Paolo Lucio Anafesto

Paolo Lucio Anafesto was, according to Venetian chronicler John the Deacon and other later traditions, the first Doge of Venice, serving (allegedly) from 697 to 717. Since he is not known from contemporary sources, various scholars have raised several questions regarding his personal (prosopographical) historicity and reliability of late accounts, provided by John the Deacon, who died sometime after 1018.

Traditional accounts Traditional accounts on Anafesto are based on John the Deacon's work, known as Chronicon Venetum et Gradense, written at the beginning of the 11th century, and also on several other, much later traditions. According to such sources, Anafesto was a nobleman from Eraclea, then the main town in the region. He was elected in 697 as duke, with official jurisdiction over the entire Venetian lagoon. His job was to both put an end to the conflicts between the various tribunes who until then had governed the differing towns, and to coordinate the defense against the Lombards and the Slavs who were encroaching on their settlements. He also repelled Umayyad attacks and raids onto the region.

Historical criticism Anafesto's existence is uncorroborated by any source before the 11th century. Analyzing accounts of John the Deacon, in light of the Pactum Lotharii from 840, modern scholars have pointed out that John's accounts might have been derived from data on some contemporary dignitaries, such as Paul (a Byzantine Exarch of Ravenna), or some of neighboring Lombard dukes who had similar name. Moreover, a subordinate of exarch Paul, magister militum Marcellus, similarly corresponds to the alleged Anafesto's successor Marcello Tegalliano, thus casting doubt on the authenticity of John the Deacon's account on both of them.