Editing Alboin (section)

== Preparations and departure from Pannonia ==
Despite his success against the Gepids, Alboin had failed to greatly increase his power, and was now faced with a much stronger threat from the Avars.<ref name="JJ29">Jarnut 1995, p. 29</ref> Historians consider this the decisive factor in convincing Alboin to undertake a migration, even though there are indications that before the war with the Gepids a decision was maturing to leave for Italy, a country thousands of Lombards had seen in the 550s when hired by the Byzantines to fight in the Gothic War.<ref name="DBI"/><ref name="JM152">Moorhead 2005, p. 152</ref> Additionally, the Lombards would have known of the weakness of Byzantine Italy, which had endured a number of problems after being retaken from the Goths. In particular the so-called [[Plague of Justinian]] had ravaged the region and conflict remained endemic, with the [[Three-Chapter Controversy]] sparking religious opposition and administration at a standstill after the able governor of the peninsula, [[Narses]], was recalled.<ref>Christie 1998, p. 60</ref> Nevertheless, the Lombards viewed Italy as a rich land which promised great booty,<ref name="JJ29"/><ref name="SG25">Gasparri 1990, p. 25</ref> assets Alboin used to gather together a horde which included not only Lombards but many other peoples of the region, including [[Heruli]], [[Suebi]], [[Gepids]], [[Thuringii]], [[Bulgars]], [[Sarmatians]], the remaining Romans and a few Ostrogoths. But the most important group, other than the Lombards, were the [[Saxons]], of whom 20,000 male warriors with their families participated in the trek. These Saxons were tributaries to the Frankish King [[Sigebert I|Sigebert]], and their participation indicates that Alboin had the support of the Franks for his venture.<ref name="DBI"/><ref name="HS82">Schutz 2002, p. 82</ref>

The precise size of the heterogeneous group gathered by Alboin is impossible to know, and many different estimates have been made. [[Neil Christie]] considers 150,000 to be a realistic size, a number which would make the Lombards a more numerous force than the Ostrogoths on the eve of their invasion of Italy. Jörg Jarnut proposes 100,000–150,000 as an approximation; Wilfried Menghen in ''Die Langobarden'' estimates 150,000 to 200,000; while Stefano Gasparri cautiously judges the peoples united by Alboin to be somewhere between 100,000 and 300,000.<ref name="SG25"/><ref name="HS82"/><ref name="NC634">Christie 1998, pp. 63–64</ref><ref name="JJ30">Jarnut 1995, p. 30</ref>

[[File:Vipava valley from Nanos.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A photo showing a valley and a mountain|The Vipava Valley in Slovenia, through which Alboin led the Lombards into Italy]]As a precautionary move Alboin strengthened his alliance with the Avars, signing what Paul calls a ''foedus perpetuum'' ("perpetual treaty") and what is referred to in the 9th-century ''[[Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani]]'' as a ''pactum et foedus amicitiae'' ("pact and treaty of friendship"), adding that the treaty was put down on paper. By the conditions accepted in the treaty, the Avars were to take possession of Pannonia and the Lombards were promised military support in Italy should the need arise; also, for a period of 200 years, the Lombards were to maintain the right to reclaim their former territories if the plan to conquer Italy failed, thus leaving Alboin with an alternative open. The accord also had the advantage of protecting Alboin's rear, as an Avar-occupied Pannonia would make it difficult for the Byzantines to bring forces to Italy by land. The agreement proved immensely successful, and relations with the Avars were almost uninterruptedly friendly during the lifetime of the Lombard Kingdom.<ref>Pohl 1997, p. 98</ref><ref name="HW286">Wolfram 1997, p. 286</ref><ref>Jarnut 1995, pp. 29–30</ref>

A further cause of the Lombard migration into Italy may have been an invitation from Narses. According to a controversial tradition reported by several medieval sources, Narses, out of spite for having been removed by Justinian's successor Justin II, called the Lombards to Italy. Often dismissed as an unreliable tradition,<ref name="JJ30"/><ref>Whitby 2001, p. 91</ref> it has been studied with attention by modern scholars, in particular Neil Christie, who see in it a possible record of a formal invitation by the Byzantine state to settle in northern Italy as ''[[foederati]]'', to help protect the region against the Franks, an arrangement that may have been disowned by Justin II after Narses' removal.<ref name="JM152"/><ref>Christie 1998, pp. 60–63</ref><ref>Pohl 1997, pp. 98–99</ref><ref name="RC186">Collins 1991, p. 186</ref>

=== March to Italy ===
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" | "This Albuin led into Italy the Langobards who were invited by Narses (chief) of the secretaries. And Albuin, king of the Langobards, moved out of Pannonia in the month of April after Easter in the first indiction. In the second indiction, indeed, they began to plunder in Italy, but in the third indiction he became master of Italy."<ref>Paul 1907, p. 329</ref>
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | '''''The Origin of the Nation of the Langobards''''', Chapter V
|}

The Lombard migration started on Easter Monday, 2 April 568. The decision to combine the departure with a Christian celebration can be understood in the context of Alboin's recent conversion to [[Arianism|Arian Christianity]], as attested by the presence of Arian Gothic missionaries at his court.<ref name="JM152"/><ref name="SP43">Palmieri 1996, pp. 43–44</ref> The conversion is likely to have been motivated mostly by political considerations, and intended to consolidate the migration's cohesion, distinguishing the migrants from the Catholic Romans. It also connected Alboin and his people to the Gothic heritage, and in this way obtained the support of the Ostrogoths serving in the Byzantine army as ''foederati''.<ref name="DBI"/><ref>Gasparri 1990, pp. 24–25</ref> It has been speculated that Alboin's migration could have been partly the result of a call from surviving Ostrogoths in Italy.<ref name="JM152"/>

The season chosen for leaving Pannonia was unusually early; the Germanic peoples generally waited until autumn before beginning the migration, giving themselves time to do the harvesting and replenish their granaries for the march. The reason behind the spring departure could be the anxiety induced by the neighbouring Avars, despite the friendship treaty. Nomadic peoples like the Avars also waited for autumn to begin their military campaigns, as they needed enough forage for their horses. A sign of this anxiety can also be seen in the decision taken by Alboin to ravage Pannonia, which created a safety zone between the Lombards and the Avars.<ref name="HW286"/><ref name="RC186"/>

The road followed by Alboin to reach Italy has been the subject of controversy, as is the length of the trek. According to Neil Christie, the Lombards divided themselves into migrational groups, with a vanguard scouting the road, probably following the [[Ptuj|Poetovio]] – [[Celje|Celeia]] – [[Emona]] – [[Cividale del Friuli|Forum Iulii]] route, while the wagons and most of the people proceeded slowly behind because of the goods and chattels they brought with them, and possibly also because they were waiting for the Saxons to join them on the road. By September raiding parties were looting [[Venetia (region)|Venetia]], but it was probably only in 569 that the [[Julian Alps]] were crossed at the [[Vipava Valley]]; the eyewitness [[Secundus of Non]] gives the date as 20 or 21 May.<ref name="DBI"/><ref name="SG25"/><ref name="NC634"/> The 569 date for the entry into Italy is not void of difficulties however, and Jörg Jarnut believes the conquest of most of Venetia had already been completed in 568. According to Carlo Guido Mor, a major difficulty remains in explaining how Alboin could have reached Milan on 3 September assuming he had passed the border only in the May of the same year.<ref name="JJ30"/><ref name="SP43"/>