Wed, Dec 7th - 10:34AM

History of Italy - Part Two

The Lombards were a dominating force within the peninsula for just over 200 years.  They were renowned to be the most fierce and most rude of the Teutonic clans.  Their king was named Alboin and he kept the Lombards constantly on the move.

Pavia became the capital of the Lombard kingdom.  The inhabitants of Pavia put up a stern resistance that lasted for three years, but eventually the Lombards won the battle and king Alboin established himself there.

The Lombards occupied the Po Valley and began to move slowly southwards down the centre of the country.  In spite of their might they did not subdue the whole of the peninsula.  Venice and Genoa remained independent of their rule.  Ravenna was the new capital of the Roman Empire.  It was a Greek city that was under the authority of the emporer of the eastern part of the empire.  Rome itself was protected by the papacy so that the Lombards were not allowed to rule their either. The southern seacoast cities, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica also remained independent.

So Alboin ruled his kingdom in the north of the country with Pavia as its capital.

King Alboin was murdered in 573 which was another check on the advancement of the invasion.  There were some people of the Lombard tribe who had been given the position of dukes by the Roman Empire.  After king Alboin had been murdered these dukes established themselves in their semi-independent duchies.  There were the duchies of Spoleto (in the centre) and Benevento (in the south) for instance.

During these times Italy was divided into three main districts:

a. Pavia - capital of the Lombard kingdom

b. Ravenna - capital of the Byzantine Empire.

c. Rome where the papacy had begun to assume the role of national proctectorate