Editing Temporal power of the Holy See (section)

===Donation of Pepin===
In 751 the Exarchate of Ravenna fell to Lombard King [[Aistulf]]. Five years later, [[Pepin the Short]] of the Franks defeated the Lombards and granted the lands of the Duchy of Rome as well as territory ceded by the Lombards to the Papacy in what is referred to as the [[Donation of Pepin]], marking the true beginning of the Papal States. The area conferred upon the pope included the territory belonging to Ravenna, even cities such as [[Forlì]] with their hinterlands, the Lombard conquests in the [[Romagna]] and in the [[Duchy of Spoleto]] and [[Benevento]], and the [[Pentapolis]] (the "five cities" of [[Rimini]], [[Pesaro]], [[Fano]], [[Senigallia]] and [[Ancona]]). [[Narni]] and [[Ceccano]] were former papal territories.<ref>Noble, Thomas F. X., ''The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State'', 1984, .p. 93</ref> However, the medieval Popes were unable to exercise effective sovereignty over these extensive and mountainous territories, given the recalcitrance of their vassals.

For over a thousand years popes ruled as [[Sovereignty|sovereign]] over an amalgam of territories on the [[Italian peninsula]] known as the [[Papal States]], from the capital, [[Rome]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Papal States {{!}} historical region, Italy {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Papal-States|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> In 1274 the [[Comtat Venaissin]] came under Papal control, followed by [[Avignon]] in 1348.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Avignon papacy {{!}} Summary, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Avignon-papacy|access-date=2021-11-14|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref>