Olympius and the ‘Saracens’ of Sicily

The purpose of this note is to indicate how a recently re-edited inscription may contribute towards the solution of a long-standing problem posed by a short notice in the Liber Pontificalis . This notice appears to report that, following his failure to force Pope Martin I to accept the Typus issued by the emperor Constans II (641-68), the cubicularius and exarch of Italy Olympius led an expedition against the Saracens living in Sicily. He then died of disease ca. 652. The standard edition, and a recent translation, run: Videns ergo Olympius exarchus quia manus Dei circumtegebat Martinum sanctissimum papam, necesse habuit se cum pontifice concordare et omnia quae ei iussa fuerant eidem sanctissimo viro indicare. Quia facta pace cum sancta Dei ecclesia, colligens exercitum, profectus est Siciliam adversus gentem Saracenorum qui ibidem inhabitabant. Et peccato faciente maior interitus in exercitu Romano provenit. Et post hoc isdem exarchus morbo interiit. So when Olympius saw that God’s hand was shielding holy Pope Martin, hewas forced to reconcile himself to the pontiff and disclose all his orders to that holy man. Now that he had made peace with God’s holy church he mustered the army and set out for Sicily against the Saracen people who were living there. The result of sin was that the destruction befalling the Roman army was all the greater. After this the exarch died of disease

Ancient history · Art · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History

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