A 15th century miniature portraying Desiderius, the last king of Lombards (died ca. 786). From hinds
A 15th century miniature portraying Desiderius, the last king of Lombards (died ca. 786). From hindsight his foreign policy wasn’t that succesful. In a power battle between Frankish sections he sided with Charlemagne’s opponents who seeked refuge at his court. In addition to this he attacked the Pope, who had been for decades a military protege of Frankish kings. All this gave plenty of reasons for Charlemagne to intervene in Italian politics and the Frankish king promptly did so by leading his battle-hardened troops to Lombardy. At the battle of Mortara they gave Desiderius’ army a good hiding after which the faith of the Lombard kingdom was sealed. Capitol Pavia endured siege for several months though, but in the end the city had to open it’s gates. The consequences of the defeat were grim. Charlemagne’s former father-in-law, Desiderius, was dethroned and sent to a monastery. In addition to this, the Lombard kingdom was dissolved as an independent political entity and annexed into the Frankish realm. -- source link
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