Liutprand, King of the Lombards

Italy after the conquests of Liutprand.

Liutprand was the king of the Lombards from 712 to 744 and is chiefly remembered for his Donation of Sutri, in 728, and his long reign, which brought him into conflicts, mostly successful, with most of Italy at some time or other. The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from Events By Place Europe Ansprand succeeds Aripert as king of the Lombards. For the aircraft see Boeing_747-400 Events By Place Europe February — Hildeprand succeeds Liutprand The Donation of Sutri was an agreement reached at Sutri by Liutprand King of the Lombards and Pope Gregory II in 728. Events By Place Europe Liutprand King of the Lombards occupies all of the exarchate. He profited by Byzantine weakness to enlarge his domains in Emilia and the Romagna. Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Bologna.

He began inauspiciously, his father driven to exile among the Bavarians, and his older brother Sigipert blinded by Aripert II, king of the Lombards, and his mother and sister mutilated. Aripert II (also spelled Aribert) was the king of the Lombards from 701 to 712 Liutprand was spared only because his youth made him appear harmless. He was released from custody and allowed to join his father (Paul the Deacon, VI. xxii).

1 Reign
2 Source
3 See also
4 External links
5 Further reading

Reign

The reign of Liutprand, son of Ansprand, duke of Asti and briefly king of the Lombards, commenced one day before his father's death, when the magnates called to Ansprand's deathbed consented to make Liutprand his colleague. Ansprand (c657-712 was king of the Lombards briefly in 712 Before that he was the duke of Asti and Regent during the minority of Liutpert Asti is a city and Comune in the Piemonte or Piedmont region, in north-western Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro Liutprand's reign was to endure for thirty-one years, marking him within the Lombard kingdom as a lawgiver of irreproachable Catholicity.

Relations with the Agilolfings of Bavaria

At the opening of his reign, Liutprand's chief ally among his neighbors was the Agilolfing Theodo I, the Frankish duke of Bavaria, to whose intervention on Ansprand's behalf he owed his throne. The Agilolfings were a family of either Frankish or Bavarian nobility that ruled the Duchy of Bavaria on behalf of their Merovingian suzerains Theodo (about 625 &ndash 11 December c 716 also known as Theodo V and Theodo II, was the Duke of Bavaria from 670 or more probably 680 to Theodo had taken him in, when he and his father were temporarily expelled by Aripert II in 702, and the hospitality was later cemented with the usual exchange of women: Liutprand took to wife the Agilolfing Guntrud. Aripert II (also spelled Aribert) was the king of the Lombards from 701 to 712 Events By Place Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Emperor Justinian II Rhinotmetus, regains his throne The core of Theodo's policy was resistance to the Merovingian mayors of the palaces in their encroachments north of the Alps, concerns that did not much occupy Liutprand, and maintaining strategic control of the eastern Alpine passes in what is now the Italian Alps, which did. Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval Title and Office, also called Majordomo, from the Latin title Maior domus ("superior Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest In the spring of 712, Theodo’s son Theodebert, with Ansprand and Liutprand, attacked Lombard strongholds, and with the drowning of their fleeing rival Aripert, Ansprand's faction were back in power at Pavia. Events By Place Europe Ansprand succeeds Aripert as king of the Lombards. Theodbert (also Theodebert, Theudebert, Theotpert, and Theodo) (c Pavia (pronounced Pavìa,) the ancient Ticinum, is a town and Comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south

Theodo died in 717 or 718; under his successor the Lombard ties with the Agilolfing weakened. Events By Place Europe March 21 — The Battle of Vincy is fought between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid. For the area code see Area code 718 Events By Place Europe Tervel 's reign as monarch of Until distracted by Byzantine politics in 726, Liutprand's chief warmaking energies were concentrated on taking Bavarian castles on the River Adige. Events By place Europe Seismic activity in the Mediterranean: The volcanic island of Thera erupts while the city of Jerash

Byzantine wars

In his early reign, Liutporand did not attack the Exarchate of Ravenna or the Papacy. The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and But in 726, the Emperor Leo III made his first of many edicts outlawing images or icons (see the iconoclastic controversy). Leo III the Isaurian ' or the Syrian ' ( Greek: Λέων Γ΄ Leōn III) (c Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious Icons and other symbols or monuments The pope, Gregory II, ordered the people to resist and the Byzantine duke of Naples, Exhiliratus, was killed by a mob while trying to carry out the imperial command to destroy all the icons. Pope Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Liutprand chose this time of division to strike the Byzantine possessions in Emilia. In 727, he crossed the Po and took Bologna, Osimo, Rimini and Ancona, along with the other cities of Emilia and the Pentapolis. Events By Topic Religion Pope Gregory II condemns Iconoclasm, causing Byzantine Italy to break with the Empire The Po ( Latin: Padus, Po Ligurian: Bo, Greek: Eridanus) is a river that flows 652 km(405 miles (682 km by considering Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy Osimo (anc Vetus Auximum) is a town and commune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Ancona, 15 km south of that town by rail Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. Ancona (Ankon is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of central Italy, population 101909 (2005 Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Bologna. A pentapolis, from the Greek words penta 'five' and Polis 'city(-state' is geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities He took Classis, the seaport of Ravenna, but could not take Ravenna itself from the exarch Paul. Ravenna is a City and Comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Paul was the Exarch of Ravenna from 726 to 727 In 727 the exarchate was in revolt against the imperial imposition of Iconoclasm. Paul was soon killed in a riot, however. Eventually, Ravenna would capitulate to Liutprand with barely a fight (737). Events By Place Europe Battle of Narbonne: The Frankish army under Charles Martel again defeats the Moors

The first Moorish raids on Corsica began around 713–719 from the Balearic Islands to the west. The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent The history of Corsica in the Medieval period begins with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the invasions of various Germanic peoples The Balearic Islands ( Catalan and official Illes Balears; Spanish: Islas Baleares) are an Archipelago in the western Mediterranean Acting as the protector of the catholic church and its faithful, Liutprand subjected the island to Lombard government (c. 725), though it was nominally under Byzantine authority. Corsica remained with the Lombard kingdom even after the Frankish conquest, by which time Lombard landholders and churches had established a significant presence on the island.

Donation of Sutri

Having just overwhelmed the Byzantine forces, though it was left to his heirs to make the final vestige of the Exarchate of Ravenna Lombard at last, Liutprand advanced towards Rome along the Via Cassia; he was met at the ancient city of Sutri by Pope Gregory II (728). The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Via Cassia was an important Roman road striking out of the Via Flaminia near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and passing Sutri is a town in the Province of Viterbo, about 50 km from Rome. Pope Events By Place Europe Liutprand King of the Lombards occupies all of the exarchate. There the two reached an agreement, by which Sutri and some hill towns in Latium (see Vetralla) were given to the Papacy, "as a gift to the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul" according to the Liber Pontificalis. Latium was a region of ancient Italy, home to the original Latin people. Vetralla is a town and commune in the Province of Viterbo, 18 km to the south of that city located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and The Liber Pontificalis ( Latin for Book of the Popes) is a book of biographies of Popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century They were the first extension of Papal territory beyond the confines of the Duchy of Rome. The Duchy of Rome (Ducatus Romanus was a Byzantine district in the Exarchate of Ravenna. This was the beginning of the Papal States. The Papal States, State(s of the Church or Pontifical States (in Italian Stato Ecclesiastico, Stato della Chiesa, Stati della Chiesa

In the meantime, Leo sent Eutychius, as Exarch of Ravenna, to take control of Italy. For the Christian martyr St Eutychius see Saint Placidus (martyr. The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the When Eutychius arrived at Naples, he made an agreement whereby Liutprand would attack the Pope if the Greeks aided him in subjugating the contumacious and independent southern Lombard duchies, the Duchy of Spoleto and the Duchy of Benevento. The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in Central Italy by the Lombard Dux Faroald. The Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in medieval Italy centred on Benevento, a city central in the Mezzogiorno The dukes, Thrasimund II and Godescalc, surrendered — though control of the duchies from Pavia was not to endure for long — and the new exarch marched on Rome. Thrasimund II or Transamund II was the Lombard Duke of Spoleto from 724 to 745 though he was twice driven from power by the king Liutprand. Godescalc (died 743 was the Duke of Benevento from 740 to his assassination Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 At Rome, Liutprand camped on the far bank of the Tiber in the "Field of Nero" [1] and arbitrated, returning to the exarch the city of Ravenna alone among the Byzantine territories and prevailing on the pope to restore his allegiance to the emperor (730). Events By Place Europe Charles Martel defeats the last independent dukedom of the Alamanni, and launches raids on the Saxons

Frankish relations

Following the death of Theodo, Liutprand turned from his former Agilolfing allies to bind himself to Charles Martel, duke of the Franks, whose son, Pepin the Short, he adopted and girded with arms at his coming of manhood. Charles "The Hammer" Martel (Carolus Martellus Charles "the Hammer" (ca Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval Title and Office, also called Majordomo, from the Latin title Maior domus ("superior Pepin or Pippin (714 &ndash 24 September 768) called the Short, and often known as Pepin the Younger or Pepin III, was In 735–736, a serious illness encouraged Liutprand to raise his nephew Hildeprand to co-kingship. Events A Smallpox epidemic starts in Ancient Japan, which reduces the population by 30% Events By Place Asia The scholar-priest Rōben invites Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at Kinshōsen-ji Hildeprand the Useless was king of the Lombards in 744 and grandson or nephew of Liutprand. In 736–737, Liutprand crossed the Alps with an army to help Charles expel the Moors from Aix-en-Provence and Arles. Events By Place Europe Battle of Narbonne: The Frankish army under Charles Martel again defeats the Moors The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent Aix (ɛks or Aix-en-Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Ais de Provença in classical norm or Ais de Prouvènço in Mistralian norm to distinguish Arles (aʁl̥ Provençal Occitan: Arles in both classical and Mistralian norms is a City in the south of France,

In 738, a long peace was broken by the rebellious Lombard duke of Spoleto, Thrasimund II. Events By Place Europe Felice Cornicola appointed Roman consul and Magister militum. When the revolt was suppressed, with nephews of Liutprand established at Beneventum and Spoleto, the dukes fled to Rome and the protection of Pope Gregory III. Gregory III (died November 29, 741) was Pope from 731 to 741 A Syrian by birth he succeeded Gregory II in March 731 Liutprand immediately began the conquest of the Ducatus Romanus, the province around Rome. After capturing Orte and Bomarzo, he arrived at Rome and besieged it. Orte is a Comune (municipality in the Province of Viterbo, in the Italian region Latium Lazio, located about 60 km north of Rome Bomarzo is a town and Comune of the Province of Viterbo ( Lazio, central Italy) in the lower valley of the Tiber. The Pope sent an embassy to Charles Martel to beg for aid, promising favour then and in the future world: the cover letter survives [2]. Gregory conferred on him the title of patrician. The term " patrician " originally referred to a group of elite families in Ancient Rome, including both their natural and Gregory's anti-Lombard rhetoric reached absurd heights considering Liutprand's orthodoxy; the Lombard king only wanted his rebellious dukes to face justice. Charles ignored the pope's excessive charges against his erstwhile ally and instead sent back his own embassy to mediate between the two Italian powers. Before any headway was made, however, both pope and Frank died.

Death

Soon after the death of Gregory III (741), Zachary was elected to the Apostolic See; Liutprand happily signed a twenty-year peace and restored the cities of the Duchy of Rome of which he had taken possession. Soon after, his reign ended in peace. Having passed more years on the throne and come closer to bringing the entire peninsula under one rule than any of his predecessors, the great Lombard died in 744 and was buried the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, in Pavia. For the aircraft see Boeing_747-400 Events By Place Europe February — Hildeprand succeeds Liutprand San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro ( Italian for "Saint Peter's in the Golden Sky" is a Roman Catholic Basilica (and a former Cathedral) of the

Source

The main source for the career of Liutprand is the Historia gentis Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon, which idealises Liutprand. The Historia gentis Langobardorum (history of the Lombards) is the chief work by Paul the Deacon, written in the late 8th century. Paul the Deacon (c 720 &ndash 13 April probably 799 also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred and Cassinensis (i It was written after 787 and covers the story of the Lombards from 568 to the death of Liutprand in 744. Events By Place Europe Canual succeeds Talorgen as king of the Picts. Events By Place Europe April 1 — King Alboin leads the Lombards into Italy refugees fleeing from them go on For the aircraft see Boeing_747-400 Events By Place Europe February — Hildeprand succeeds Liutprand Though written by a Lombard from a Lombard point of view, it contains much information about the Byzantine empire, the Franks, and others.

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: "States of the Church"

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