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Lombardo Byzantine: *
In the 6th century Justinian attempted to reassert imperial authority in the territories of the Western Roman Empire. The Gothic War (535-554) against the Ostrogoths was a war of attrition. Although the Byzantine Empire eventually prevailed, the triumph was pyrrhic. Italy; Dalmatia, Sardinia, Sicily were recovered but famine & plague led to massive depopulation. TIn 568 the Lombards, led by King Alboin, moved from Pannonia and quickly overwhelmed the small Byzantine army left to guard Italy. The Lombards broke the political unity of the Italian Peninsula, now torn between territories ruled by the Lombards and the Byzantines, with boundaries that changed over time. The Lombard Kingdom consisted of 2 regions: Langobardia Maior, northern Italy centred on the capital, Ticinum (Pavia) and Langobardia Minor, the duchies of Spoleto & Benevento in southern Italy. The territories still under Byzantine control were called "Romania"; its stronghold was the Exarchate of Ravenna in NE Italy.
The Lombards grew to greater & greater dominance in Italy Fromm 568 until their defeat by Charlemagne in 774.
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Lombard territory 572 AD, at the start of their domination under Alboin (Lombard rule in blue; Byzantine orange)
The Lombard Kingdom (blue) at its greatest extent, under King Aistulf (749–756)
