The Rule of the Dukes was an

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...

in the Lombard Kingdom of Italy (574/5–584/5) during which Italy was ruled by the Lombard

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

s of the old

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

s and urban centres. The interregnum is said to have lasted a decade according to

Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, ...

, but all other sources—the ''

Fredegarii Chronicon The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Franks, Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century. The chronicl ...

'', the '' Origo Gentis Langobardorum'', the ''

Chronicon Gothanum The ''Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani'', also called the ''Chronicon Gothanum'', is a history of the Lombard people written at and for the court of King Pippin of Italy between the years 806 and 810. It is preserved in the twelfth-century ...

'', and the Copenhagen continuator of

Prosper Tiro Prosper of Aquitaine ( la, Prosper Aquitanus; – AD), a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Life Prosper was a native of Aquitaine, and may have been educated at ...

—accord it twelve years. Here is how Paul describes the dukes' rule:

After his death the Langobards had no king for ten years but were under dukes, and each one of the dukes held possession of his own city, Zaban of Ticinum, Wallari of Bergamus, Alichis of Brexia, Euin of Tridentum, Gisulf of Forum Julii. But there were thirty other dukes besides these in their own cities. In these days many of the noble Romans were killed from love of gain, and the remainder were divided among their "guests" and made tributaries, that they should pay the third part of their products to the Langobards. By these dukes of the Langobards in the seventh year from the coming of Alboin and of his whole people, the churches were despoiled, the priests killed, the cities overthrown, the people who had grown up like crops annihilated, and besides those regions which Alboin had taken, the greater part of Italy was seized and subjugated by the Langobards.

The ''Origo'' gives a shorter version of the same events:

The rest of the Langobards set over themselves a king named, Cleph, of the stock of Beleos, and Cleph reigned two years and died. And the dukes of the Langobards administered justice for twelve years and after these things they set up over themselves a king named Autari the son of Cleph. And Autari took as his wife Theudelenda, a daughter of Garipald and of Walderada from Bavaria.'' Origo Gentis Langobardorum'': Reliqui langobardi levaverunt sibi regem nomine cleph de beleos, et regnavit cleph annos duos, et mortuus est. Et iudicaverunt duces langobardorum annos duodecim; posthaec levaverunt sibi regem nomine autarine, filio claffoni; et accepit autari uxorem theudelenda, filia garipald et walderade de baiuaria.

The Lombards had entered the Italian peninsula in 568 under

Alboin Alboin (530s – 28 June 572) was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572. He had a lasting eff ...

. Under Alboin's successor, Cleph, they continued to expand at the expense of the Byzantines. Cleph's reign was short and his rule hard. Upon his death, the Lombards did not elect another leader-king, leaving the territorial dukes the highest authorities in Lombard territories. According to Fredegar, they were forced to pay tribute to the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...

, and this lasted until the accession of

Adaloald Adaloald (602–628) was the Lombard king of Italy from 616 to 626. He was son and heir of King Agilulf and his Catholic queen Theodelinda. He was baptised shortly after his birth in 602; the abbot Secundus of Non (later historian) was his g ...

.Everett (2003), 72–74. The dukes were unable to organise themselves under a single leader capable of continuing their successes against the Byzantines. When they invaded Frankish

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

(584/5), the Frankish kings

Guntram Saint Gontrand (c. 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third eldest and ...

and

Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his ...

counter-invaded northern Italy, took Trent, and opened negotiations with the emperor Tiberius II, sovereign of the hard-pressed

exarchate of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...

. Finally, tired of disunion, fearing a pincer action from a Byzantine–Frankish alliance, and lacking the leadership necessary to withstand combined military forces, the dukes elected as king Authari. They ceded to him the old capital of

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the ...

and half of their ducal demesnes, though the fidelity to their oath with which this last promise was carried out is suspect. With the election of a king and the payment of tribute, the last Frankish troops still in Italy left.

List of dukes

Among the known reigning dukes of the times were: * Zotto, duke of Benevento *Vallari, duke of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Com ...

*Alagis I, duke of

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

* Gisulf I,

duke of Friuli The dukes and margraves of Friuli were the rulers of the Duchy and March of Friuli in the Middle Ages. The dates given below, when contentious, are discussed in the articles of the respective dukes. Lombard dukes * 568–c.584 Grasulf I * 5 ...

* Zaban, duke of

* Faroald I,

duke of Spoleto The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...

Euin Euin (died 595), also ''Ewin'' or ''Eoin'', was the first Lombard Duke of Trent (from 569) during the Rule of the Dukes, an interregnum (575–585) during which the Kingdom of Italy was ruled by its regional magnates, the dukes of the thirty or so ...

duke of Trent The Duchy of Tridentum (Trent) was an autonomous Lombard duchy, established by Euin during the Lombard interregnum of 574–584 that followed the assassination of the Lombard leader Alboin. The stronghold of Euin's territory was the Roman cit ...

*Aimone, duke of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Notes

Sources

*Everett, Nicholas. ''Literacy in Lombard Italy, c. 568–774''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. * Oman, Charles. ''The Dark Ages, 476–918''. London: Rivingtons, 1914. *

; Foulke, William Dudley, ed. ''Historia Langobardorum''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1907. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rule Of The Dukes Kingdom of the Lombards 6th century in Italy 6th-century monarchs in Europe Interregnums 570s 580s