Editing Lombardy (section)

==Etymology==
{{see also|Lombardy (historical region)}}
[[File:Map of Historical Lombardy.png|thumb|Map of [[Lombardy (historical region)|Historical Lombardy]]]]

The [[Lombardy (historical region)|name ''Lombardy'']] comes from ''Lombard'', which is derived from [[Late Latin]] ''{{lang|la|Longobardus, Langobardus}}'' ("a Lombard"), which derived from the [[Proto-Germanic]] elements {{lang|mis|*langaz}} + {{lang|mis|*bardaz}}; equivalent to ''long beard''. According to some scholars, the second element derives from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*bardǭ'', ''*barduz'' ("axe"), related to German ''{{lang|de|Barte}}''.<ref name="Partridge 2009">{{cite book|last=Partridge|first=Eric|title=Origins: an etymological dictionary of modern English|year=2009|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0415474337|edition=[Paperback ed.]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Online Etymology Dictionary |title=Lombard |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Lombardy |website=etymonline.com |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Istituto della Enciclopedia Italianafondata da Giovanni Treccani |title=Lombardia |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/lombardia/ |website=treccani.it |publisher=Istituto della Enciclopedia Italianafondata da Giovanni Treccani |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=it}}</ref>

The name of the region derives from the name of the people of the [[Lombards]] who arrived in Italy in 568 and made [[Pavia]] their capital. During the [[Early Middle Ages]], "Lombardy" referred to the [[Kingdom of the Lombards]] ({{langx|la|Regnum Langobardorum}}). It was ruled by the Germanic Lombard raiders, who controlled most of early Christian Italy since the [[Lombard invasion of Italy]] of [[Praetorian prefecture of Italy|Byzantine Italy]] in 568, until the fall of Pavia, in 774 by [[Charlemagne]] on the Pope's behalf. As such, "Lombardy" and "Italy" were nearly interchangeable; by the mid-8th century, the Lombards ruled everywhere except the [[Papal States|Papal possessions around Rome]]—roughly modern [[Lazio]] and northern [[Umbria]]—[[Republic of Venice|Venice]] and some [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] possessions in the south—southern [[Apulia]] and [[Calabria]]; some coastal settlements including [[Duchy of Amalfi|Amalfi]], [[Duchy of Gaeta|Gaeta]], [[Duchy of Naples|Naples]] and [[Duchy of Sorrento|Sorrento]]; [[Sicily]] and [[Sardinia]]; their culture is foundational to [[Italy in the Middle Ages]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mondimedievali.net/Barbar/longobardi02.htm|title=I Longobardi: i 'barbari' che fondarono il Medioevo italiano, II: Una civiltà da riscoprire, di Lawrence M.F. Sudbury, BarBar|website=Mondimedievali.net}}</ref> The term was also used until around 965 in the form {{lang|el|Λογγοβαρδία}} (''{{transliteration|el|Longobardia}}'') as the name for [[Longobardia|the territory]] roughly covering modern Apulia, which the Byzantines had recovered from the Lombard [[rump state]] [[Duchy of Benevento]].