EXARCH was the title first conferred by Justinian on his commander-in-chief and vicegerent in Italy. The conquest of Italy by the Goths in the early part of the 0th c. was a severe blow to the Byzantine pride; and Justinian determined to wipe out the disgrace, and recover the imperial territories. The execution of this project was intrusted at first to Belisarius (q.v.), and afterwards to Narses (q.v.), by whom the recon quest of Italy was effected. The latter was the first who bore the title of E.; and the district over which he ruled was called the exarehale. The seat of the exarchs was Ravenna, the different towns and territories belonging to them being governed by sub ordinate rulers, styled duee$ or dukes. The extent of the exarchate, however, was gradually diminished, until it embraced only the country about Ravenna, the present Romagna, and the coasts of Rimini as far as Ancona. This was brought about partly by the conquests of the Longobards. partly by the dukes of Venice and Naples making themselves independent. In the year 728, even this small portion fell, for a short time,
into the hands of the Longobards. In 752, Astulf, or Astolphus, king of the Longo bards, put an end to the Byzantine rule at Ravenna; but in 755, he was compelled to resign the exarchate to Pepin the less, king of the Franks, who gave it over to the bishop of Rome, Stephanus IL—In the Christian church, E. was originally a title of the bishops, afterwards of a bishop who presided over several others—a primate. It was borne by the bishops of Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus, Cfesarea, and Constantino ple, till it was finally exchanged for the title of patriarch. A superior over several monasteries was also called in ancient times an exareli. The same title is also borne, in the modern Greek church, by the person who " visits" officially, as a sort of legate of the patriarch, the clergy and churches in a province.