'Ariulf' (died 602) was the second
duke of Spoleto from
592 (the death of
Faroald[1]) to his own death.
In 592, Ariulf, whose position at
Spoleto and control of key points along the
Via Flaminia, the key communication between
Ravenna and
Rome, to cut its alternative, the fortified
Via Amerina, and capture several
Byzantine cities. He took several strongholds in
Latium and threatened Rome, where
Gregory the Great, cut off from the Exarchate, was forced to make a separate peace with him, to the intense dissatisfaction of
Romanus (exarch),
Exarch of Ravenna, who considered himself the Imperial representative in Italy and popes' superior. Ariulf's successes were brief: the Exarch's forces retook the Roman fortifications and the city of
Perugia and cleared the roads for the time being.
He then assisted
Arechis I of Benevento in besieging
Naples, another important city of Imperial Italy. He won a great victory at
Camerino, where according to
Paul the Deacon, he claimed to have seen
Saint Sabinus, the martyr-hero of Spoleto, aiding him and was thus led to convert to Catholic Christianity.
Notes
1. The dates of Ariulf's reign are either 591–601 or 592–602.
Sources
★
Paul the Deacon.
(northvegr.org) ''Historia Langobardorum''.