principal political support until his death in either 924 or 925. Theophylact had two daughters with Theodora: Marozia and Theodora. In the longer term, the heirs of Theophylact, the Tusculani, were the rivals of the Crescentii in controlling Rome, and placed several popes on the Chair of St Peter. Their eventual heirs were the Colonna family. Reputation It is now believed that Theodora's influence over Theophylact was overstated by contemporary chroniclers such as Liutprand of Cremona, who wished to exaggerate the corruption of the Roman and papal court, as a counterpoint to rulers such as Alberic I of Spoleto, and the future emperor Otto I, whom Liutprand later served. The charges of adultery against Theodora, the use of the term "harlot", and the presumption that she was using her "feminine wiles" to prostitute herself in order to influence her husband and appoint numerous lovers to important posts were used to tarnish the rule of Theophylact and his successors. Later historians, influenced by the moral tone of this critique, described the influence of Theodora and her descendants over the papacy as the "pornocracy" or the "Rule of the Harlots". Modern historians now instead use the term saeculum obscurum to describe the period when the papacy was under the direct control of the Roman nobility, in particular when it was under the domination of the family of Theophylact. Family tree References Williams, George L., Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants Of The Popes (2004) Gregorovius, Ferdinand, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages Vol. III (2010) *Lindsay Brook, "Popes and pornocrats: Rome in the Early Middle Ages" Notes 9th-century births 920s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Magistri militum Medieval Roman consuls 9th-century Italian nobility 10th-century Italian nobility Counts of Tusculum