Tommaso Caracciolo

Tommaso Caracciolo, Duke of Roccarainola (1572–1631), was a Neapolitan aristocrat who served Spain as a professional soldier. He began as a common infantryman. After fighting at the Siege of Ostend in 1601, he led a tercio in the War of the Montferrat Succession.

In the Bohemian-Palatine War he played a decisive part at the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620, holding off Hungarian and Cossack cavalry. Philip IV made him Duke of Roccarainola in 1625; the same year the French captured him in Liguria and held him for ransom. He died in 1631 travelling to Genoa as governor-general.