county · Italy

County of Tusculum

999 CE – 1179 CE (approx.) · capital Tusculum

Lordship of the Counts of Tusculum, a Roman noble family who controlled the papacy in the early 11th century and fought the commune of Rome.

Origins

The counts of Tusculum descended from the Theophylacti, the family that dominated Rome in the 10th century. Around 999 Gregory I of Tusculum held the fortified hill town of Tusculum in the Alban Hills, and from there his family built a lordship over the countryside south-east of Rome.

Rule and society

The Tusculani controlled papal elections for decades: Gregory's sons became Popes Benedict VIII (1012–1024) and John XIX (1024–1032), and his grandson Benedict IX was pope three times before being removed. Their power declined after the reform papacy and the Roman commune emerged, but in 1167 Tusculan troops and imperial forces routed a Roman army at Monte Porzio.

Decline and legacy

Squeezed between Rome and the papacy, the counts placed Tusculum under papal and imperial protection in the 12th century. In 1191 the Romans, with Emperor Henry VI's consent, destroyed the town. Survivors are said to have founded nearby Frascati.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Tusculum. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-tusculum
MLA
“County of Tusculum.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-tusculum. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “County of Tusculum.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-tusculum.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Tusculum’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-tusculum (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻