15 Facts About Medieval Italy

Late Antiquity in Medieval Italy lingered on into the 7th century under the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty, the Byzantine Papacy until the mid 8th century.

Medieval Italy was invaded by the Visigoths in the 5th century, and Rome was sacked by Alaric in 410.

Medieval Italy subsequently ruled in Italy for seventeen years as rex gentium, theoretically under the suzerainty of the eastern Roman emperor Zeno, but practically in total independence.

The areas in central-northern Medieval Italy which remained under Byzantine control became the Exarchate of Ravenna.

Southern Medieval Italy was divided amongst the two Lombards duchies of Spoleto and Benevento, who accepted Charlemagne's suzerainty only formally, and the Byzantine Empire.

Related searches

Medieval Italy warred against his Greek neighbours, especially Sorrento, Naples, and Amalfi.

In 849, the Emperor Louis II, in one of his first acts as King of Medieval Italy, invaded the peninsula and imposed peace between the Lombard factions.

Medieval Italy divided the principality into two: one at Benevento, one at Salerno.

From that time on, the Kings of Medieval Italy were always Kings of Germany, and Medieval Italy thus became a constituent kingdom of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the Kingdom of Germany and – from 1032 – Burgundy.

Emperor, or his subordinate ruler of the Kingdom of Medieval Italy, nominally controlled the Northern Italian communes.

The Catepanate of Medieval Italy was set up to administer the newly acquired territory.

The rest of Southern Medieval Italy remained divided among the Lombard kings and the Italian cities.

Between the 12th and 13th centuries, Medieval Italy developed a peculiar political pattern, significantly different from feudal Europe north of the Alps.

Unlike the Norman conquest of England, which took place over the course of a few years after one decisive battle, the conquest of Southern Medieval Italy was the product of decades and many battles, few decisive.

Warfare between the states was common, invasion from outside Medieval Italy confined to intermittent sorties of Holy Roman Emperors.