Stephen II (died 799) was the

duke of Naples The dukes of Naples were the military commanders of the ''ducatus Neapolitanus'', a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine outpost in Italy, one of the few remaining after the conquest of the Lombards. In 661, Emperor Constans II, highly interested in south I ...

during an important transitional period in its history, from 755 to his death. He was styled as ''eminentissimus

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 ...

'' and was the leader of the local aristocracy when he was appointed by the patrician of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. By the end of his reign, through a rupture with 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 ...

, Naples was practically independent. After his abdication, Naples experienced a period of crisis until the election of Sergius I in 840. At the beginning of his reign, Naples was still a loyal dukedom of the Byzantines, her dukes appointed by the emperor. In 761, therefore, she denied entry to the papal envoy, the Bishop Paul, an opponent of the

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

then gripping the Byzantine world. Stephen was no less a supporter of the iconoclasm than the emperor himself. At that time, Stephen addressed Antiochos, the patrician of Sicily and his technical overlord, as "our lord" and "most excellent ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

'' and '' protostrategos''" (763). By 764, however, Naples had thrown off iconoclasm and Paul was able to take up his see. After twelve years of peaceful government, during which he gained much popularity with the people, a plague hit the city of Naples and decimated the citizenry and the clergy, including the bishop himself. The people acclaimed Stephen as bishop. He immediately sought out the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

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, ...

and was consecrated. Though he ceased to be duke, he continued to act as bishop for thirty-three years and he transferred the duchy to his son

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 ...

. He had two other sons, named Caesar, who died in the flower of youth, and Theophylactus.

Sources

*Gay, Jules. ''L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre I''. Burt Franklin: New York, 1904. *Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicilie''. Paris, 1907. 799 deaths 8th-century dukes of Naples 8th-century Italian bishops Year of birth unknown Hypatoi Patricii {{Italy-noble-stub