Olympius (Ancient Greek:Ολύμπιος,romanized: Olúmpios; died 652) wasExarch of Ravenna from 649 until his death in 652. Prior to his term as exarch, Olympius was an imperial chamberlain atConstantinople.[1]
In 649, according to theLiber Pontificalis, theByzantine emperorConstans II ordered Olympius to arrestPope Martin I on the grounds that the pope's election had not been submitted to the emperor for approval. Constans was upset with Martin's condemnation of theMonothelite heresy; he feared that it would resurrect the religious conflict that had plagued the empire. Olympius attempted to gain the support of the citizenry ofRome, as well as thebishops; he also allegedly considered ordering theassassination of Martin. None of his actions, however, met with much success.
Eventually, Olympius decided to switch his allegiance and sided with the Pope, simultaneously declaring himself emperor. He marched intoSicily in 652, either to fight theSaracens or the local Byzantine forces. However, his army was stricken by an unknown disease, which killed Olympius that same year.[2]
| Preceded by | Exarch of Ravenna 649–652 | Succeeded by |
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