Authari
Encyclopedia
Authari also known as Agilolf, was king of the Lombards
from 584 to his death. After his father, Cleph
, died in 574, the Lombardic nobility refused to appoint a successor, resulting in ten years interregnum known as the Rule of the Dukes.
In 574 and 575 the Lombards made the blunder of invading Provence
, then part of the kingdom of Burgundy
of the Merovingian Guntram
. Guntram, allied with his nephew, the king of Austrasia
, Childebert II
, invaded Lombardy. The Austrasian army descended the valley of the Adige
and took Trent
. The Byzantine emperor, Tiberius II, began to negotiate an alliance with the Franks
and the Lombards, fearful of a pincer movement, elected another king.
In 584, they elected Duke Authari and ceded him not only the capital of Pavia
, but half of their ducal domains as a demesne
. He spent his entire reign in wars with Franks, Greeks, and rebels. His first major test was the quashing of the rebel duke Droctulf
of Brescello
, who had allied with the Romans and was ruling the Po valley
. Having expelled him, he spent most of the rest of his six years on the throne fighting the exarch of Ravenna, Smaragdus
, or the Merovingian kings.
Guntram and Childebert were still not satisfied with their successes in Italy and they many times threatened invasion, following through on their threats twice. The memory of Theudebert I
of Austrasia's campaigns in Italy, the urging of Childebert's warlike mother Brunhilda and the Byzantine emperor and exarch, as well as the wrongs done Guntram in the past undoubtedly fueled their quarrelsomeness. In 588, Authari defeated them handily, but in 590, the uncle and nephew led to armies across the Alps, respectively over Mont Cenis
and the Brenner
to Milan
and Verona
. Though Authari shut himself up in Pavia, the Franks accomplished little as the exarch's army did not meet them and the could not even join up with each other. Pestilence turned them around and they left the Lombards much chastened, but hardly defeated.
Authari, when not controlled by foreign armies, expanded the Lombard dominion at the expense of Byzantium. He took the fortress of Comacchio
and cut of communication between Padua
and Ravenna
. Faroald, duke of Spoleto, captured the Ravennan seaport of Classis and utterly devastated it. Authari swept through the peninsula all the way to Reggio
, vowing to take Calabria
— a vow never to be kept by any Lombard.
On 15 May 589, he married Theodelinda
, daughter of the Bavaria
n duke Garibald I
. A Catholic
, she had great influence among the Lombards for her virtue. When Authari died in Pavia
in 590, possibly by poison
, he was succeeded as king by Agilulf
, duke of Turin
, on the advice, sought by the dukes, of Theodelinda, who married the new king.
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
from 584 to his death. After his father, Cleph
Cleph
Cleph was king of the Lombards from 572 or 573 to 574 or 575.He succeeded Alboin, to whom he was not related by blood. He was a violent and terrifying figure to the Romans and Byzantines struggling to maintain control of the peninsula...
, died in 574, the Lombardic nobility refused to appoint a successor, resulting in ten years interregnum known as the Rule of the Dukes.
In 574 and 575 the Lombards made the blunder of invading Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, then part of the kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
of the Merovingian Guntram
Guntram
Saint Guntram was the king of Burgundy from 561 to 592. He was a son of Chlothar I and Ingunda...
. Guntram, allied with his nephew, the king of Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
, Childebert II
Childebert II
.Childebert II was the Merovingian king of Austrasia, which included Provence at the time, from 575 until his death in 595, the eldest and succeeding son of Sigebert I, and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted and succeeding son of his uncle Guntram.-Childhood:When his father...
, invaded Lombardy. The Austrasian army descended the valley of the Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....
and took Trent
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
. The Byzantine emperor, Tiberius II, began to negotiate an alliance with the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
and the Lombards, fearful of a pincer movement, elected another king.
In 584, they elected Duke Authari and ceded him not only the capital of Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
, but half of their ducal domains as a demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
. He spent his entire reign in wars with Franks, Greeks, and rebels. His first major test was the quashing of the rebel duke Droctulf
Droctulf
Droctulf was a Byzantine general of Suevic or Alemannic origin. According to Paul the Deacon, Historia Langobardorum, he was raised with among the Lombards, with whom he entered the Italian peninsula in 569...
of Brescello
Brescello
Brescello is a comune in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 80 km northwest of Bologna and about 25 km northwest of Reggio Emilia...
, who had allied with the Romans and was ruling the Po valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...
. Having expelled him, he spent most of the rest of his six years on the throne fighting the exarch of Ravenna, Smaragdus
Smaragdus
Smaragdus was Exarch of Ravenna twice .During his first tenure, Smaragdus made an alliance with the Franks and Avars against the perennial foes of the Exarchate, the Lombards, and appeared poised to extinguish the Lombard power before it had been fully established...
, or the Merovingian kings.
Guntram and Childebert were still not satisfied with their successes in Italy and they many times threatened invasion, following through on their threats twice. The memory of Theudebert I
Theudebert I
Theudebert I was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 to his death in 548. He was the son of Theuderic I and the father of Theudebald....
of Austrasia's campaigns in Italy, the urging of Childebert's warlike mother Brunhilda and the Byzantine emperor and exarch, as well as the wrongs done Guntram in the past undoubtedly fueled their quarrelsomeness. In 588, Authari defeated them handily, but in 590, the uncle and nephew led to armies across the Alps, respectively over Mont Cenis
Mont Cenis
Mont Cenis is a massif and pass in Savoie in France which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps.A road over the pass was built between 1803 and 1810 by Napoleon...
and the Brenner
Brenner Pass
- Roadways :The motorway E45 leading from Innsbruck via Bolzano to Verona and Modena uses this pass, and is one of the most important north-south connections in Europe...
to Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. Though Authari shut himself up in Pavia, the Franks accomplished little as the exarch's army did not meet them and the could not even join up with each other. Pestilence turned them around and they left the Lombards much chastened, but hardly defeated.
Authari, when not controlled by foreign armies, expanded the Lombard dominion at the expense of Byzantium. He took the fortress of Comacchio
Comacchio
Comacchio is a town and comune of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the province of Ferrara, 48 km from the provincial capital Ferrara.-Geography:...
and cut of communication between Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
and Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
. Faroald, duke of Spoleto, captured the Ravennan seaport of Classis and utterly devastated it. Authari swept through the peninsula all the way to Reggio
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
, vowing to take Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
— a vow never to be kept by any Lombard.
On 15 May 589, he married Theodelinda
Theodelinda
Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, was the daughter of duke Garibald I of Bavaria.She was married first in 588 to Authari, king of the Lombards, son of king Cleph. Authari died in 590. Theodelinda was allowed to pick Agilulf as her next husband and Authari's successor in 591...
, daughter of the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n duke Garibald I
Garibald I of Bavaria
Garibald I was Duke of Bavaria from 555 until 591. He stands at the head of the Agilolfings and the Bavarian Dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of the Lombards....
. A Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, she had great influence among the Lombards for her virtue. When Authari died in Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
in 590, possibly by poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
, he was succeeded as king by Agilulf
Agilulf
Agilulf called the Thuringian, was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death.-Biography:A relative of his predecessor Authari, he was selected king on the advice of the Christian queen and widow of Authari, Theodelinda, whom he then married...
, duke of Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, on the advice, sought by the dukes, of Theodelinda, who married the new king.