Callinicus () was the exarch of Ravenna from 597 until 602 or 603. He is called Gallicinus by the Lombard historian Paul the Deacon.Paul the Deacon History of the Lombards, 4.12 ; translated by William Dudley Foulke, 1907 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1974), p. 159 (Latin text)
The first few years of his administration were marked by relatively good fortune. In 599, he won a victory over the Slavs.Florin Curta, "The early Slavs in the northern and eastern Adriatic region: a critical approach," Archeologia medievale: cultura materiale, insediamenti, territorio, XXXVII (2010): 307–-329. In 598 an armistice between the Byzantines and the Lombards had been concluded in which the Lombards were acknowledged as sovereign rulers of the lands in their possession, and which was observed by both parties over the following years. However around 601, Callinicus took advantage of a rebellion by Dukes Gaidoald of Trent and Gisulf II of Friuli to break the peace by kidnapping the Lombard king Agilulf's daughter and her husband, Duke Godescalc of Parma.Paul the Deacon History, 4.20 (translated by Foulke, p. 165) records the kidnapping; Jeffrey Richards, The Popes and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages (London:Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), p. 174, explains Callinicus' motivation. In response, Agilulf invaded the Exarchate, destroying Padua, pillaging Istria, then defeating Callinicus outside the walls of Ravenna.Richards, Popes and the Papacy, p. 174
Shortly afterwards Callinicus was replaced by Smaragdus; Richards states Callinicus was recalled.
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