welcometoitalia:The Lombards, Longobards or Longobardi were a Germanic people who ruled most of the
welcometoitalia:The Lombards, Longobards or Longobardi were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.The Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the Historia Langobardorum that the Lombards descended from a small tribe called the Winnili, who dwelt in southern Scandinavia (Scadanan) before migrating to seek new lands. In the 1st century AD, they formed part of the Suebi in northwestern Germany. By the end of the 5th century, they had moved into the area roughly coinciding with modern Austria and Slovakia north of the Danube river, where they subdued the Heruls and later fought frequent wars with the Gepids. Following his victory, Alboin decided to lead his people to Italy, which had become severely depopulated and devastated after the long Gothic War (535–554) between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic Kingdom. The Lombards were joined by Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, and their invasion of Italy was almost unopposed. By 569, they had conquered all of northern Italy and the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central and southern Italy. They established a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy, later named Regnum Italicum (“Kingdom of Italy”), which reached its zenith under the 8th-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, it was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne and integrated into his Empire.Lombard nobles continued to rule southern parts of Italy well into the 11th century when they were conquered by the Normans and added to their County of Sicily. In this period, the southern part of Italy still under Longobardic domination was known as Langbarðaland (Land of the Lombards) in the Norse runestones. Their legacy is also apparent in the regional name Lombardy (in the north of Italy). More on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombards -- source link
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