised him merely as (ἄρχων). His father died in 933 or 934, and he subsequently became sole ruler. At that juncture, he began asserting his independence from the Byzantines. He abandoned the imperial dating by which charters were dated by the year of the emperor's reign and allied with Theobald I of Spoleto against the Greeks. Likewise, his wife Orania took the title of duchess, ''ducissa'', alongside ''hypatissa'', and he associated his son,

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–114 ...

, with him in the dukedom. In 939 he removed the style hypatus and began calling himself

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

. He married his daughter Maria to the

prince of Capua This is a list of the rulers of the Principality of Capua. Lombard rulers of Capua Gastalds and counts The gastalds (or counts) of Capua were vassals of the princes of Benevento until the early 840s, when Gastald Landulf began to clamour for the i ...

, to strengthen his ties to the rest of the local Italian nobility. Atenulf Megalu, the

gastald A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers ...

of Aquino, fled to Docibilis' protection, but none of this bettered his relations with the Lombard princes: he was attacked by

Landulf I of Benevento Landulf or Landulph, Italian Landolfo and Latin Landolfus, Landulphus, etc., is a masculine given name of Germanic (possibly Lombardic) origin. It may refer to: Landulf * Landulf I of Benevento * Landulf II of Benevento * Landulf III of Benevent ...

and lost some territory. Later on, he even imprisoned the abbot of

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

and was not above allying with the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

against which he had once fought. He was succeeded by his son John and later

Gregory Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...

, and he gave

Fondi Fondi (; Southern Laziale: ''Fùnn'') is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples. As of 2017, the city had a population of 39,800. The city has experienced steady population growth si ...

to his son Marinus, with the title of ''dux'', effectively splitting the duchy of Gaeta in two parts. His other son Leo received the Church of San Erasmo at

Formia Formia (ancient Formiae) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean , Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. Mythology According to the mythology the city was f ...

from John II and Docibilis left many daughters besides Maria: Anna, Gemma, Drosu, and Megalu. He died after 954 and before 957. In his last will (954) his palace in Gaeta, now in ruins, was described as having "rooms, corridors, baths, aviaries, kitchens and courtyards down to the sea."

Sources

*Caravale, Mario (ed). ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani XL Di Fausto – Donadoni''.

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Docibilis 02 Of Gaeta 880s births 950s deaths Docibilis 2 Hypatoi