4 – Kingdom of the Lombards (568 – 814)
Also known as the Langobardi, the Lombards were a Germanic tribe that possibly originated in Scandinavia. They were mentioned by several Roman writers in the first century AD including Strabo and Tacitus. They migrated to the Danube region towards the end of the fifth century, and in the sixth century, they allied with the Byzantine Empire against the Ostrogoths.
By 526, they had moved to Pannonia and were ruled by King Wacho. They left Pannonia and invaded Italy in 568 under King Alboin who set up the Kingdom of the Lombards after defeating a small army left behind by the Byzantines under the leadership of Narses. Immediately before their invasion of Italy, the tribe thrived under the leadership of Wacho and Audoin in Pannonia and had a formidable army by the time they launched their Italian invasion.
The capital of the fledgling kingdom was Ticinum which is modern-day Pavia located in the region of Lombardy. Soon after capturing Ticinum in 572, Alboin was assassinated in a plot formed by his wife, Rosamund, and her lover, Helmichis, but the couple had to flee when they failed to get support. The new king, Cleph, was murdered within two years and there was no king for another decade. Maurice, the Byzantine Emperor, set up an Exarchate at Ravenna in a bid to reclaim Italy from the Lombards in 582.
The attempt came to nothing, and the Lombards expanded their territory in Italy during the seventh century. By around 640, they controlled the north of the country and most of the south. After the assassination of King Rodoald in around 653, the Lombard Kingdom split in two; with rulers at Pavia and Milan. The kingdom reunited in 712 under the reign of Liutprand who reigned until 744.
Liutprand was one of the greatest Lombard kings and expanded the kingdom to its greatest extent while also securing an alliance with the powerful Franks. Daufer was the last king of the Lombards and attacked Rome in 755. The Franks intervened when Daufer attacked papal territories in 774, and he was defeated by Charlemagne who proclaimed himself as King of the Lombards. Although the kingdom technically lasted until the death of Charlemagne in 814 (there were kings named Pepin and Bernard who ruled under the authority of Charlemagne), its rule in Italy ended in 774.