John I (; ; died 615) was

Exarch of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna (; ), also known as the Exarchate of Italy, was an administrative district of the Byzantine Empire comprising, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the territories under the jurisdiction of the exarch of Italy (''exarchus ...

from 611 until his death in 615. John was made

in 611, to replace Smaragdus. He seems to have avoided war with the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

throughout his 4 year reign from 611 to 615. In 615 he was killed along with a number of other officials. The ''

Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...

'' mentions that one of the first acts of his successor, Eleutherius, was to kill the persons accused of playing a role in the Exarch John's death.Raymond Davis (translator), ''The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis)'', first edition (Liverpool: University Press, 1989), p. 63.

References

615 deaths 7th-century exarchs of Ravenna Year of birth unknown {{Byzantine-bio-stub