151-724: Timeline The Kingdom of the Lombards , also known as the Lombard Kingdom and later as the Kingdom of all Italy ( Latin : Regnum totius Italiae ), was an early medieval state established by the Lombards , a Germanic people , on the Italian Peninsula in the latter part of the 6th century. The king was traditionally elected by the very highest-ranking aristocrats, the dukes , as several attempts to establish
302-745: A Christian king. His alliance with the Franks, crowned by a symbolic adoption of the young Pepin the Short , and with the Avars, on the eastern borders, allowed him to keep his hand relatively free in the Italian theater, but he soon clashed with the Byzantines and with the Papacy. A first attempt to take advantage of an Arab offensive against Constantinople in 717 achieved few results. Closer relations with
453-521: A Roman invasion. King Gaiseric tried to negotiate a peace with Majorian, who rejected the proposal. In the wake of this, Gaiseric devastated Mauretania , part of his own kingdom, fearing that the Roman army would land there. Having regained control of Hispania, Majorian intended to use his fleet at Carthaginiensis to attack the Vandals. Before he could, the fleet was destroyed, allegedly by traitors paid by
604-555: A West continued, as happened after the deaths of Constantine and Theodosius I . The Roman Empire was under the rule of a single emperor, but, with the death of Constantine in 337, the empire was partitioned between his surviving male heirs. Constantius , his third son and the second by his wife Fausta (Maximian's daughter) received the eastern provinces, including Constantinople, Thrace , Asia Minor , Syria , Egypt , and Cyrenaica; Constantine II received Britannia, Gaul , Hispania, and Mauretania ; and Constans , initially under
755-633: A candidate of their own, Julius Nepos , magister militum in Dalmatia . With the support of Eastern emperors Leo II and Zeno , Julius Nepos crossed the Adriatic Sea in the spring of 474 to depose Glycerius. At the arrival of Nepos in Italy, Glycerius abdicated without a fight and was allowed to live out his life as the Bishop of Salona . The brief rule of Nepos in Italy ended in 475 when Orestes ,
906-597: A devastating plague pandemic (541–542). Although the Byzantine Empire eventually prevailed, the triumph proved to be a pyrrhic victory , as all these factors caused the population of the Italian Peninsula to crash, leaving the conquered territories severely underpopulated and impoverished. Although an invasion attempt by the Franks , then allies of the Ostrogoths , late in the war was successfully repelled,
1057-624: A dynastic crisis. The succession of Cunipert's minor son, Liutpert , was immediately challenged by the Duke of Turin , Raginpert , the most prominent of the Bavarian dynasty. Raginpert defeated the supporters of Liutpert ( viz. , his tutor Ansprand , Duke of Asti, and the Duke of Bergamo, Rotarit ) in Novara , and, at the beginning of 701, took the throne. However, he died after just eight months, leaving
1208-443: A financial account, Valentinian suddenly leaped from his seat and declared that he would no longer be the victim of Aetius' drunken depravities. Aetius attempted to defend himself from the charges, but Valentinian drew his sword and struck the weaponless Aetius on the head, killing him on the spot. On 16 March the following year, Valentinian himself was killed by supporters of the dead general, possibly acting for Petronius Maximus. With
1359-537: A former secretary of Attila and the magister militum of Julius Nepos, took control of Ravenna and forced Nepos to flee by ship to Dalmatia . Later in the same year, Orestes crowned his own young son as Western emperor under the name Romulus Augustus . Romulus Augustus was not recognised as Western emperor by the Eastern Court, who maintained that Nepos was the only legal Western emperor, reigning in exile from Dalmatia . On 4 September 476, Odoacer , leader of
1510-604: A gradual Romanization . While the predominantly Greek culture of the East and the predominantly Latin culture of the West functioned effectively as an integrated whole, political and military developments would ultimately realign the Empire along those cultural and linguistic lines. More often than not, Greek and Latin practices (and to some extent the languages themselves) would be combined in fields such as history (e.g., those by Cato
1661-481: A hereditary dynasty failed. The kingdom was subdivided into a varying number of duchies, ruled by semi-autonomous dukes, which were in turn subdivided into gastaldates at the municipal level. The capital of the kingdom and the center of its political life was Pavia in the modern northern Italian region of Lombardy . The Lombard invasion of Italy was opposed by the Byzantine Empire , which had control of
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#17327726162551812-529: A large migration by the Lombards , a Germanic people that had been previously allied with the Byzantine Empire, ensued. In the spring of 568 the Lombards, led by King Alboin , moved from Pannonia and quickly overwhelmed the small Byzantine army left by Narses to guard Italy. The Lombard arrival broke the political unity of the Italian Peninsula for the first time since the Roman conquest (between
1963-646: A lasting peace with the Parthians. The Parthian Empire would be succeeded by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire. Controlling the western border of Rome was reasonably easy because it was relatively close to Rome itself and also because of the disunity among the Germans. However, controlling both frontiers simultaneously during wartime was difficult. If the emperor
2114-509: A long-term territorial and official base, but was never able to do so. Stilicho tried to defend Italy and bring the invading Goths under control, but to do so he stripped the Rhine frontier of troops and the Vandals , Alans , and Suevi invaded Gaul in large numbers in 406. Stilicho became a victim of court intrigues and was killed in 408. While the East began a slow recovery and consolidation,
2265-496: A man in his entourage who perhaps colluded with the Byzantines. Following Cleph's assassination another king was not appointed, and for a decade dukes ruled as absolute monarchs in their duchies . At this stage, the occupation of the dukes was simply the heads of the various fara (families) of the Lombard people. Not yet firmly associated with the cities, they simply acted independently, also because they were under pressure from
2416-461: A matter of years, the East–West administrative division would endure in one form or another over the coming centuries. As such, the unofficial Western Roman Empire would exist intermittently in several periods between the 3rd and 5th centuries. Some emperors, such as Constantine I and Theodosius I , governed, if briefly, as the sole Augustus across the Roman Empire. On the death of Theodosius in 395,
2567-508: A new rebellion, that of the Duke of Friuli, Corvulus , and adopted a strongly pro-Catholic policy. In 712, Ansprand returned to Italy with an army raised in Bavaria, and clashed with Aripert; the battle was uncertain, but the king behaved cowardly and was abandoned by his supporters. He died while trying to escape to the realm of the Franks, and drowned in the Ticino , dragged to the bottom by
2718-518: A novel fashion. It was the young widow Theodelinda who chose the heir to the throne and her new husband: the Duke of Turin , Agilulf . The following year (591) Agilulf received the official investiture from the Assembly of the Lombards , held in Milan . The influence of the queen over Agilulf's policies was remarkable and major decisions are attributed to both. After a rebellion among some dukes in 594
2869-617: A partial list of its consuls still survives. It maintained Roman religion, language, and culture, and was far more concerned with fighting the Germanic tribes , fending off Germanic incursions and restoring the security the Gallic provinces had enjoyed in the past, than in challenging the Roman central government. In the reign of Claudius Gothicus (268–270), large expanses of the Gallic Empire were restored to Roman rule. At roughly
3020-476: A power structure, useful only to make forays in search of plunder. In 584 the dukes agreed to crown King Cleph's son, Autari , and delivered to the new monarch half of their property (and then probably getting even with a new crackdown against the surviving Roman property land). Autari was then able to reorganise the Lombards and stabilise their settlement in Italy. He assumed, like the Ostrogoth Kings ,
3171-594: A rapprochement between Franks and Byzantines, but Autari managed (in 588 and again, despite some severe early setbacks, in the 590s) to repel the resulting Frankish attacks. The period of Autari marked, according to Paul the Deacon , the attainment of the first internal stability in the Lombard kingdom: Erat hoc mirabile in regno Langobardorum: nulla erat violentia, nullae struebantur insidiae; nemo aliquem iniuste angariabat, nemo spoliabat; non erant furta, non latrocinia; unusquisque quo libebat securus sine timore There
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#17327726162553322-525: A series of puppet emperors who could do little to halt the collapse of Roman authority and the loss of the territories re-conquered by Majorian. The first of these puppet emperors, Libius Severus , had no recognition outside of Italy, with the Eastern emperor Leo I and provincial governors in Gaul and Illyria all refusing to recognize him. Severus died in 465 and Leo I, with the consent of Ricimer, appointed
3473-602: A single emperor to govern the entire Empire was institutionalized by emperor Diocletian following the disastrous civil wars and disintegrations of the Crisis of the Third Century . He introduced the system of the Tetrarchy in 286, with two senior emperors titled Augustus , one in the East and one in the West, each with an appointed subordinate and heir titled Caesar . Though the tetrarchic system would collapse in
3624-466: Is not until the reign of Ratchis that they became an integral part of royal administration, when the king required their use on passports . The only evidence for their use at the ducal level comes from the Duchy of Benevento , where two private charters contain requests for the duke to confirm them with his seal. The existence of seal rings "testifies to the tenacity of Roman traditions of government". In
3775-536: Is sometimes used to mark the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages . Odoacer's Italy and other barbarian kingdoms , many of them representing former Western Roman allies that had been granted lands in return for military assistance, would maintain a pretense of Roman continuity through the continued use of the old Roman administrative systems and nominal subservience to the Eastern Roman court. In
3926-829: The Basilica of St. John (also known as the Duomo of Monza) and the Royal Palace of Monza, while some masterpieces in gold were created such as the Agilulf Cross , the Hen with seven chicks , the Theodelinda Gospels and the famous Iron Crown (all resident in the Duomo of Monza treasury ). After the death of Agilulf in 616, the throne passed to his son Adaloald, a minor. The regency (which continued even after
4077-570: The Battle of Mursa Major and committed suicide, a complete reunification of the whole Empire occurred under Constantius in 353. Constantius II focused most of his power in the East. Under his rule, the city of Byzantium – only recently re-founded as Constantinople – was fully developed as a capital. At Constantinople, the political, economic and military control of the Eastern Empire's resources would remain safe for centuries to come. The city
4228-479: The Battle of Samarra against the Sasanian Empire and was succeeded by Jovian , who ruled for only nine months. Following the death of Jovian, Valentinian I emerged as emperor in 364. He immediately divided the Empire once again, giving the eastern half to his brother Valens . Stability was not achieved for long in either half, as the conflicts with outside forces (barbarian tribes) intensified. In 376,
4379-460: The Domain of Soissons ) also recognized Nepos as his sovereign and the legitimate Western emperor. The authority of Julius Nepos as emperor was accepted not only by Odoacer in Italy, but by the Eastern Empire and Syagrius in Gaul (who had not recognized Romulus Augustulus). Nepos was murdered by his own soldiers in 480, a plot some attribute to Odoacer or the previous, deposed emperor Glycerius, and
4530-572: The Exarchate to submit to the Lombards. Internally, Rothari strengthened the central power at the expense of the duchies of Langobardia Maior, while in the south the Duke of Benevento, Arechi I (who in turn was expanding Lombard domains), also recognized the authority of the King of Pavia. The memory of Rothari is linked to his famous edict, promulgated in 643 in Pavia by a gairethinx , an assembly of
4681-529: The First Jewish–Roman War . To ensure a commander's loyalty, a pragmatic emperor might hold some members of the general's family hostage . To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis , Governor of Ostia , who were respectively the younger son and brother-in-law of Vespasian. Nero's rule was ended by a revolt of the Praetorian Guard , who had been bribed in
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4832-637: The Gildonic War . Stilicho managed to subdue Gildo but was campaigning in Raetia when the Visigoths entered Italy in 402. Stilicho, hurrying back to aid in defending Italy, summoned legions in Gaul and Britain with which he managed to defeat Alaric twice before agreeing to allow him to retreat back to Illyria . The weakening of the frontiers in Britain and Gaul had dire consequences for the Empire. As
4983-471: The Parthian Empire in the East presented the greatest threat to the Empire. The Parthians were too remote and powerful to be conquered and there was a constant Parthian threat of invasion. The Parthians repelled several Roman invasions, and even after successful wars of conquest, such as those implemented by Trajan or Septimius Severus , the conquered territories were forsaken in attempts to ensure
5134-523: The Roman Senate . Though supported by the Gallic provinces and the Visigoths, Avitus was resented in Italy due to ongoing food shortages caused by Vandal control of trade routes, and for using a Visigothic imperial guard. He disbanded his guard due to popular pressure, and the Suebian general Ricimer used the opportunity to depose Avitus, counting on popular discontent. After the deposition of Avitus,
5285-662: The Second Tetrarchy . The Tetrarchy collapsed after the unexpected death of Constantius in 306. His son, Constantine , was declared Western emperor by the British legions, but several other claimants arose and attempted to seize the Western Empire. In 308, Galerius revived the Tetrarchy by dividing the Western Empire between Constantine and Licinius . However, Constantine was more interested in conquering
5436-587: The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus . The severity of the Vandal sack of 455 is disputed, though with the Vandals plundering the city for a full fourteen days as opposed to the Visigothic sack of 410, where the Visigoths only spent three days in the city, it was likely more thorough. Avitus , a prominent general under Petronius, was proclaimed emperor by the Visigothic king Theodoric II and accepted as such by
5587-643: The Three Chapter schism (where the Patriarch of Aquileia had broken communion with Rome), maintained a direct relationship with Gregory the Great (preserved in correspondence between him and Theodelinda) and promote the establishment of monasteries, like the one founded by Saint Columbanus in Bobbio . Even art enjoyed, under Agilulf and Theodelinda, a flourishing season. In architecture Theodelinda founded
5738-574: The Visigoths , fleeing before the Ostrogoths , who in turn were fleeing before the Huns , were allowed to cross the river Danube and settle in the Balkans by the Eastern government. Mistreatment caused a full-scale rebellion, and in 378 they inflicted a crippling defeat on the Eastern Roman field army in the Battle of Adrianople , in which Emperor Valens also died. The defeat at Adrianople was shocking to
5889-530: The civil war of 218 between Emperor Macrinus and Elagabalus . As the Empire expanded, two key frontiers revealed themselves. In the West, behind the rivers Rhine and Danube , Germanic tribes were an important enemy. Augustus, the first emperor, had tried to conquer them but had pulled back after the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest . Whilst the Germanic tribes were formidable foes,
6040-577: The 3rd and 2nd century BC). The peninsula was now torn between territories ruled by the Lombards and the Byzantines, with boundaries that changed over time. The newly arrived Lombards were divided into two main areas in Italy: the Langobardia Maior , which comprised northern Italy gravitating around the capital of the Lombard kingdom, Ticinum (the modern-day city of Pavia in the Italian region of Lombardy ); and Langobardia Minor , which included
6191-552: The 3rd century. This system effectively divided the Empire into four major regions, the First Tetrarchy : in the West, Maximian made Mediolanum (now Milan ) his capital, and Constantius made Trier his. In the East, Galerius made his capital Sirmium and Diocletian made Nicomedia his. On 1 May 305, Diocletian and Maximian abdicated, replaced by Galerius and Constantius, who, in turn, appointed Maximinus II and Valerius Severus , respectively, as their caesars, thus creating
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6342-623: The 6th century Byzantine Emperor Justinian attempted to reassert imperial authority in the territories of the Western Roman Empire . In the resulting Gothic War (535–554) waged against the Ostrogothic Kingdom , Byzantine hopes of an early and easy triumph evolved into a long war of attrition that resulted in mass dislocation of population and destruction of property. Problems were further exacerbated by volcanic winter (536) , causing widespread famine (538–542) and
6493-462: The 6th century, Emperor Justinian I re-imposed direct Imperial rule on large parts of the former Western Roman Empire, including the prosperous regions of North Africa , the ancient Roman heartland of Italy and parts of Hispania . Political instability in the Eastern heartlands, combined with foreign invasions, plague, and religious differences, made efforts to retain control of these territories difficult and they were gradually lost for good. Though
6644-464: The Avars. Grimoald was invested by the Lombard nobles, but still had to deal with the legitimate faction, which tried international alliances to return the throne to Perctarit. Grimoald, however, persuaded the Avars to return the deposed ruler. Perctarit, as soon as he returned to Italy, had to make an act of submission to the usurper before he could escape to the Franks of Neustria , who attacked Grimoald in 663. The new king, hated by Neustria because he
6795-410: The Duchy of Brescia). Alahis rebelled again later, joining with the political opponents of the pro-Catholic Bavarian policy at Perctarit's death in 688. His son and successor Cunipert was initially defeated and forced to take refuge on the Isola Comacina - only in 689 did he manage to quash the rebellion, defeating and killing Alahis in the Battle of Coronate at the Adda . The crisis resulted from
6946-406: The Eastern Empire retained territories in the south of Italy until the eleventh century, the influence that the Empire had over Western Europe had diminished significantly. The papal coronation of the Frankish king Charlemagne as Roman Emperor in 800 marked a new imperial line that would evolve into the Holy Roman Empire , which presented a revival of the Imperial title in Western Europe but
7097-402: The Eastern emperor Leo I did not select a new western Augustus . The prominent general Majorian defeated an invading force of Alemanni and was subsequently proclaimed Western emperor by the army and eventually accepted as such by Leo. Majorian was the last Western emperor to attempt to recover the Western Empire with his own military forces. To prepare, Majorian significantly strengthened
7248-434: The Eastern emperor Theodosius I restored him to power. In 392, the Frankish and pagan magister militum Arbogast assassinated Valentinian II and proclaimed an obscure senator named Eugenius as emperor. In 394 the forces of the two halves of the Empire again clashed with great loss of life. Again Theodosius I won, and he briefly ruled a united Empire until his death in 395. He was the last emperor to rule both parts of
7399-416: The Eastern emperor Zeno chose not to appoint a new Western emperor. Zeno, recognizing that no true Roman control remained over the territories legally governed by the Western court, instead chose to abolish the juridical division of the position of emperor and declared himself the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. Zeno became the first sole Roman emperor since the division after Theodosius I, 85 years prior, and
7550-469: The Elder ), philosophy and rhetoric . Minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or oppressed cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion. While this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime. In a full-blown military campaign , the legions were far more numerous – as, for example, those led by Vespasian in
7701-405: The Empire to have been split into two empires but viewed it as a single polity governed by two imperial courts for administrative expediency. The Western Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court in Ravenna disappeared by AD 554, at the end of Justinian 's Gothic War . Though there were periods with more than one emperor ruling jointly before, the view that it was impossible for
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#17327726162557852-415: The Empire. Aetius transferred his forces to the Danube, though Attila concentrated on raiding the Eastern Roman provinces in the Balkans, providing temporary relief to the Western Empire. In 449, Attila received a message from Honoria , Valentinian III's sister, offering him half the western empire if he would rescue her from an unwanted marriage that her brother was forcing her into. With a pretext to invade
8003-401: The Franks into modern Piedmont and led the Byzantines to ask, for the first time since the Lombards had entered Italy, for a truce. At the end, he occupied the last Byzantine stronghold in northern Italy: Isola Comacina in Lake Como . To ensure a stable peace with the Franks, Autari attempted to marry a Frankish princess, but the project failed. Then the king, in a move that would influence
8154-477: The Gallo-Roman senator Jovinus revolted after proclaiming himself emperor, with the support of the Gallic nobility and the barbarian Burgundians and Alans. Honorius turned to the Visigoths under King Athaulf for support. Athaulf defeated and executed Jovinus and his proclaimed co-emperor Sebastianus in 413, around the same time as another usurper arose in Africa , Heraclianus . Heraclianus attempted to invade Italy but failed and retreated to Carthage, where he
8305-447: The German provinces – rebelled, and his assault on Colonia Agrippina resulted in the deaths of Saloninus and the prefect. In the confusion that followed, an independent state known in modern historiography as the Gallic Empire emerged. Its capital was Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier ), and it quickly expanded its control over the German and Gaulish provinces, all of Hispania and Britannia . It had its own senate , and
8456-536: The Germanic foederati in Italy, captured Ravenna, killed Orestes and deposed Romulus. Though Romulus was deposed, Nepos did not return to Italy and continued to reign as Western emperor from Dalmatia , with support from Constantinople. Odoacer proclaimed himself ruler of Italy and began to negotiate with the Eastern emperor Zeno . Zeno eventually granted Odoacer patrician status as recognition of his authority and accepted him as his viceroy of Italy. Zeno, however, insisted that Odoacer had to pay homage to Julius Nepos as
8607-493: The Great ; thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the major cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture, Greek often serving as the lingua franca . Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West: Italia (modern Italy), Gaul (modern France), Gallia Belgica (parts of modern Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg ), and Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal). These lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in
8758-404: The Hun homelands along the Danube, forced Attila to turn back and leave Italy. When Attila died unexpectedly in 453, the power struggle that erupted between his sons ended the threat posed by the Huns. Valentinian III was intimidated by Aetius and was encouraged by the Roman senator Petronius Maximus and the chamberlain Heraclius to assassinate him. When Aetius was at court in Ravenna delivering
8909-399: The Hunnic forces, though Attila escaped. Attila regrouped and invaded Italy in 452. With Aetius not having enough forces to attack him, the road to Rome was open. Valentinian sent Pope Leo I and two leading senators to negotiate with Attila. This embassy, combined with a plague among Attila's troops, the threat of famine, and news that the Eastern emperor Marcian had launched an attack on
9060-422: The Italian toponymy ). The economic system of late antiquity , which focused on large estates worked by peasants in semi-servile condition, was not revolutionized, but modified only to benefit the new rulers. After ten years of interregnum, the need for a strong centralised monarchy was clear even to the most independent of the dukes; Franks and Byzantines pressed and the Lombards could no longer afford so fluid
9211-446: The Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento in southern Italy. The territories which remained under Byzantine control were called "Romania" (today's Italian region of Romagna ) in northeastern Italy and had its stronghold in the Exarchate of Ravenna . Arriving in Italy, King Alboin gave control of the Eastern Alps to one of his most trusted lieutenants, Gisulf , who became the first Duke of Friuli in 568. The duchy, established in
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#17327726162559362-417: The Lombards at the time of its demise was the last minor Germanic kingdom in Europe. Some regions were never under Lombard domination, including Latium , Sardinia , Sicily , Calabria , Naples , Venice and southern Apulia . A reduced Regnum Italiae , a heritage of the Lombards, continued to exist for centuries as one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire , roughly corresponding to
9513-401: The Lombards then imposed themselves at first as the dominant caste in place of the former lineages, who were subsequently extinguished or exiled. The products of the land were allocated to his Roman subjects that worked it, giving to the Lombards a third ( tertia ) of crops. The proceeds were not given to individuals but to the family, which administered them in the halls (a term still used in
9664-488: The Rhine frontier in the 4th century, when Trier frequently served as a military capital of sorts for the Empire. Many leading Western generals were barbarians . The reign of Honorius was, even by Western Roman standards, chaotic and plagued by both internal and external struggles. The Visigothic foederati under Alaric, magister militum in Illyricum , rebelled in 395. Gildo , the Comes Africae and Magister utriusque militiae per Africam , rebelled in 397 and initiated
9815-411: The Roman Empire before the West fragmented and collapsed. Theodosius I's older son Arcadius inherited the eastern half while the younger Honorius got the western half. Both were still minors and neither was capable of ruling effectively. Honorius was placed under the tutelage of the half-Roman/half-barbarian magister militum Flavius Stilicho , while Rufinus became the power behind the throne in
9966-431: The Roman Empire sank into a 50-year period of civil war now known as the Crisis of the Third Century. During this period, the Empire saw the combined pressures of barbarian invasions and migrations into Roman territory, civil wars, peasant rebellions and political instability, with multiple usurpers competing for power. The idea of dividing the empire was first developed in this time; Valerian and his son Gallienus divided
10117-406: The Roman town of Forum Iulii (modern-day Cividale del Friuli ), constantly fought with the Slavic population across the Gorizia border. Justified by its exceptional military needs, the Duchy of Friuli thus had greater autonomy compared to other duchies of Langobardia Maior until the reign of Liutprand (712–744). Over time, other Lombard duchies were created in major cities of the kingdom. This
10268-486: The Romanized population subject to invasions, first by the Picts and then by the Saxons , Angli , and the Jutes who began to settle permanently from about 440 onwards. After Honorius accepted Constantine as co-emperor, Constantine's general in Hispania, Gerontius , proclaimed Maximus as emperor. With the aid of general Constantius , Honorius defeated Gerontius and Maximus in 411 and shortly thereafter captured and executed Constantine III. With Constantius back in Italy,
10419-405: The Romans and Franks, but was a unique case among the Lombards. Perhaps because of this, a conflict broke out between Perctarit, who was based in Milan, and Godepert, who remained in Pavia. The Duke of Benevento, Grimoald , intervened with a substantial military force to support Godepert, but, as soon as he arrived in Pavia, he killed Godepert and took his place. Perctarit, clearly in danger, fled to
10570-441: The Romans, and forced them to negotiate with and settle the Visigoths within the borders of the Empire, where they would become semi-independent foederati under their own leaders. More than in the East, there was also opposition to the Christianizing policy of the emperors in the western part of the Empire. In 379, Valentinian I's son and successor Gratian declined to wear the mantle of Pontifex Maximus , and in 382 he rescinded
10721-419: The Tetrici were pardoned, although they were first paraded in a triumph. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire when, in 286, he elevated Maximian to the rank of Augustus (emperor) and gave him control of the Western Empire, while he continued to rule the East. In 293, Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were appointed as their subordinate ( caesars ), as a way to avoid the civil unrest that had marked
10872-541: The Vandals and Africa. Not only did the Vandals pose a constant danger to coastal Italy and trade in the Mediterranean, but the province they ruled was economically vital to the survival of the West. Majorian began a campaign to fully reconquer Hispania to use it as a base for the reconquest of Africa. Throughout 459, Majorian campaigned against the Suebi in northwestern Hispania. The Vandals began to increasingly fear
11023-429: The Vandals, Alans and Suebi , to cross the river and enter Roman territory in 406. Honorius was convinced by the minister Olympius that Stilicho was conspiring to overthrow him, and so arrested and executed Stilicho in 408. Olympius headed a conspiracy that orchestrated the deaths of key individuals related to the faction of Stilicho, including his son and the families of many of his federated troops. This led many of
11174-409: The Vandals. Deprived of his fleet, Majorian had to cancel his attack on the Vandals and conclude a peace with Gaiseric. Disbanding his barbarian forces, Majorian intended to return to Rome and issue reforms, stopping at Arelate on his way. Here, Ricimer deposed and arrested him in 461, having gathered significant aristocratic opposition against Majorian. After five days of beatings and torture, Majorian
11325-482: The Visigoths in 437 and 438 but suffering a defeat himself in 439, ending the conflict in a status quo ante with a treaty. Meanwhile, pressure from the Visigoths and a rebellion by Bonifacius , the governor of Africa, induced the Vandals under King Gaiseric to cross from Spain to Tingitana in what is now Morocco in 429. They temporarily halted in Numidia in 435 before moving eastward. With Aetius occupied in Gaul,
11476-702: The Visigoths, hoping to halt their expansion. The trial and subsequent execution of Romanus , an Italian senator and friend of Ricimer, on the grounds of treachery in 470 made Ricimer hostile to Anthemius. Following two years of ill feeling, Ricimer deposed and killed Anthemius in 472, elevating Olybrius to the Western throne. During the brief reign of Olybrius, Ricimer died and his nephew Gundobad succeeded him as magister militum . After only seven months of rule, Olybrius died of dropsy . Gundobad elevated Glycerius to Western emperor. The Eastern Empire had rejected Olybrius and also rejected Glycerius, instead supporting
11627-460: The West began to collapse entirely. Alaric's men sacked Rome in 410. Honorius, the younger son of Theodosius I, was declared Augustus (and as such co-emperor with his father) on 23 January in 393, at the age of 9. Upon the death of Theodosius, Honorius inherited the throne of the West at the age of ten whilst his older brother Arcadius inherited the East. The western capital was initially Mediolanum, as it had been during previous divisions, but it
11778-583: The West, Attila secured peace with the Eastern court and crossed the Rhine in early 451. With Attila wreaking havoc in Gaul, Aetius gathered a coalition of Roman and Germanic forces, including Visigoths and Burgundians, and prevented the Huns from taking the city of Aurelianum , forcing them into retreat. At the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains , the Roman-Germanic coalition met and defeated
11929-574: The West, while Verus spent most of his reign campaigning in the East, against Parthia . Verus accompanied Marcus at the start of the Marcomannic Wars , but died shortly after. Decades later, Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) appointed his sons Geta and Caracalla as joint heirs. However, Caracalla murdered his brother shortly after succeeding to the throne. With the assassination of the emperor Alexander Severus in March 235 by his own troops,
12080-594: The Western Roman army by recruiting large numbers of barbarian mercenaries, among them the Gepids , Ostrogoths, Rugii , Burgundians, Huns, Bastarnae , Suebi, Scythians and Alans, and built two fleets, one at Ravenna, to combat the strong Vandalic fleet. Majorian personally led the army to wage war in Gaul, leaving Ricimer in Italy. The Gallic provinces and the Visigothic Kingdom had rebelled following
12231-488: The Western Roman government could do nothing to prevent the Vandals conquering the wealthy African provinces, culminating in the fall of Carthage on 19 October 439 and the establishment of the Vandal Kingdom . By the 400s, Italy and Rome itself were dependent on the taxes and foodstuffs from these provinces, leading to an economic crisis. With Vandal fleets becoming an increasing danger to Roman sea trade and
12382-432: The Western court had lacked true power and had been subject to Germanic aristocrats for decades, with most of its legal territory being under control of various barbarian kingdoms. With Odoacer recognising Julius Nepos, and later the Eastern emperor Zeno, as his sovereign, nominal Roman control continued in Italy. Syagrius , who had managed to preserve Roman sovereignty in an exclave in northern Gaul (a realm today known as
12533-475: The army, and written in Latin . The Edict consolidated and codified Germanic rules and customs , but also introduced significant innovations, a sign of the progress of Latin influence on the Lombards. The edict tried to discourage the feud (private revenge) by increasing the weregild (financial compensation) for injuries/murders and also contained drastic restrictions on the use of the death penalty . After
12684-602: The autonomy of his duchy. Perctarit developed a policy in line with the tradition of his dynasty and supported the Catholic Church against Arianism and the chapters anathematized in the Three-Chapter Controversy . He sought and achieved peace with the Byzantines, who acknowledged Lombard sovereignty over most of Italy, and repressed the rebellion of the Duke of Trent , Alahis , although at the cost of hard territorial concessions to Alahis (including
12835-495: The average reign of a Roman Emperor was just 18 months, down from average just over 9 years during the first centuries of the Empire. Western Roman Empire In modern historiography , the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire , collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. Particularly during
12986-423: The capable Eastern general Anthemius as Western emperor following an eighteen-month interregnum . The relationship between Anthemius and the East was good, Anthemius is the last Western emperor recorded in an Eastern law, and the two courts conducted a joint operation to retake Africa from the Vandals, culminating in the disastrous Battle of Cape Bon in 468. In addition Anthemius conducted failed campaigns against
13137-483: The capital back to Pavia, was troubled by these conflicts, as well as external threats; the King was able to withstand an attack of the Avars in Friuli , but could not limit the growing influence of the Franks in the kingdom. At his death, the legend says that, using the same procedure as that followed by his mother Theodelinda, Queen Gundeperga had the privilege to choose her new husband and king. The choice fell on Rothari,
13288-485: The capital, but the ancient Roman city of Milan with Monza as a summer residence. He identified himself, in a votive crown , Gratia Dei rex totius Italiae , "By the grace of God king of all Italy", and not just Langobardorum rex , "King of the Lombards". Moves in this direction also included strong pressure, particularly from Theodelinda, to convert the Lombards, who until then were still largely pagan or Arians, to Catholicism. The rulers also endeavored to heal
13439-479: The character of a pure military occupation and approached a more proper state model. The inclusion of the losers (the Romans) was an inevitable step, and Agilulf made some symbolic choices aimed at the same time at strengthening its power and gaining credit with people of Latin descent. The ceremony of ascension to the throne of his son Adaloald in 604, followed a Byzantine rite. He chose not to continue to use Pavia as
13590-439: The city at the sight of the approaching Vandals, only to be stoned to death by a Roman mob. Petronius had reigned only 11 weeks. With the Vandals at the gates, Pope Leo I requested that the King not destroy the ancient city or murder its inhabitants, to which Gaiseric agreed and the city gates were opened to him. Though keeping his promise, Gaiseric looted great amounts of treasure and damaged objects of cultural significance such as
13741-431: The coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the minor province of Africa (roughly modern Tunisia ). Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia (modern Sicily ) to his holdings. Upon the defeat of Mark Antony , a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire . The Empire featured many distinct cultures, all experienced
13892-466: The coasts and islands of the western and central Mediterranean, Aetius coordinated a counterattack against the Vandals in 440, organizing a large army in Sicily. However, the plans for retaking Africa had to be abandoned due to the immediate need to combat the invading Huns, who in 444 were united under their ambitious king Attila . Turning against their former ally, the Huns became a formidable threat to
14043-511: The conduct of the many wars of his long reign. These values are typical of Liutprand: Germanic descent, king of a nation now overwhelmingly Catholic, joined by those of a piissimus rex ("loving king") (despite having tried several times to take control of Rome). On two occasions, in Sardinia and in the region of Arles (where he had been called by his ally Charles Martel ) he successfully fought Saracen pirates , enhancing his reputation as
14194-585: The court back to Rome. Most western emperors from 450 until 475 reigned from Rome. The last de facto western emperor Romulus Augustulus resided in Ravenna from 475 until his deposition in 476 and Ravenna would later be the capital of both the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the Exarchate of Ravenna . Despite the moved capital, economic power remained focused on Rome and its rich senatorial aristocracy which dominated much of Italy and Africa in particular. After Emperor Gallienus had banned senators from army commands in
14345-627: The deposition of Avitus, refusing to acknowledge Majorian as lawful emperor. At the Battle of Arelate , Majorian decisively defeated the Visigoths under Theoderic II and forced them to relinquish their great conquests in Hispania and return to foederati status. Majorian then entered the Rhone Valley , where he defeated the Burgundians and reconquered the rebel city of Lugdunum . With Gaul back under Roman control, Majorian turned his eyes to
14496-461: The disintegration and loss of the Germanic identity of the Lombard people. The victory allowed Cuniperto, already long associated with the throne by his father, to continue the work of pacifying the kingdom, always with a pro-Catholic accent. A synod convened in Pavia in 698 sanctioned the reintegration of the three anathematized chapters into Catholicism. Cunipert's death in 700 marked the opening of
14647-501: The divergence between the two regions of Langobardia Maior: Neustria , to the west, was loyal to the Bavarian rulers, pro-Catholic and supporters of the policy of reconciliation with Rome and Byzantium; on the other hand, Austria , to the east, identified with the traditional Lombard adherence to paganism and Arianism, and favored a more warlike policy. The dukes of Austria challenged the increasing "latinization" of customs, court practices, law and religion, which they believed accelerated
14798-566: The duke of Brescia and an Arian. Rothari reigned from 636 to 652 and led numerous military campaigns, which brought almost all of northern Italy under the rule of the Lombard kingdom. He conquered Liguria (643), including the capital Genoa , Luni , and Oderzo ; however, not even a total victory over the Byzantine Exarch of Ravenna, defeated and killed along with his eight thousand men at the River Panaro , succeeded in forcing
14949-501: The east. Rufinus and Stilicho were rivals, and their disagreements would be exploited by the Gothic leader Alaric I who again rebelled in 408 following the massacre by Roman legions of thousands of barbarian families who were trying to assimilate into the Roman empire. Neither half of the Empire could raise forces sufficient even to subdue Alaric's men, and both tried to use Alaric against the other half. Alaric himself tried to establish
15100-498: The emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the first King of Italy . In 480, following the assassination of the previous Western emperor Julius Nepos , the Eastern emperor Zeno dissolved the Western court and proclaimed himself the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. The date of 476 was popularized by the 18th-century British historian Edward Gibbon as a demarcating event for the fall of the Western Roman Empire and
15251-484: The emperor of the Western Empire. Odoacer accepted this condition and issued coins in the name of Julius Nepos throughout Italy. This, however, was mainly an empty political gesture, as Odoacer never returned any real power or territories to Nepos. The murder of Nepos in 480 prompted Odoacer to invade Dalmatia , annexing it to his Kingdom of Italy . By convention, the Western Roman Empire is deemed to have ended on 4 September 476, when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustus, but
15402-558: The empire between them, the former ruling from the East and the latter from the West. However, Valerian was captured by the Sassanids at the Battle of Edessa , leaving Gallienus as sole emperor. Saloninus , Gallienus' infant son, and the praetorian prefect Silvanus resided in Colonia Agrippina (modern Cologne ) to solidify the loyalty of the local legions. Nevertheless, Postumus – the local governor of
15553-407: The empire was divided between his two infant sons, with Honorius as his successor in the West governing briefly from Mediolanum then from Ravenna , and Arcadius as his successor in the East governing from Constantinople . In 476, after the Battle of Ravenna , the Roman army in the West suffered defeat at the hands of Odoacer and his Germanic foederati . Odoacer forced the abdication of
15704-580: The end of the Theodosian dynasty , Petronius Maximus proclaimed himself emperor during the ensuing period of unrest. Petronius was not able to take effective control of the significantly weakened and unstable Empire. He broke the betrothal between Huneric, son of the Vandal king Gaiseric , and Eudocia, daughter of Valentinian III. This was seen as a just cause of war by King Gaiseric, who set sail to attack Rome. Petronius and his supporters attempted to flee
15855-474: The end of the 7th century, their conversion to Catholicism was all but complete. Nevertheless, their conflict with the Pope continued and was responsible for their gradual loss of power to the Franks , who conquered the kingdom in 774. Charlemagne , the king of the Franks, adopted the title "King of the Lombards", although he never managed to gain control of Benevento, the southernmost Lombard duchy. The Kingdom of
16006-720: The event shocked people across both halves of the Empire as this was the first time Rome (viewed at least as the symbolic heart of the Empire) had fallen to a foreign enemy since the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC. The Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II , the successor of Arcadius, declared three days of mourning in Constantinople. Without Stilicho and following the sack of Rome, Honorius' reign grew more chaotic. The usurper Constantine III had stripped Roman Britain of its defenses when he crossed over to Gaul in 407, leaving
16157-572: The fate of the kingdom for more than a century, turned to the traditional enemies of the Franks, the Bavarii , to marry a princess, Theodelinda , from the Lethings dynasty. This allowed the monarchy to trace a line of descent from Wacho , king of the Lombards between 510 and 540, a figure surrounded by an aura of legend, and a member of a respected royal line. The alliance with the Bavarii led to
16308-499: The first of the " barbarian kingdoms ", the Visigothic Kingdom , was formed. Honorius' death in 423 was followed by turmoil until the Eastern Roman government installed Valentinian III as Western emperor in Ravenna by force of arms, with Galla Placidia acting as regent during her son's minority. Theodosius II, the Eastern emperor, had hesitated to announce the death of Honorius and in the ensuing interregnum, Joannes
16459-490: The historical record calls this determination into question. Indeed, the deposition of Romulus Augustus received very little attention in contemporary times. Romulus was a usurper in the eyes of the Eastern Roman Empire and the remaining territories of Western Roman control outside of Italy, with the previous emperor Julius Nepos still being alive and claiming to rule the Western Empire in Dalmatia . Furthermore,
16610-458: The imperial government was not providing the military protection the northern provinces expected and needed, numerous usurpers arose in Britain, including Marcus (406–407), Gratian (407), and Constantine III who invaded Gaul in 407. Britain was effectively abandoned by the empire by 410 due to the lack of resources and the need to look after more important frontiers. The weakening of the Rhine frontier allowed multiple barbarian tribes, including
16761-586: The integration of the different components of the kingdom, presenting an image modeled on that of his predecessor Rotari—wise legislator in adding new laws to the Edict, patron (building a church in Pavia dedicated to Saint Ambrose ), and valiant warrior. With Grimoald's death in 671, his minor son Garibald assumed the throne, but Perctarit returned from exile and swiftly deposed him. He immediately came to an agreement with Grimoald's other son, Romualdo I of Benevento, who pledged loyalty in exchange for recognition of
16912-539: The king passed into majority) was exercised by the Queen Mother, Theodelinda , who gave command of the military to Duke Sundarit. Theodelinda continued Agilulf's pro-Catholic policy and maintained the peace with the Byzantines, which generated ever-stronger opposition from the warriors and Arians among the Lombards. A civil war broke out in 624, led by Arioald , Duke of Turin and Adaloald's brother-in-law (through his marriage to Adaloald's sister Gundeperga ). Adaloald
17063-494: The mid-3rd century, the senatorial elite lost all experience of – and interest in – military life. In the early 5th century the wealthy landowning elite of the Roman Senate largely barred its tenants from military service, but it also refused to approve sufficient funding for maintaining a sufficiently powerful mercenary army to defend the entire Western Empire. The West's most important military area had been northern Gaul and
17214-500: The name of Galba . The Praetorian Guard, a figurative "sword of Damocles ", was often perceived as being of dubious loyalty, primarily due its role in court intrigues and in overthrowing several emperors, including Pertinax and Aurelian . Following their example, the legions at the borders increasingly participated in civil wars . For instance, legions stationed in Egypt and the eastern provinces would see significant participation in
17365-576: The papacy therefore had to wait for the outbreak of tensions caused by the worsening of the Byzantine tax, and the expedition in 724 conducted by the Exarch of Ravenna against Pope Gregory II . Timeline of Italian history Timeline This is a timeline of Italian history , comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Italy and its predecessor states, including Ancient Rome and Prehistoric Italy . Date of
17516-493: The peninsula at the time of the invasion. For most of the kingdom's history, the Byzantine-ruled Exarchate of Ravenna and Duchy of Rome separated the northern Lombard duchies, collectively known as Langobardia Maior , from the two large southern duchies of Spoleto and Benevento , which constituted Langobardia Minor . Because of this division, the southern duchies were considerably more autonomous than
17667-411: The period from AD 395 to 476, there were separate, coequal courts dividing the governance of the empire into the Western provinces and the Eastern provinces with a distinct imperial succession in the separate courts. The terms Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire were coined in modern times to describe political entities that were de facto independent; contemporary Romans did not consider
17818-460: The position would never again be divided. As such, the (eastern) Roman emperors after 480 are the successors of the western ones, albeit only in a juridical sense. These emperors would continue to rule the Roman Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, nearly a thousand years later. As 480 marks the end of the juridical division of the empire into two imperial courts, some historians refer to
17969-418: The prehistoric era are approximate. For further background, see history of Italy and list of prime ministers of Italy . Lucius Sicinius Vellutus , the plebs abandoned Rome for the nearby Monte Sacro . Marius was elected consul for the first of three years in a row. Civil wars would follow with the first breaking out in 238, another in 249 followed by a third in 253. From 235 through 284
18120-521: The rights of pagan priests and removed the Altar of Victory from the Roman Curia , a decision which caused dissatisfaction among the traditionally pagan aristocracy of Rome. The political situation was unstable. In 383, a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the West and forced Gratian's half-brother Valentinian II to flee to the East for aid; in a destructive civil war
18271-556: The royal capital, King Alboin was assassinated in a conspiracy in Verona plotted by his wife Rosamund and her lover, the noble Helmichis , in league with some Gepid and Lombard warriors. Helmichis and Rosamund's attempt to usurp power in place of the assassinated Alboin, however, gained little support from Lombard duchies, and they were forced to flee together to the Byzantine territory before getting married in Ravenna . Later in 572,
18422-525: The same time, however, several eastern provinces seceded to form the Palmyrene Empire , under the rule of Queen Zenobia . In 272, Emperor Aurelian finally managed to reclaim Palmyra and its territory for the empire. With the East secure, his attention turned to the West, invading the Gallic Empire a year later. Aurelian decisively defeated Tetricus I in the Battle of Châlons , and soon captured Tetricus and his son Tetricus II . Both Zenobia and
18573-470: The short reign of the son of Rothari and his son Rodoald (652-653), the dukes elected Aripert I , Duke of Asti and grandson of Theodolinda, as the new king. The Bavarian dynasty returned to the throne, and the Catholic Aripert duly suppressed Arianism. At Aripert's death in 661, his will divided the kingdom between his two sons, Perctarit and Godepert . This method of succession was known from
18724-518: The smaller northern duchies. Over time, the Lombards gradually adopted Roman titles, names, and traditions. By the time Paul the Deacon was writing in the late 8th century, the Lombardic language , dress and hairstyles had all disappeared. Initially the Lombards were Arian Christians or pagans, which put them at odds with the Roman population as well as the Byzantine Empire and the Pope . However, by
18875-410: The soldiers to instead join with Alaric, who returned to Italy in 409 and met little opposition. Despite attempts by Honorius to reach a settlement and six legions of Eastern Roman soldiers sent to support him, the negotiations between Alaric and Honorius broke down in 410 and Alaric sacked the city of Rome. Though the sack was relatively mild and Rome was no longer the capital of even the Western Empire,
19026-557: The south the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento, extending the Lombards' domains. Istria was attacked and invaded by the Lombards on several occasions, although the degree of their occupation of the peninsula and its subordination to the Lombard kings is unclear. Even when Istria was part of the Exarchate of Ravenna, a Lombard, Gulfaris , rose to power in the region, styling himself as dux Istriae . The strengthening of royal powers, started by Autari and continued by Agilulf, also marked
19177-442: The supervision of Constantine II, received Italy , Africa, Illyricum , Pannonia, Macedonia , and Achaea . The provinces of Thrace, Achaea and Macedonia were shortly controlled by Dalmatius , nephew of Constantine I and a caesar , not an Augustus , until his murder by his own soldiers in 337. The West was unified in 340 under Constans, who was assassinated in 350 under the order of the usurper Magnentius . After Magnentius lost
19328-768: The taxes of the province and serving as the province's chief judges. Prior to the establishment of the Empire, the territories of the Roman Republic had been divided in 43 BC among the members of the Second Triumvirate : Mark Antony , Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus . Antony received the provinces in the East: Achaea , Macedonia and Epirus (roughly modern Greece, Albania and the coast of Croatia ), Bithynia , Pontus and Asia (roughly modern Turkey ), Syria , Cyprus , and Cyrenaica . These lands had previously been conquered by Alexander
19479-548: The territory of the former Langobardia Maior. The so-called Iron Crown of Lombardy , one of the oldest surviving royal insignias of Christendom, may have originated in Lombard Italy as early as the 7th century and continued to be used to crown kings of Italy until Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 19th century. The earliest Lombard law code, the Edictum Rothari , may allude to the use of seal rings , but it
19630-586: The thirty-five dukes assembled in Pavia to hail king Cleph . The new monarch extended the boundaries of the kingdom, completing the conquest of Tuscia and laying siege to Ravenna. Cleph tried to pursue the policy of Alboin consistently, which aimed to break the legal-administrative institutions firmly established during Ostrogoth and Byzantine rule. He achieved this by eliminating much of the Latin aristocracy, through occupying their lands and acquiring their assets. However, he too, fell victim to regicide in 574, slain by
19781-548: The throne to his son Aripert II . Ansprand and Rotarit reacted immediately and imprisoned Aripert, returning the throne to Liutpert. Aripert, in turn, managed to escape and confront his rival's supporters. In 702, he defeated them in Pavia, imprisoned Liutpert and occupied the throne. Shortly after, he finally defeated the opposition: he killed Rotarit, suppressed his duchy, and drowned Liutpert. Only Ansprand managed to escape, taking refuge in Bavaria . Subsequently, Aripert crushed
19932-423: The time (Cividale del Friuli : Treviso , Trento , Turin , Verona, Bergamo , Brescia , Ivrea , Lucca ). In the management of public power dukes were joined by minor officials, these the sculdahis and the gastald . The new organisation of power, less linked to race and clan relations and more to land management, marked a milestone in the consolidation of the Lombard kingdom in Italy, which gradually lost
20083-435: The title of Flavio , with which he intended to proclaim himself also protector of all Romans in Lombard territory: it was a clear call, with anti-Byzantine overtones, to the heritage of the Western Roman Empire. From the military point of view, Autari defeated both the Byzantines and Franks and broke the coalition, thereby fulfilling the mandate with which the dukes had entrusted him at the time of his election. In 585 he drove
20234-399: The transition to a new concept based on stable territorial division of the kingdom into duchies . Each duchy was led by a duke, not just the head of a fara but also a royal official, the depository of public powers. The locations of the duchies were established in strategically important centers, thus furthering the development of many urban centers placed along the main communication routes of
20385-405: The vast extent of the Empire. News of invasion, revolt, natural disasters, or epidemic outbreak was carried by ship or mounted postal service , often requiring much time to reach Rome and for Rome's orders to be returned and acted upon. Therefore, provincial governors had de facto autonomy in the name of the Roman Republic. Governors had several duties, including the command of armies, handling
20536-465: The warriors nominally under their authority to allow them to loot. This unstable situation, which persisted over time, led to the final collapse of the Roman-Italic political-administrative structure, which was almost maintained up to the invasion, so that the same Roman-Italic aristocracy had retained responsibility for civil administration (as exemplified by the likes of Cassiodorus ). In Italy,
20687-581: The weight of the gold that he brought with him. With him ended the Bavarian dynasty's role in the Lombard kingdom. Ansprand died after only three months of his reign, leaving the throne to his son Liutprand . His reign, the longest of all Lombard monarchs, was characterized by the almost religious admiration that was accorded to the king by his people, who recognized in him boldness, courage and political vision. Thanks to these qualities Liutprand survived two attempts on his life (one organized by one of his relatives, Rotari), and he displayed no inferior qualities in
20838-427: The whole empire so, by 314, began to compete against Licinius, finally defeating him in 324 at the Battle of Chrysopolis . After Constantine unified the empire, he refounded the city of Byzantium in modern-day Turkey as Nova Roma ("New Rome"), later called Constantinople , and made it the capital of the Roman Empire. Although the Tetrarchy was ended, the concept of physically dividing the Roman Empire into East and
20989-468: Was a miracle in the kingdom of the Lombards: there was no violence, no insidious plot; no others unjustly oppressed, no depredations; there were no thefts, there were no robberies, where everyone went where they wanted, safely and without fear Autari died in 590, probably due to poisoning in a palace plot and, according to the legend recorded by Paul the Deacon, the succession to the throne was decided in
21140-577: Was allied with the Franks of Austrasia , repulsed them at Refrancore , near Asti . Grimoald, who in 663 had also defeated an attempt to reconquer Italy by the Byzantine Emperor Constans II , exercised his sovereign powers with a fullness never attained by his predecessors. He entrusted the Duchy of Benevento to his son Romuald , and assured the loyalty of the duchies of Spoleto and Friuli, by appointing their dukes. He favoured
21291-412: Was beheaded near the river Iria . The final collapse of the Empire in the West was marked by increasingly ineffectual puppet emperors dominated by their Germanic magistri militum . The most pointed example of this is Ricimer , who effectively became a "shadow emperor" following the depositions of Avitus and Majorian. Unable to take the throne for himself due to his barbarian heritage, Ricimer appointed
21442-687: Was deposed in 625 and Arioald became king. This coup d'état against the Bavarian dynasty of Adaloald and Theodelinda intensified the rivalry between the Arian and Catholic factions. The conflict had political overtones, as the Arians also opposed peace with Byzantium and the Papacy and integration with the Romans, opting instead for a more aggressive and expansionist policy. Arioald (r. 626–636), who brought
21593-407: Was dictated primarily by immediate military needs as dukes were primarily military commanders, tasked to secure control of territory and guard it against possible counter-attacks. However, the resulting collection of duchies also contributed to political fragmentation and sowed the seeds of the structural weakness of the Lombard royal power. In 572, after the capitulation of Pavia and its elevation to
21744-789: Was first tested by Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180), who decided to rule alongside his adoptive brother Lucius Verus . There was, however, much precedent. The consulate of the Republic was a twin magistracy, and earlier emperors had often had a subordinate lieutenant with many imperial offices. Many emperors had planned a joint succession in the past— Augustus planned to leave Gaius and Lucius Caesar as joint emperors on his death; Tiberius wished to have Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus do so as well; as Claudius with Nero and Britannicus . All of these arrangements had ended in failure, either through premature death (Gaius and Lucius) or murder (Gemellus and Britannicus). Marcus Aurelius ruled mostly from
21895-575: Was in no meaningful sense an extension of Roman traditions or institutions. The Great Schism of 1054 between the churches of Rome and Constantinople further diminished any authority the emperor in Constantinople could hope to exert in the West. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the central government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given
22046-423: Was killed. With the Roman legions withdrawn, northern Gaul became increasingly subject to Frankish influence, the Franks naturally adopting a leading role in the region. In 418, Honorius granted southwestern Gaul ( Gallia Aquitania ) to the Visigoths as a vassal federation. Honorius removed the local imperial governors, leaving the Visigoths and the provincial Roman inhabitants to conduct their own affairs. As such,
22197-446: Was moved to Ravenna in 401 upon the entry of the Visigothic king Alaric I into Italy. Ravenna, protected by abundant marshes and strong fortifications, was far easier to defend and had easy access to the imperial fleet of the Eastern Empire but made it more difficult for the Roman military to defend the central parts of Italy from regular barbarian incursions. Ravenna would remain the western capital until 450 when Valentinian III moved
22348-586: Was near the border in the East, the chances were high that an ambitious general would rebel in the West and vice versa. This wartime opportunism plagued many ruling emperors and indeed paved the road to power for several future emperors. By the time of the Crisis of the Third Century , usurpation became a common method of succession: Philip the Arab , Trebonianus Gallus and Aemilianus were all usurping generals-turned-emperors whose rule would end with usurpation by another powerful general. The idea of co-emperorship
22499-435: Was nominated as Western emperor. Joannes' rule was short and the forces of the East defeated and executed him in 425. After a violent struggle with several rivals, and against Placidia's wish, Aetius rose to the rank of magister militum . Aetius was able to stabilize the Western Empire's military situation somewhat, relying heavily on his Hunnic allies. With their help Aetius undertook extensive campaigns in Gaul, defeating
22650-523: Was preempted, Agilulf and Theodelinda developed a policy of strengthening their hold on Italian territory, while securing their borders through peace treaties with France and the Avars . The truce with the Byzantines was systematically violated and the decade up to 603 was marked by a notable recovery of the Lombard advance. In northern Italy Agilulf occupied, among other cities, Parma , Piacenza , Padova , Monselice , Este , Cremona and Mantua , but also to
22801-411: Was well fortified and located at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes. The site had been acknowledged for its strategic importance already by emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla , more than a century prior. In 361, Constantius II became ill and died, and Constantius Chlorus' grandson Julian , who had served as Constantius II's Caesar, assumed power. Julian was killed in 363 in
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