Saeculum Obscurum

Alberic II’s Rule in Rome: Consolidating Power in 10th-Century Rome (AD 932-954)

by HistoriaRomana | Oct 2, 2026 | Medieval and Papal Rome

In the tumultuous landscape of 10th-century Rome, a period often dubbed the Saeculum Obscurum or "Dark Age," the city found itself entangled in a complex web of aristocratic power struggles and a debased papacy. Amidst this chaos, one figure emerged to exert an...

Theophylact I’s Consolidation of Power in Rome (c. AD 913): Architect of the Saeculum Obscurum

by HistoriaRomana | Aug 1, 2026 | History, Medieval Rome, Politics

The early 10th century marked a tumultuous and often scandalous period in the history of Rome and the Papacy, famously dubbed the "Saeculum Obscurum" or "Dark Age" of the Papacy. At the heart of this dramatic era stood a powerful Roman aristocratic family, the...