Editing Lombards (section)

==History==
===Early history===
====Legendary origins====
{{Further|Hundings}}
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Wodan Frea Himmelsfenster by Emil Doepler.jpg
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| caption1          = [[Wodan]] (Godan) and [[Frigg]] (Frea) looking out of a window in the heavens...
| image2            = Wodan Frea Himmelsfenster II by Emil Doepler.jpg
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| caption2          = ...and spotting the Lombard women with their long hair tied as to appear as beards
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According to their own legends, the Lombards originated in Northern Germany/Denmark zone{{sfn|Christie|1995|pp=1–6}} including modern-day Denmark. The Germanic origins of the Lombards is supported by genetic,<ref name="Vai_2019"/> anthropological,{{sfn|Christie|1995|pp=1–6}} archaeological and earlier literary evidence.{{sfn|Christie|1995|pp=1–6}}

A legendary account of Lombard origins, history, and practices is the ''Historia Langobardorum'' (''History of the Lombards'') of [[Paul the Deacon]], written in the eighth century. Paul's chief source for Lombard origins, however, is the seventh-century ''[[Origo Gentis Langobardorum]]'' (''Origin of the Lombard People'').

The ''Origo Gentis Langobardorum'' tells the story of a small tribe called the ''Winnili''<ref name="ReferenceA"/> dwelling in Northern Germany/Denmark zone<ref name="dick"/> (the ''[[Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani]]'' writes that the Winnili first dwelt near a river called ''Vindilicus'' on the extreme boundary of [[Gaul]]).<ref name="HLcG2">''Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani'', 2.</ref> The Winnili were split into three groups and one part left their native land to seek foreign fields. The reason for the exodus was probably [[Human overpopulation|overpopulation]].<ref>{{harvnb|Menghin|1985|p=13}}</ref> The departing people were led by Gambara and her sons Ybor and Aio <ref>Priester, 16. Grimm, ''Deutsche Mythologie'', I, 336. Old Germanic for "Strenuus", "[[Sibyl]]".</ref>{{r|r=Instead of ''Ybor'' and ''Aio'', [[Prosper of Aquitaine]] uses the names ''Iborea'' and ''Agio'', while [[Saxo Grammaticus]] calls them ''Ebbo'' and ''Aggo''. A folk song from [[Gotland]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lyschander |first=Claudius Christophorus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pB1PAAAAcAAJ |title=Synopsis historiarum Danicarum, En kort Summa offuer Den Danske Historia etc |date=1622 |publisher=Waldkirch |language=da|page=263}}</ref> uses the names ''Ebbe'' and ''Aaghe''.<ref>Peters, p. 5</ref>}} and arrived in the lands of ''Scoringa'', perhaps the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast<ref>{{harvnb|Priester|2004|p=16}}</ref> or the [[Bardengau]] on the banks of the [[Elbe]].<ref name="Hammerstein-Loxten56">{{harvnb|Von Hammerstein-Loxten|1869|p=56}}</ref> Scoringa was ruled by the [[Vandals]] and their chieftains, the brothers Ambri and Assi, who granted the Winnili a choice between tribute or war.
[[File:PaulusDiaconus Plut.65.35.jpg|left|thumb|304x304px|[[Paul the Deacon]], historian of the Lombards, circa 720–799]]
The Winnili were young and brave and refused to pay tribute, saying "It is better to maintain liberty by arms than to stain it by the payment of tribute."<ref name="PD, VII">PD, VII.</ref> The Vandals prepared for war and consulted Godan (the god [[Odin]]<ref name="dick"/>), who answered that he would give victory to those whom he would see first at sunrise.<ref name="PD, VIII">PD, VIII.</ref> The Winnili were fewer in number<ref name="PD, VII"/> and Gambara sought help from Frea (the goddess [[Frigg]]<ref name="dick"/>), who advised that all Winnili women should tie their hair in front of their faces like beards and march in line with their husbands. At sunrise, Frea turned her husband's bed so that he was facing east, and woke him. So Godan spotted the Winnili first and asked, "Who are these long-beards?," and Frea replied, "My lord, thou hast given them the name, now give them also the victory."<ref>OGL, appendix 11.</ref> From that moment onwards, the Winnili were known as the ''Longbeards'' (Latinised as ''Langobardi'', Italianised as ''Longobardi'', and Anglicized as ''Langobards'' or ''Lombards'').

When Paul the Deacon wrote the ''Historia'' between 787 and 796 he was a [[Catholic]] monk and devoted [[Christianity|Christian]]. He thought the [[Paganism|pagan]] stories of his people "silly" and "laughable".<ref name="PD, VIII"/><ref name="Priester 2004 17">{{harvnb|Priester|2004|p=17}}</ref> Paul explained that the name "Langobard" came from the length of their beards.<ref>PD, I, 9.</ref> A modern theory suggests that the name "Langobard" comes from ''Langbarðr'', a [[List of names of Odin|name of Odin]].<ref>Nedoma, Robert (2005).''[https://www.academia.edu/36246147/Der_altisländische_Odinsname_Langbarðr_Langbart_und_die_Langobarden Der altisländische Odinsname Langbarðr: 'Langbart' und die Langobarden]''. In Pohl, Walter and Erhart, Peter, eds. ''Die Langobarden. Herrschaft und Identität''. Wien. pp. 439–444</ref> Priester states that when the Winnili changed their name to "Lombards", they also changed their old agricultural [[fertility cult]] to a cult of Odin, thus creating a conscious tribal tradition.<ref name="Priester 2004 17"/> Fröhlich inverts the order of events in Priester and states that with the Odin cult, the Lombards grew their beards in resemblance of the Odin of tradition and their new name reflected this.<ref>{{harvnb|Fröhlich|1980|p=19}}</ref> Bruckner remarks that the name of the Lombards stands in close relation to the worship of Odin, whose [[List of names of Odin|many names]] include "the Long-bearded" or "the Grey-bearded", and that the Lombard given name ''Ansegranus'' ("he with the beard of the gods") shows that the Lombards had this idea of their chief deity.<ref>{{harvnb|Bruckner|1895|pp=30–33}}</ref> The same Old Norse root Barth or Barði, meaning "beard", is shared with the [[Heaðobards]] mentioned in both ''[[Beowulf]]'' and in ''[[Widsith]]'', where they conflict with the [[Daner|Danes]]. They were possibly a branch of the [[Langobard]]s.<ref name=Hadubarder>[https://runeberg.org/nfbj/0531.html The article ''Hadubarder'' in ''Nordisk familjebok'' (1909).]</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Wilson Chambers |first=Raymond |title=Widsith: A Study in Old English Heroic Legend |date=2010 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |page=205}}</ref>

Alternatively, some etymological sources suggest an Old High German root, barta, meaning "axe" (and related to English halberd), while [[Edward Gibbon]] puts forth an alternative suggestion which argues that:

<blockquote>...Börde (or Börd) still signifies "a fertile plain by the side of a river," and a district near Magdeburg is still called the lange Börde. According to this view Langobardi would signify "inhabitants of the long bord of the river;" and traces of their name are supposed still to occur in such names as Bardengau and Bardewick in the neighborhood of the Elbe.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=William |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities |date=1875 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |page=119}}</ref></blockquote>

According to the [[Gallaeci]]an [[Christian priest]], [[historian]] and [[theology|theologian]] [[Paulus Orosius]] (translated by [[Daines Barrington]]), the Lombards or Winnili lived originally in the Vinuiloth (Vinovilith) mentioned by [[Jordanes]], in his masterpiece [[Getica]], to the north of [[Uppsala]], Sweden. Scoringa was near the province of [[Uppland]], so just north of [[Östergötland]].

The footnote then explains the etymology of the name Scoringa:

<blockquote>The shores of Uppland and Östergötland are covered with [[skerry|small rocks and rocky islands]], which are called in German Schæren and in Swedish Skiaeren. Heal signifies a port in the [[North Germanic languages|northern languages]]; consequently, Skiæren-Heal is the port of the Skiæren, a name well adapted to the port of [[Stockholm]], in the Upplandske Skiæren, and the country may be justly called Scorung or Skiærunga.<ref>{{cite book|author=Orosius |title=The Anglo-Saxon Version, from the Historian Orosius, by Ælfred the Great together with an English Translation from the Anglo-Saxon |year=1773 |publisher=Printed by W. Bowyer and J. Nichols and sold by S. Baker |location=London |edition=Alfred the Great |translator-first=Daines |translator-last=Barrington |url=https://archive.org/details/anglosaxonversi00barrgoog/page/n559/mode/2up/search/scoringa |page=256 |access-date=7 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

The legendary king [[Sceafa]] of [[Scandza]] was an ancient Lombardic king in [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|Anglo-Saxon legend]]. The Old English poem [[Widsith]], in a listing of famous kings and their countries, has Sceafa [weold] Longbeardum, so naming [[Sceafa]] as ruler of the Lombards.<ref>[[Widsith]], line 30</ref>

Similarities between Langobardic and Gothic migration traditions have been noted among scholars. These early migration legends suggest that a major shifting of tribes occurred sometime between the first and second century BC, which would coincide with the time that the [[Teutoni]] and [[Cimbri]] left their homelands in Northern Germany and migrated through central Germany, eventually invading Roman Italy.<ref>{{harvnb|Cardini|2019|p=80}}</ref>

====Archaeology and classical sources====
{{Germanic tribes (750BC-1AD)}}
[[File:Long555.PNG|thumb|Distribution of Langobardic burial fields at the [[Unterelbe|Lower Elbe]] Lands (according to W. Wegewitz)]]

The first mention of the Lombards occurred between AD 9 and 16, by the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] court historian [[Velleius Paterculus]], who accompanied a Roman expedition as prefect of the cavalry.<ref name="Menghin, 15"/> Paterculus says that under [[Tiberius]] the "power of the Langobardi was broken, a race surpassing even the Germans in savagery".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Velleius_Paterculus/2D*.html#ref:Langobardi |title=Velleius, Hist. Rom. II, 106. Schmidt, 5.}}</ref>

From the combined testimony of [[Strabo]] (AD 20) and [[Tacitus]] (AD 117), the Lombards dwelt near the mouth of the [[Elbe]] shortly after the beginning of the Christian era, next to the [[Chauci]].<ref name="Menghin, 15">{{harvnb|Menghin|1985|p=15}}</ref> Strabo states that the Lombards dwelt on both sides of the Elbe.<ref name="Menghin, 15"/> He treats them as a branch of the [[Suebi]], and states that:

<blockquote>Now as for the tribe of the Suebi, it is the largest, for it extends from the Rhenus to the Albis; and a part of them even dwells on the far side of the Albis, as, for instance, the Hermondori and the Langobardi; and at the present time these latter, at least, have, to the last man, been driven in flight out of their country into the land on the far side of the river.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198:book=7:chapter=1&highlight=langobardi |title=Strabo, VII, 1, 3.}}</ref></blockquote>

Consistent with this, [[Suetonius]] wrote that Roman general [[Nero Claudius Drusus]] defeated a large force of Germans and drove some "to the farther side of the Albis (Elbe)" river.<ref>[[Suetonius]], [[The Twelve Caesars]], chapters II and III.</ref>

The German archaeologist Willi Wegewitz defined several [[Iron Age]] burial sites at the [[Unterelbe|Lower Elbe]] as ''Langobardic''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wegewitz |chapter=Das langobardische Brandgräberfeld von Putensen, Kreis Harburg |publication-date=1972 |pages=1–29 |title=Problemi della civilita e dell'economia Longobarda |location=Milan |date=1964}}</ref>{{rp|19}} The burial sites are crematorial and are usually dated from the sixth century BC through the third century AD, so a settlement breakoff seems unlikely.<ref name="Menghin, 17">{{harvnb|Menghin|1985|p=17}}</ref> The lands of the lower Elbe fall into the zone of the [[Jastorf Culture]] and became [[Elbe-Germans|Elbe-Germanic]], differing from the lands between [[Rhine]], [[Weser]], and the [[North Sea]].<ref>{{harvnb|Menghin|1985|p=18}}</ref> Archaeological finds show that the Lombards were an agricultural people.<ref>{{harvnb|Priester|2004|p=18}}</ref>

[[Tacitus]] also counted the Lombards as a remote and aggressive [[Suebi]]an tribe, listing them between the Semnones on the Elbe, and the [[Nerthus]]-worshipping tribes whose land of rivers and forest stretched to the sea. Writing in the late first century AD, he described the Langobardi in his ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]'' saying that "their scanty numbers are a distinction" because "surrounded by a host of most powerful tribes, they are safe, not by submitting, but by daring the perils of war".<ref>Tacitus, Germania, 38–40</ref>

Tacitus also noted that the Lombards were subjects of [[Marbod|Marobod]] the King of the [[Marcomanni]], who was allied with Rome when [[Arminius]] and his allies won the [[Battle of Teutoburg Forest]] in 9 AD. However, after the outbreak of war between Arminius and Marobod in 17 AD the Lombards and Semnones switched to the alliance of Arminius. They detested Marobod's title of king, and saw Arminius as a champion of freedom.<ref name="Tacitus, Ann. II, 45">Tacitus, Annals, II, 45.</ref>

In 47, a struggle ensued amongst the [[Cherusci]] and they expelled their new leader, the nephew of Arminius, from their country. The Lombards appeared on the scene with sufficient power to control the destiny of the tribe that had been the leader in the struggle for independence thirty-eight years earlier, for they restored the deposed leader to sovereignty.<ref>Tacitus, Annals, XI, 16, 17.</ref>

To the south, in 166 [[Cassius Dio]] reported that just before the [[Marcomannic Wars]], 6,000 Lombards and Obii (sometimes thought to be [[Ubii]]) crossed the [[Danube]] and invaded [[Pannonia]].<ref>Cassius Dio, 71, 3, 1.</ref><ref name="Menghin, 16">{{harvnb|Menghin|1985|p=16}}</ref> The two tribes were defeated, whereupon they ceased their invasion and sent Ballomar, King of the Marcomanni, as ambassador to [[Aelius Bassus]], who was then administering Pannonia. Peace was made and the two tribes returned to their homes, which in the case of the Lombards was the lands of the lower Elbe.<ref>{{harvnb|Priester|2004|p=21}}</ref><ref name="Zeuss471">{{harvnb|Zeuss|2012|p=471}}</ref><ref name="Wiese38">{{harvnb|Wiese|1877|p=38}}</ref><ref name="Schmidt35">{{harvnb|Schmidt|2018|pp=35–36}}</ref>

In the mid-second century, the Lombards supposedly appeared in the [[Rhineland]], because according to [[Claudius Ptolemy]], the Suebic Lombards lived "below" the [[Bructeri]] and [[Sugambri]], and between these and the [[Tencteri]]. To their east stretching northwards to the central Elbe are the Suebi [[Angili]].<ref name="Menghin, 15"/><ref>Ptolemy, Geogr. II, 11, 9.</ref> But Ptolemy also mentions the "Laccobardi" to the north of the above-mentioned Suebic territories, east of the [[Angrivarii]] on the [[Weser]], and south of the [[Chauci]] on the coast, probably indicating a Lombard expansion from the Elbe to the Rhine.<ref name="Menghin, 15"/><ref>Ptolemy, Geogr. II, 11, 17.</ref> This double mention has been interpreted as an editorial error by Gudmund Schütte, in his analysis of Ptolemy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schütte |title=Ptolemy's Maps of Northern Europe |pages=[https://archive.org/stream/ptolemysmapsofno00schrich#page/34/mode/2up/search/angles 34], and [https://archive.org/stream/ptolemysmapsofno00schrich#page/118/mode/2up/search/angles 118]}}</ref> However, the ''Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani'' also mentions ''Patespruna'' ([[Paderborn]]) in connection with the Lombards.<ref name="HLcG2"/>

From the second century onwards, many of the Germanic tribes recorded as active during the [[Principate]] started to unite into bigger tribal unions, such as the [[Franks]], [[Alamanni]], [[Bavarii]], and [[Saxons]].<ref name="Menghin, 16"/><ref name="Priester, 14">{{harvnb|Priester|2004|p=14}}</ref> The Lombards are not mentioned at first, perhaps because they were not initially on the border of Rome, or perhaps because they were subjected to a larger tribal union, like the Saxons.<ref name="Menghin, 16"/><ref name="Priester, 14"/> It is, however, highly probable that, when the bulk of the Lombards migrated, a considerable part remained behind and afterwards became absorbed by the Saxon tribes in the Elbe region, while the emigrants alone retained the name of Lombards.<ref>{{harvnb|Hartmann|2011|loc=II, pt I|p=5}}</ref> However, the ''Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani'' states that the Lombards were subjected by the Saxons around 300 but rose up against them under their first king, Agelmund, who ruled for 30 years.<ref name="HLcG2"/><ref>{{harvnb|Menghin|1985|pp=17–19}}</ref> In the second half of the fourth century, the Lombards left their homes, probably due to bad harvests, and embarked on their migration.<ref name=Zeuss471/><ref name=Wiese38/><ref name=Schmidt35/><ref>{{harvnb|Priester|2004|pp=21–22}}</ref>

The migration route of the Lombards in 489, from their homeland to "[[Rugiland]]", encompassed several places: ''Scoringa'' (believed to be their land on the Elbe shores), ''Mauringa'', ''Golanda'', ''Anthaib'', ''Banthaib'', and ''Vurgundaib'' (''Burgundaib'').<ref name=Hammerstein-Loxten56/> According to the [[Ravenna Cosmography]], Mauringa was the land east of the Elbe.<ref>Cosmographer of Ravenna, I, 11.</ref>

The crossing into Mauringa was very difficult. The Assipitti (possibly the [[Usipetes]]) denied them passage through their lands and a fight was arranged for the strongest man of each tribe. The Lombard was victorious, passage was granted, and the Lombards reached Mauringa.<ref>{{harvnb|Hodgkin|2012|loc=Ch. V|p=92}}</ref>

The Lombards departed from Mauringa and reached Golanda. Scholar Ludwig Schmidt thinks this was further east, perhaps on the right bank of the [[Oder]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schmidt|2018|p=49}}</ref> Schmidt considers the name the equivalent of [[Gotland]], meaning simply "good land".<ref>{{harvnb|Hodgkin|2012|loc=Ch. V|p=143}}</ref> This theory is highly plausible; [[Paul the Deacon]] mentions the Lombards crossing a river, and they could have reached ''Rugiland'' from the Upper Oder area via the [[Moravian Gate]].<ref>Menghin, ''Das Reich an der Donau'', 21.</ref>

Moving out of Golanda, the Lombards passed through Anthaib and Banthaib until they reached Vurgundaib, believed to be the old lands of the [[Burgundes]].<ref>{{harvnb|Priester|2004|p=22}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bluhme|1868|loc=Ch. XIII}}</ref> In Vurgundaib, the Lombards were stormed in camp by "[[Bulgars]]" (probably [[Huns]])<ref>{{harvnb|Menghin|1985|p=14}}</ref> and were defeated; King Agelmund was killed and Laimicho was made king. He was in his youth and desired to avenge the slaughter of Agelmund.<ref>Hist. gentis Lang., Ch. XVII</ref> The Lombards themselves were probably made subjects of the Huns after the defeat but rose up and defeated them with great slaughter,<ref>Hist. gentis Lang., Ch. XVII.</ref> gaining great booty and confidence as they "became bolder in undertaking the toils of war."<ref>PD, XVII.</ref> During the reign of [[Claffo|King Claffo]], the Langobards occupied parts of modern-day [[Upper Austria|Upper]] and [[Lower Austria]] and converted to [[Arian Christianity]]. In 505 the [[Heruli]]ans attacked and defeated them, obliging them to pay tax and withdraw to Northern [[Bohemia]]. In 508, [[Rodulf, Herule king|King Rodulf]] sent his brother to the Lombard court to collect tribute and extend the truce; however, he was stabbed by Rometrud, sister of [[Tato|King Tato]]. Rodulf personally led his forces against Tato, but was ambushed and killed from a hill.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Márki |first=Sándor |url=http://real-eod.mtak.hu/5753/1/000911018.pdf |title=A longobárdok hazánkban |publisher=Ajtai Kovách Albert Magyar Polgár Könyvnyomdája |year=1899 |location=Kolozsvár ([[Cluj-Napoca]]) |language=hu |trans-title=The Langobards in our homeland}}</ref>

In the 540s, [[Audoin]] (ruled 546–560) led the Lombards across the Danube once more into [[Pannonia]]. [[Thurisind]], King of the [[Gepids]] attempted to expel them, and both peoples asked for help from the Byzantines. [[Justinian I]] sent his army against the Gepids; however, it was routed on the way by the [[Heruli]]ans and the sides signed a two-year truce. Revenging what he felt as a betrayal, Thurisind made an alliance with the [[Kutrigurs]] who devastated [[Moesia]] before end of the armistice. The Langobard and Roman army joined together and defeated the Gepids in 551. In the battle, [[Audoin]]'s son, [[Alboin]] killed [[Thurisind]]'s son, [[Turismod]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Borovszky |first=Samu |url=http://mek.oszk.hu/01200/01267/html/index.htm |title=Nagy Képes Világtörténet |publisher=Franklin Társulat Magyar Irodalmi Intézet és Könyvnyomda Rt. |editor-last=Marczali |editor-first=Henrik |location=Budapest |language=hu |trans-title=Great Illuminated World History |chapter=A népvándorlás kora |trans-chapter=The Migration Period |chapter-url=http://mek.oszk.hu/01200/01267/html/04kotet/ind04kot.htm}}</ref>

In 552, the Byzantines, aided by a large contingent of [[Foederati]], notably Lombards, Heruls and Bulgars, defeated the last Ostrogoths led by [[Teia]] in the [[Battle of Taginae]].<ref name="HFH">{{cite book|title=Battles The World's History: Central and northern Europe |first=Hans Ferdinand |last=Helmolt |year=1907 |place=London}}</ref>

===Kingdom of the Lombards, 568–774===
{{Main|Kingdom of the Lombards}}

====Invasion and conquest of the Italian peninsula====
{{anchor|Invasion of Italy}}
[[File:Lombard Conquest of Italy.png|thumb|right|Phases of the conquest of Italy]]
{{Hatnote|"Lombard invasion of Italy" redirects here.}}[[File:Pietro della Vecchia - Rosamund forced to drink from the skull of her father.jpg|thumb|''Rosamund forced to drink from the skull of her father'' by [[Pietro della Vecchia]]. According to [[Samu Szádeczky-Kardoss]], the cup could be a gift from [[Bayan I|Bayan]], as it was a nomad habit to make cups from the enemy's skulls.]]In approximately 560, Audoin was succeeded by his son [[Alboin]], a young and energetic leader who defeated the neighboring [[Gepidae]] and made them his subjects; in 566, he married [[Rosamund (queen)|Rosamund]], daughter of the Gepid king [[Cunimund]]. In the same year, he made a pact with [[Bayan I|Khagan Bayan]]. Next year the Lombards and the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] destroyed the Gepid kingdom in the [[Lombard–Gepid War (567)|Lombard–Gepid War]], the allies halved the [[prize of war]] and the nomads settled in [[Transylvania]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kiss |first=Attila |year=2020 |title=A langobardok pannóniai kivonulása |trans-title=The withdrawal of the Langobards from Pannonia |url=https://mki.gov.hu/hu/hirek-hu/minden-hir-hu/innen-aprilis-havaban-koltoztek-ki-a-szent-husvetra-kovetkezo-napon-a-langobardok-pannoniai-kivonulasa |website=[[Institute of Hungarian Research|Magyarságkutató Intézet]] |language=hu}}</ref> In the spring of 568, Alboin, now fearing the aggressive Avars, led the Lombard migration into [[Italy (Roman Empire)|Italy]],<ref name="HGL">Peters</ref> which he planned for years.<ref name=":1"/> According to the ''History of the Lombards,'' "Then the Langobards, having left [[Pannonia]], hastened to take possession of [[Italy (Roman Empire)|Italy]] with their wives and children and all their goods."<ref>Peters, 2.7.</ref> The Avars have agreed to shelter them if they wish to come back.<ref name=":1"/>

Various other peoples who either voluntarily joined or were subjects of [[Alboin|King Alboin]] were also part of the migration.<ref name="HGL"/> <blockquote>Whence, even until today, we call the villages in which they dwell [[Gepids|Gepidan]], [[Bulgars|Bulgarian]], [[Sarmatian]], [[Pannonians|Pannonian]], [[Suebi|Suabian]], [[Taurisci|Norican]], or by other names of this kind."<ref>Peters, 2.26.</ref></blockquote> At least 20,000 Saxon warriors, old allies of the Lombards, and their families joined them in their new migration.<ref>Paolo Diacono, Historia Langobardorum, FV, II, 4, 6, 7.</ref>

The first important city to fall was ''Forum Iulii'' ([[Cividale del Friuli]]) in [[northeastern Italy]], in 569. There, Alboin created the first Lombard duchy, which he entrusted to his nephew [[Gisulf II of Friuli|Gisulf]]. Soon [[Vicenza]], [[Verona]] and [[Brescia]] fell into Germanic hands. In the summer of 569, the Lombards conquered the main Roman centre of [[northern Italy]], [[Milan]]. The area was then recovering from the terrible [[Gothic War (535–554)|Gothic Wars]], and the small [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] army left for its defence could do almost nothing. Longinus, the [[Exarch]] sent to Italy by Emperor [[Justin II]], could only defend coastal cities that could be supplied by the powerful Byzantine fleet. [[Pavia]] fell after a siege of three years, in 572, becoming the first capital city of the new Lombard kingdom of Italy.[[File:0815 - Museo archeologico di Milano - Corredo longobardico (sec. VI-VII) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13-mar-2012.jpg|thumb|Lombard grave goods (sixth to seventh century), [[Milan]], [[Lombardy]]]]In the following years, the Lombards penetrated further south, conquering [[Tuscany]] and establishing two duchies, [[Duchy of Spoleto|Spoleto]] and [[Duchy of Benevento|Benevento]] under [[Zotto]], which soon became semi-independent and even outlasted the northern kingdom, surviving well into the twelfth century. Wherever they went, they were joined by the Ostrogothic population, which was allowed to live peacefully in Italy with their [[Rugii|Rugian]] allies under Roman sovereignty.<ref>De Bello Gothico IV 32, pp. 241–245</ref> The [[Byzantine]]s managed to retain control of the area of Ravenna and Rome, linked by a thin corridor running through [[Perugia]].

When they entered Italy, some Lombards retained their native form of [[Germanic paganism|paganism]], while some were [[Arianism|Arian]] Christians. Hence they did not enjoy good relations with the [[Early Christian Church]]. Gradually, they adopted Roman or Romanized titles, names, and traditions, and partially converted to orthodoxy (in the seventh century), though not without a long series of religious and ethnic conflicts. By the time [[Paul the Deacon]] was writing, the Lombard language, dress and even hairstyles had nearly all disappeared ''[[in toto]]''.<ref>"The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 500–c. 700" by Paul Fouracre and [[Rosamond McKitterick]] (p. 8)</ref>
[[File:Musei civici (Pavia)29.jpg|thumb|[[Plutei of Theodota]], mid-eighth century, [[Pavia Civic Museums|Civic Museums of Pavia]].]]

The whole Lombard territory was divided into 36 duchies, whose leaders settled in the main cities. The king ruled over them and administered the land through emissaries called ''gastaldi''. This subdivision, however, together with the independent indocility of the duchies, deprived the kingdom of unity, making it weak even when compared to the Byzantines, especially since these had begun to recover from the initial invasion. This weakness became even more evident when the Lombards had to face the increasing power of the Franks. In response, the kings tried to centralize power over time, but they definitively lost control over [[Spoleto]] and [[Benevento]] in the attempt.

=====Langobardia major=====
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Duchy of Friuli]]
* [[Duchy of Tridentum]]
* [[Duchy of Persiceta]]
* Duchy of Pavia
* [[Duchy of Tuscia]]
{{div col end}}

=====Langobardia minor=====
* [[Duchy of Spoleto]] and [[Duke of Spoleto]]
* [[Duchy of Benevento]] and [[List of dukes and princes of Benevento]]

====Arian monarchy====
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2018}}
[[File:Chlothar II.jpg|thumb|The Frankish [[Merovingian]] King [[Chlothar II]] in combat with the Lombards]]
In 572, Alboin was murdered in Verona in a plot led by his wife, Rosamund, who later fled to [[Ravenna]]. His successor, [[Cleph]], was also assassinated, after a ruthless reign of 18 months. His death began an interregnum of years (the "[[Rule of the Dukes]]") during which the [[Duke (Lombard)|duke]]s did not elect any king, a period regarded as a time of violence and disorder. In 586, threatened by a Frankish invasion, the dukes elected Cleph's son, [[Authari]], as king. In 589, he married [[Theodelinda]], daughter of [[Garibald I of Bavaria]], the Duke of [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]]. The Catholic Theodelinda was a friend of [[Pope Gregory I]] and pushed for Christianization. In the meantime, Authari embarked on a policy of internal reconciliation and tried to reorganize royal administration. The dukes yielded half their estates for the maintenance of the king and his court in Pavia. On the foreign affairs side, Authari managed to thwart the dangerous alliance between the Byzantines and the Franks.

Authari died in 591 and was succeeded by [[Agilulf]], the duke of [[Duchy of Turin|Turin]], who also married Theodelinda in the same year. Agilulf successfully fought the rebel dukes of northern Italy, conquering [[Padua]] in 601, [[Cremona]] and [[Mantua]] in 603, and forcing the [[Exarch of Ravenna]] to pay tribute. Agilulf died in 616; Theodelinda reigned alone until 628 when she was succeeded by [[Adaloald]]. [[Arioald]], the head of the Arian opposition who had married Theodelinda's daughter Gundeperga, later deposed Adaloald.

Arioald was succeeded by [[Rothari]], regarded by many authorities as the most energetic of all Lombard kings. He extended his dominions, conquering [[Liguria]] in 643 and the remaining part of the Byzantine territories of inner [[Veneto]], including the Roman city of ''Opitergium'' ([[Oderzo]]). Rothari also made the famous edict bearing his name, the ''[[Edictum Rothari]]'', which established the laws and the customs of his people in [[Latin]]: the edict did not apply to the tributaries of the Lombards, who could retain their own laws. Rothari's son [[Rodoald]] succeeded him in 652, still very young, and was killed by his opponents.

At the death of King [[Aripert I]] in 661, the kingdom was split between his children [[Perctarit]], who set his capital in Milan, and [[Godepert]], who reigned from [[Pavia]] ([[Ticinum]]). Perctarit was overthrown by [[Grimoald I of Benevento|Grimoald]], son of Gisulf, duke of [[Duchy of Friuli|Friuli]] and [[Duchy of Benevento|Benevento]] since 647. Perctarit fled to the [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avars]] and then to the Franks. Grimoald managed to regain control over the duchies and deflected the late attempt of the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Constans II (Byzantine Empire)|Constans II]] to conquer southern Italy. He also defeated the Franks. At Grimoald's death in 671 [[Perctarit]] returned and promoted tolerance between Arians and Catholics, but he could not defeat the Arian party, led by Arachi, duke of [[Duchy of Tridentum|Trento]], who submitted only to his son, the philo-Catholic [[Cunincpert]].

The Lombards engaged in fierce battles with [[Slavic peoples]] during these years: from 623 to 626 the Lombards unsuccessfully attacked the [[Carantania]]ns, and, in 663–64, the Slavs raided the [[Vipava Valley]] and the [[Friuli]].

====Catholic monarchy====
[[File:Luitprand tremissis 661673.jpg|thumb|right|[[Liutprand, King of the Lombards|King Liutprand]] (712–744) "was a zealous Catholic, generous and a great founder of monasteries".<ref name=FEL>{{cite book|title=The End of the Ancient World and the Beginnings of the Middle Ages |first=Ferdinand |last=Lot |year=1931 |place=London}}</ref>]]
Religious strife and the Slavic raids remained a source of struggle in the following years. In 705, the Friuli Lombards were defeated and lost the land to the west of the [[Soča]] River, namely the [[Gorizia Hills]] and the [[Venetian Slovenia]].<ref name="VidmarSolkan"/> A new ethnic border was established that has lasted for over 1200 years up until the present time.<ref name="VidmarSolkan">{{cite web |url=http://www.solkan.si/o-solkanu/od-kod-prihajajo-in-kdo-so-solkanski-langobardi |title=Od kod prihajajo in kdo so solkanski Langobardi |language=sl |trans-title=From Where Come and Who Are the Solkan Lombards |first=Jernej |last=Vidmar |access-date=30 July 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113612/http://www.solkan.si/o-solkanu/od-kod-prihajajo-in-kdo-so-solkanski-langobardi |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=A Slovene history: society – politics – culture |first1=Peter |last1=Štih |first2=Vasko |last2=Simoniti |first3=Peter |last3=Vodopivec |editor-first=Žarko |editor-last=Lazarević |publisher=Institute of Modern History |place=Ljubljana |year=2008 |isbn=978-961-6386-19-7 |chapter=The Settlement of the Slavs |page=22}}</ref>

The Lombard reign began to recover only with [[Liutprand the Lombard]] (king from 712), son of [[Ansprand]] and successor of the brutal [[Aripert II]]. He managed to regain a certain control over [[Spoleto]] and Benevento, and, taking advantage of the disagreements between the Pope and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]] concerning the [[Byzantine Iconoclasm|reverence of icons]], he annexed the Exarchate of Ravenna and the duchy of [[Rome]]. He also helped the Frankish marshal [[Charles Martel]] drive back the [[Arabs]]. The Slavs were defeated in the [[Battle of Lavariano]], when they tried to conquer the [[Friulian Plain]] in 720.<ref name="VidmarSolkan"/> Liutprand's successor [[Aistulf]] conquered Ravenna for the Lombards for the first time but had to relinquish it when he was subsequently defeated by the king of the Franks, [[Pippin III]], who was called by the Pope.

After the death of Aistulf, [[Ratchis]] attempted to become king of Lombardy, but he was deposed by [[Desiderius]], duke of [[March of Tuscany|Tuscany]], the last Lombard to rule as king. Desiderius managed to take Ravenna definitively, ending the Byzantine presence in northern Italy. He decided to reopen struggles against the Pope, who was supporting the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento against him, and entered Rome in 772, the first Lombard king to do so. But when [[Pope Hadrian I]] called for help from the powerful Frankish king [[Charlemagne]], Desiderius was defeated at [[Susa, Italy|Susa]] and besieged in [[Pavia]], while his son [[Adalgis|Adelchis]] was forced to open the gates of Verona to Frankish troops. Desiderius surrendered in 774, and Charlemagne, in an utterly novel decision, took the title "King of the Lombards". Before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people. Charlemagne took part of the Lombard territory to create the [[Papal States]].

The [[Lombardy]] region in Italy, which includes the cities of Brescia, Bergamo, Milan, and the old capital Pavia, is a reminder of the presence of the Lombards.

===Later history===
====Falling to the Franks and the Duchy of Benevento, 774–849====
[[File:Duchy of Benevento It.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Lombard [[Duchy of Benevento]] in the eighth century]]

Though the kingdom centred on Pavia in the north fell to Charlemagne and the [[Franks]] in 774, the Lombard-controlled territory to the south of the Papal States was never subjugated by Charlemagne or his descendants. In 774, Duke [[Arechis II of Benevento]], whose duchy had only nominally been under royal authority, though certain kings had been effective at making their power known in the south, claimed that Benevento was the [[successor state]] of the kingdom. He tried to turn Benevento into a ''secundum Ticinum'': a second Pavia. He tried to claim the kingship, but with no support and no chance of a coronation in Pavia.

Charlemagne came down with an army, and his son [[Louis the Pious]] sent men, to force the Beneventan duke to submit, but his submission and promises were never kept and Arechis and his successors were ''de facto'' independent. The Beneventan dukes took the title ''prínceps'' (prince) instead of that of king.

The Lombards of southern Italy were thereafter in the anomalous position of holding land claimed by two empires: the [[Carolingian Empire]] to the north and west and the [[Byzantine Empire]] to the east. They typically made pledges and promises of tribute to the Carolingians, but effectively remained outside Frankish control. Benevento meanwhile grew to its greatest extent yet when it imposed a tribute on the [[Duchy of Naples]], which was tenuously loyal to Byzantium and even conquered the Neapolitan city of [[Amalfi]] in 838. At one point in the reign of [[Sicard of Benevento|Sicard]], Lombard control covered most of southern Italy save the very south of [[Apulia]] and [[Calabria]] and [[Naples]], with its nominally attached cities. It was during the ninth century that a strong Lombard presence became entrenched in formerly Greek Apulia. However, Sicard had opened up the south to the invasive actions of the [[Saracen]]s in his war with [[Andrew II of Naples]] and when he was assassinated in 839, Amalfi declared independence and two factions fought for power in Benevento, crippling the principality and making it susceptible to external enemies.

The civil war lasted ten years and ended with a peace treaty imposed in 849 by [[Emperor Louis II]], the only Frankish king to exercise actual sovereignty over the Lombard states. The treaty divided the kingdom into two states: the Principality of Benevento and the [[Principality of Salerno]], with its capital at [[Salerno]] on the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]].

====Southern Italy and the Arabs, 836–915====
{{Main|History of Islam in southern Italy}}
Andrew II of Naples hired Islamic mercenaries and formed a Muslim-Christian alliance for his war with Sicard of Benevento in 836; Sicard responded with other Muslim mercenaries. The Saracens initially concentrated their attacks on [[Sicily]] and Byzantine Italy, but soon [[Radelchis I of Benevento]] called in more mercenaries, who destroyed [[Capua]] in 841. [[Landulf I of Capua|Landulf the Old]] founded the present-day Capua, "New Capua", on a nearby hill. In general, the Lombard princes were less inclined to ally with the Saracens than with their Greek neighbours of Amalfi, Gaeta, Naples, and Sorrento. [[Guaifer of Salerno]], however, briefly put himself under Muslim suzerainty.

In 847 a large Muslim force seized [[Bari]], until then a Lombard [[gastald]]ate under the control of [[Pandenulf of Bari|Pandenulf]]. Saracen incursions proceeded northwards until [[Adelchis of Benevento]] sought the help of his suzerain, Louis II, who allied with the Byzantine emperor [[Basil I]] to [[Louis II's campaign against Bari (866–871)|expel the Arabs from Bari in 869]]. An Arab landing force was defeated by the emperor in 871. Adelchis and Louis remained at war until the death of Louis in 875. Adelchis regarded himself as the true successor of the Lombard kings, and in that capacity he amended the ''[[Edictum Rothari]]'', the last Lombard ruler to do so.

After the death of Louis, [[Landulf II of Capua]] briefly flirted with a Saracen alliance, but [[Pope John VIII]] convinced him to break it off. [[Guaimar I of Salerno]] fought the Saracens with Byzantine troops. Throughout this period the Lombard princes swung in allegiance from one party to another. Finally, towards 915, [[Pope John X]] managed to unite the Christian princes of southern Italy against the Saracen establishments on the [[Garigliano]] river. The Saracens were ousted from Italy in the [[Battle of the Garigliano]] in 915.

====Lombard principalities in the tenth century====
[[File:Italy 1000 AD.svg|thumb|right|250px|Italy around the turn of the millennium, showing the Lombard states in the south on the eve of the arrival of the Normans.]]
The independent state of Salerno inspired the [[List of princes of Capua|gastalds of Capua]] to move towards independence, and by the end of the century they were styling themselves "princes" and as a third Lombard state. The Capuan and Beneventan states were united by [[Atenulf I of Capua]] in 900. He subsequently declared them to be in perpetual union, and they were separated only in 982, on the death of [[Pandulf Ironhead]]. With all of the Lombard south under his control, except Salerno, Atenulf felt safe to use the title ''Princeps Gentis Langobardorum'' ("prince of the Lombard people"), which Arechis II had begun using in 774. Among Atenulf's successors the principality was ruled jointly by fathers, sons, brothers, cousins, and uncles for the greater part of the century.

Meanwhile, the prince [[Gisulf I of Salerno]] began using the title ''Langobardorum Gentis Princeps'' around mid-century, but the ideal of a united Lombard principality was realised only in December 977, when Gisulf died and his domains were inherited by Pandulf Ironhead, who temporarily held almost all Italy south of Rome and brought the Lombards into an alliance with the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. His territories were divided upon his death.
[[File:South Italy AD 1039-1047-es.svg|300px|thumb|left|The Principate of Salerno under [[Guaimar IV]] (1027-1052) controlled all southern continental Italy (includind Naples as a "vassal" duchy)]]
[[Landulf II of Benevento|Landulf the Red]] of Benevento and Capua tried to conquer the principality of Salerno with the help of [[John III of Naples]], but with the aid of [[Mastalus I of Amalfi]], Gisulf repulsed him. The rulers of Benevento and Capua made several attempts on [[Catapanate of Italy|Byzantine Apulia]] at this time, but late in the century, the Byzantines, under the stiff rule of [[Basil II]], gained ground on the Lombards.

According to the ''Catalogum Principum Salerni'', the Prince of "langobard Salerno" [[Guaimar IV]] ruled for 34 years and 17 days. He conquered and was: [[Duke of Amalfi]] (1039&ndash;1052), [[Duke of Gaeta]] (1040&ndash;1041), and [[Prince of Capua]] (1038&ndash;1047) in [[Southern Italy]] over the period from 1027 to 1052.  He was an important figure in the final phase of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] authority in the [[Mezzogiorno]] and [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|the commencement of Norman power]]. Guaimar's legacy includes his dominion, either by conquest or otherwise, over Salerno, Amalfi, Gaeta, Naples, Sorrento, Apulia, Calabria, and Capua at one time or another. He was the last great Lombard prince of the south, but perhaps he is best known for his character, which the [[John Julius Norwich|Lord Norwich]] sums up this way: "...without once breaking a promise or betraying a trust. Up to the day he died his honour and good faith had never once been called in question.".<ref>Norwich, 88.</ref> Salerno in these decades was the main and more rich city (called "Opulenta Salernum") in southern Italy, even because of the "Schola Medica Salernitana" (the first "university" of medicine in Europe).

After the assassination of Guaimar IV the Principality of Salerno started to be dominated more and more by the Normans: in 1077 ended the history of the Langobards in Italy when this Principality was conquered by the Norman [[Robert Guiscard]].

The principal source for the history of the Lombard principalities in this period is the ''[[Chronicon Salernitanum]]'', composed late in the tenth century at Salerno.

====Norman conquest, 1017–1078====
{{Main|Norman conquest of southern Italy}}
The diminished Beneventan principality soon lost its independence to the [[papacy]] and declined in importance until it fell in the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy]]. The Normans, first called in by the Lombards to fight the Byzantines for control of [[Apulia]] and [[Calabria]] (under the likes of [[Melus of Bari]] and [[Arduin the Lombard|Arduin]], among others), had become rivals for hegemony in the south. The Salernitan principality experienced a golden age under [[Guaimar III of Salerno|Guaimar III]] and [[Guaimar IV of Salerno|Guaimar IV]], but under [[Gisulf II of Salerno|Gisulf II]], the principality shrank to insignificance and fell in 1078 to [[Robert Guiscard]], who had married Gisulf's sister [[Sichelgaita]]. The Capua principality was hotly contested during the reign of the hated [[Pandulf IV of Capua|Pandulf IV]], the ''Wolf of the Abruzzi'', and, under his son, it fell, almost without contest, to the Norman [[Richard I of Aversa|Richard Drengot]] (1058). The Capuans revolted against Norman rule in 1091, expelling Richard's grandson [[Richard II of Capua|Richard II]] and setting up one [[Lando IV of Capua|Lando IV]].

Capua was again put under Norman rule after the [[Siege of Capua]] of 1098 and the city quickly declined in importance under a series of ineffective Norman rulers. The independent status of these Lombard states is in general attested by the ability of their rulers to switch suzerains at will. Often the legal vassal of the pope or the emperor (either Byzantine or [[Holy Roman Emperor|Holy Roman]]), they were the real power-brokers in the south until their erstwhile allies the Normans rose to preeminence.