Van wie was Paus Johannes X?

Johannes X (Tossignano (Emilia-Romagna), ca. 860 - Rome, 928 of 929) was paus van maart of april 914 tot mei 928. Johannes stamde uit het geslacht der Cenci uit Tossignano bij Imola en werd bisschop van Bologna en aartsbisschop van het aartsbisdom Ravenna (905).

Tijdens zijn pontificaat werd Italië belegerd door de Saracijnen. De aanval werd afgeslagen door een front dat door de paus was opgezet. In 915 kroonde hij Berengarius I tot keizer.

Johannes raakte in onmin bij Marozia van de clan van Theophylactus, met wie hij vroeger een verhouding zou hebben gehad, en werd gevangengenomen. Johannes werd mogelijk na enkele maanden gevangenschap gewurgd of in 929 vermoord in de Engelenburcht in Rome, mogelijk op bevel van Marozia, maar hierover is niets bekend.

Theodora (also Teodora) (c. 870 – 916) was a senatrix and serenissima vestaratrix of Rome. Theodora, a Byzantine princess, was married to Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum, of the incredibly powerful Theophylact family. Theophylact I was appointed both commander of the Roman militia and head of the papal chapel. The couple shared effective rulership of Rome between 905 and her death in 916.

As heads of the most powerful family in Rome, Theodora and her husband held great sway over the papacy. Liutprand of Cremona, a critic of Theodora and her family, claimed that Pope John X rose to the papacy due to him being the lover of Theodora. Liutprand called her a "shameless harlot".

With her husband Theophylact I, Theodora had at least three children: Marozia, Theodora II, and Sergia. Her daughters Marozia and Theodora II adopted the title senatrix omnium Romanorum. Alberic II of Spoleto was her grandson and he ruled over Rome from 932 to 954.

Her daughter, Marozia, was the alleged lover of Pope Sergius III, and mother of Pope John XI. The latter, according to Liutprand of Cremona and the Liber Pontificalis, was fathered by Sergius. However, the annalist Flodoard (c. 894–966), a direct contemporary of Theodora's, says John XI was the brother of Count Alberic II of Spoleto. Because Alberic II was Marozia's son by her husband Count Alberic I of Spoleto, John was likely the son of Marozia and Alberic I.

Theodora was characterized by the aforementioned Liutprand as a "shameless whore ... [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man". Liutprand, a bishop of Cremona, was known to his contemporaries and modern historians as being unfair to adversaries.