Docibilis I (; died before 914) was the hypatus of Gaeta from 867 until his death. The sudden disappearance of the co-hypati Constantine and Marinus I after 866 suggests that Docibilis' assumption of power was violent. He is first cited as a ''

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

urius'' and then as '' hypatus'' from 877, when he followed his predecessor's example and associated his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

with him. In his first years in office, he was faced with raids by the

Aghlabids The Aghlabid dynasty () was an Arab dynasty centered in Ifriqiya (roughly present-day Tunisia) from 800 to 909 that conquered parts of Sicily, Southern Italy, and possibly Sardinia, nominally as vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Aghlabids ...

and he fell into their hands. After being liberated by

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...

, he made peace with the Aghlabids and was excommunicated by

Pope John VIII Pope John VIII (; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the most able popes of the 9th century. John devoted much of his papacy to attempting ...

. In 876, the pope was down in the

Mezzogiorno Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or culture of the historic ...

recruiting the princes of

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 ...

and

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

for the war with the Aghlabid

Emirate of Sicily The island of SicilyIn Arabic, the island was known as (). was under Islam, Islamic rule from the late ninth to the late eleventh centuries. It became a prosperous and influential commercial power in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, with ...

. Docibilis met the pope at Traetto, but could not come to terms. The pope then interfered in the Capuan succession on the death (879) of Landulf II to impose Pandenulf over Lando in return for Pandenulf attacking Docibilis.

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 ...

was captured and Docibilis called up some Saracen mercenaries from Agropoli. He met the pope at

Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...

itself and made peace. Together they besieged the Saracen fortress on the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri" ...

. After the pope's death, he turned around and attacked Capua, according to Erchempert, with Aghlabid

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

in 900 and 903. He then began to turn and form alliances with the Lombard rulers, marrying his daughter Megalu to Rodgipert of Aquino and Euphemia to the prefect of

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 ...

. Docibilis appears for the last time in 906 and may have died then, though it is only certain that he was dead by 914. His long career was the

golden age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

of Gaeta in the Dark Ages. He began construction on the great palace whose ruins still stand in the city and he spent profusely on churches and ecclesiastic endowments for the sake of his soul. He was a warrior-prince as well, whose quarrels with all his neighbours,

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, Lombard and

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...

, ecclesiastic and secular, fill the chronicles of the age, especially Erchempert's. For this, it is likely that after 906, he was either dead or retired. By his wife Matrona, he had two other sons besides John, Leo and Anatolio, whom he made duke of

Terracina Terracina is an Italian city and ''comune'' of the province of Latina, located on the coast southeast of Rome on the Via Appia ( by rail). The site has been continuously occupied since antiquity. History Ancient times Terracina appears in anci ...

. He had two other daughters besides Megalu and Euphemia: Bona and Maria. John succeeded him and immediately associated his son and his father's namesake, Docibilis II, in the duchy. It is just possible that all three were associated together, but it cannot be proven.

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Docibilis 01 Of Gaeta 9th-century births Year of birth uncertain 910s deaths Year of death uncertain 9th-century Italian nobility People excommunicated by the Catholic Church Dukes of Gaeta Hypatoi