Abstract

The pontificate of John XII witnessed a major development in papal foreign policy. Repeating the actions of his predecessors two centuries earlier, John called a powerful northern ruler — King Otto I of Germany — to his aid against his Italian enemies. In the eighth century, however, the popes had had little choice, for the Byzantine Empire was entangled in its life-and-death-struggle with the Arabs and the Bulgarians. But by the mid-tenth century, Byzantium had surmounted the crisis, and entered a new era of vigorous expansion on all fronts, including Italy. It has occurred to modern investigators that John XII may have considered calling in Byzantine aid, before he eventually threw in his lot with the Germans