The Lombards were a Germanic people originally from Northern Europe who settled in the valley of the Danube and from there invaded ByzantineItaly in 568 under the leadership of Alboin. They established a Lombard Kingdom, later named Kingdom of Italy, which lasted until 774, when it was conquered by the Franks. Their influence on Italian political geography is apparent in the regional appellation Lombardy.
In the 7th century, Constans II succeeded in regaining Italia from the Lombards for the Roman Empire. They were driven north to the Alps, where they joined up with their Germanic cousins to eventually form the Franco-Saxon kingdoms.
By 769, the Lombard dukes retained independence from both the Pope and the Caliph. Niketas cited them as an example of secular rulers within ChristianEurope when trying to convince Telerikh to covert to Christianity rather than Islam.[1]
