Duchy of Benevento
Encyclopedia
The Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard
duchy in medieval Italy, centred on Benevento
, a city central in the Mezzogiorno
. Owing to the Ducatus Romanus
("Duchy of Rome") of the popes, which cut it off from the rest of Lombard Italy, Benevento was from the first practically independent. Only during the reigns of Grimoald I of Benevento
and the kings from Liutprand on was the duchy closely tied to the kingdom. After the fall of the kingdom, however, alone of Lombard territories it remained as a rump state
, and maintained its de facto independence against all comers for nearly three hundred years, though it was divided after 849.
Paul the Deacon
refers to Benevento as the "Samnite duchy" after the ancient Italic inhabitants of the area which gave their name to the region Samnium
.
: the duchy by these accounts would have been founded in 571. The Lombards may have entered later, around 590. Whatever the case, the first duke was Zotto
, a leader of a band of soldiers who descended the coast of Campania
. Though at first independent, Zotto was eventually made to submit to the royal authority of the north. His successor was Arechis
, his nephew, and the principle of hereditary succession guided the Beneventan duchy to the end.
The Lombard duchies, part of the loosely-knit Lombard kingdom, were essentially independent, in spite of their common roots and language, and law and religion similar to that of the north, and in spite of the Beneventan dukes' custom of taking to wife women from the royal family. A swathe of territory that owed allegiance to Rome
or to Ravenna
separated the dukes of Benevento from the kings at Pavia
. Cultural autonomy followed naturally: a distinctive liturgical chant, the Beneventan chant
, developed in the church of Benevento: it was not entirely superseded by Gregorian chant
until the 11th century. A unique Beneventan script
was also developed for writing Latin. The 8th century writer Paul the Deacon
arrived in Benevento in the retinue of a princess from Pavia, the duke's bride. Settled into the greatest of Beneventan monasteries, Monte Cassino
, he wrote first a history of Rome and then a history of the Lombards, the main source for the history of the duchy to that time as well.
. Arechis, himself from the duchy of Friuli
, captured Capua
and Crotone
, sacked the Byzantine Amalfi
, but was unable to capture Naples
. After his reign, the Byzantines had left in southern Italy only Naples, Amalfi, Gaeta
, Sorrento
, Calabria
, and the maritime cities of Apulia
(Bari
, Brindisi
, Otranto
, etc.). In 662, Duke Grimoald I
(duke since 647), went north to aid the King Godepert
against his brother, the co-king Perctarit
, and instead killed them both and captured Pavia. As king of the Lombards, he tried to reinstate Arianism
over the Catholicism
of the late king Aripert I
. However, Arianism was disappearing even in the duchy, as was the distinction between the ethnic Lombard minority and the Latin- and Greek-speaking population. In 663, the city itself was besieged by the Byzantines during the failed attempt of Constans II, who had disembarked at Taranto
, to recover southern Italy. Duke Romuald I
defended the city bravely, however, and the Emperor, also fearing the arrival of Romuald's father, King Grimoald, retired to Naples. However, Romuald intercepted part of the Roman army at Forino
, between Avellino
and Salerno, and destroyed it. A peace between the Duchy and the Eastern Empire was signed in 680.
In the following decades, Benevento conquered some territories from the Byzantines, but the main enemy of the duchy was now the northern Lombard kingdom itself. King Liutprand intervened several times to impose a candidate of his own on the ducal throne. His successor, Ratchis
, declared the duchies of Spoleto
and Benevento foreign countries where it was forbidden to travel without a royal permission.
In 758, king Desiderius
briefly captured Spoleto and Benevento, but with Charlemagne
's conquest of the Lombard kingdom in 774, Arechis II
tried to claim the royal dignity and make Benevento a secundum Ticinum: a second Pavia
(the old Lombard capital). Seeing that this was impractical and would draw Frankish attention to himself, he opted instead for the title of princeps
(prince). In 787, he was forced by Charlemagne's siege of Salerno to submit to Frankish suzerainty. At this time, Benevento was acclaimed by a chronicler as a Ticinum geminum—a "second Pavia". Arechis expanded the Roman city, with new walled enclosures extending onto the level ground southwest of the old city, where Arechis razed old constructions for a new princely palace, whose open court is still traceable in the Piano di Corte of the acropolis
. Like their Byzantine enemies, the dukes linked the palace compound with a national church, Saint Sophia.
In 788, the principality was invaded by Byzantine troops led by Desiderius's son, Adelchis, who had taken refuge at Constantinople
. However, his attempts were thwarted by Arechis' son, Grimoald III
, who had, however, partially submitted to the Franks. The Franks assisted in the repulsion of Adelchis, but, in turn, attacked Benevento's territories several times, obtaining small gains, notably the annexion of Chieti
to the duchy of Spoleto. In 814, Grimoald IV
made vague promises of tribute and submission to Louis the Pious
, which were renewed by his successor Sico. None of these pledges were followed up, and the decreased power and influence of the individual Carolingian
monarchs allowed the duchy to increase its autonomy.
. When the latter was killed by a plot, a civil war broke out. Sicard's relative, Siconulf, was proclaimed prince in Salerno while the assassin Radelchis
was acclaimed in Benevento itself. This ended with the division of the duchy, by order of the Emperor Louis II, into two distinct principates: Benevento (with Molise
and Apulia north to Taranto
) and the Principality of Salerno
. Several local gastald
s and count
s, like that of Capua
, profited from the chaotic situation and declared independence.
The crisis was aggravated by the beginning of Saracen
ravages, the first Saracens having been called in by Radelchis and subsequently Siconulf in their decade-long war. Often spurred by rival Christian rulers, Saracens sacked Naples, Salerno, and Benevento itself. The Saracen colony in southern Lazio was eliminated only in 915, after the Battle of Garigliano
. At the same time, however, the Byzantine Empire reconquered a great part of southern Italy, beginning at Bari
, which they retook from the Saracens in 876, and eventually elevating their themes under strategoi
into a Catapanate of Italy
(999), further reducing the already declining Beneventan power.
In 899, Atenulf I of Capua
conquered Benevento and united the two duchies. He declared them inseparable and introduced the principle of co-rule, whereby sons would be associated with their fathers, a principle soon borrowed by Salerno. However, all Langobardia minor
was unified for the last time by Duke Pandulf Ironhead
, who became prince of Salerno in 978. He succeeded in making Benevento an archdiocese in 969. Before his death (March 981), he had gained from Emperor Otto I
the title of Duke of Spoleto also. However, he split it between his sons: Landulf IV
received Benevento-Capua and Pandulf II
, Salerno. Soon, Benevento was stripped away again when Pandulf
, the Ironhead's nephew, rebelled, demanding his part of the inheritance.
The first decades of the eleventh century saw Benevento dwindle to less than either of her sister duchies, Salerno, then prominent, or Capua. Around 1000, Benevento still comprised 34 separate counties. In 1022, Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
conquered both Capua and Benevento, but returned to Germany after the failed siege of Troia. The Normans
arrived in the Mezzogiorno in these years and Benevento, then acknowledged to be in papal suzerainty, was only an off-and-on ally. The Beneventan duke still had enough prestige to lend his son, Atenulf
, to the Norman-Lombard rebellion in Apulia as leader, but Atenulf abandoned the Normans and Benevento lost what was left of its influence.
The greatest of Norman rulers of the south was Robert Guiscard
, who captured Benevento in 1053. He gave it to its technical suzerain, the pope, who appointed a series of minor Lombards as dukes until he gave it to Guiscard in 1078. It was finally returned to the pope in 1081, with little but the city remaining of the once-great principality which had determined the direction of South Italian affairs for generations. No dukes or princes were thereafter named.
In 1806, Napoleon, after conquering Benevento, named as prince the famous Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, but the title had no significance and it left with Napoleon in 1815.
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...
duchy in medieval Italy, centred on Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, a city central in the Mezzogiorno
Mezzogiorno
The Midday is a wide definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the southern half of the Italian state, encompassing the southern section of the continental Italian Peninsula and the two major islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to a large number of minor islands...
. Owing to the Ducatus Romanus
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
("Duchy of Rome") of the popes, which cut it off from the rest of Lombard Italy, Benevento was from the first practically independent. Only during the reigns of Grimoald I of Benevento
Grimoald I of Benevento
Grimoald I was duke of Benevento and king of the Lombards .Born probably before 610 to Duke Gisulf II of Friuli and the Bavarian princess Ramhilde, daughter of Duke Garibald I of Bavaria, he succeeded his brother Radoald as duke of Benevento...
and the kings from Liutprand on was the duchy closely tied to the kingdom. After the fall of the kingdom, however, alone of Lombard territories it remained as a rump state
Rump state
A rump state is the remnant of a once-larger government, left with limited powers or authority after a disaster, invasion, military occupation, secession or partial overthrowing of a government. In the last case, a government stops short of going in exile because it still controls part of its...
, and maintained its de facto independence against all comers for nearly three hundred years, though it was divided after 849.
Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred, Barnefridus and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...
refers to Benevento as the "Samnite duchy" after the ancient Italic inhabitants of the area which gave their name to the region Samnium
Samnium
Samnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...
.
Foundation
The circumstances of the creation of the duchy are disputed. According to some scholars, Lombards were present in southern Italy well before the complete conquest of the Po ValleyPo 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...
: the duchy by these accounts would have been founded in 571. The Lombards may have entered later, around 590. Whatever the case, the first duke was Zotto
Zotto
Zotto was the military leader of the Lombards in the Mezzogiorno. He is generally considered the founder of the Duchy of Benevento in 571 and its first duke : “…Fuit autem primus Langobardorum dux in Benevento nomine Zotto, qui in ea principatus est per curricula viginti annorum…” Zotto (also...
, a leader of a band of soldiers who descended the coast of Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
. Though at first independent, Zotto was eventually made to submit to the royal authority of the north. His successor was Arechis
Arechis I of Benevento
Arechis I was the second duke of Benevento from 591 to his death in 641, a reign of half a century. He was from Friuli and was a relative of the dukes there, maybe a nephew of Zotto, his predecessor. He was appointed by King Agilulf in the spring of 591, after Zotto's death...
, his nephew, and the principle of hereditary succession guided the Beneventan duchy to the end.
The Lombard duchies, part of the loosely-knit Lombard kingdom, were essentially independent, in spite of their common roots and language, and law and religion similar to that of the north, and in spite of the Beneventan dukes' custom of taking to wife women from the royal family. A swathe of territory that owed allegiance to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
or to 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...
separated the dukes of Benevento from the kings at 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...
. Cultural autonomy followed naturally: a distinctive liturgical chant, the Beneventan chant
Beneventan chant
Beneventan chant is a liturgical plainchant repertory of the Roman Catholic Church, used primarily in the orbit of the southern Italian ecclesiastical centers of Benevento and Montecassino, distinct from Gregorian chant and related to Ambrosian chant...
, developed in the church of Benevento: it was not entirely superseded by Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
until the 11th century. A unique Beneventan script
Beneventan script
Beneventan script was a medieval script, so called because it originated in the Duchy of Benevento in southern Italy. It was also called Langobarda, Longobarda, Longobardisca , or sometimes Gothica; it was first called Beneventan by palaeographer E. A...
was also developed for writing Latin. The 8th century writer Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred, Barnefridus and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...
arrived in Benevento in the retinue of a princess from Pavia, the duke's bride. Settled into the greatest of Beneventan monasteries, Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
, he wrote first a history of Rome and then a history of the Lombards, the main source for the history of the duchy to that time as well.
Expansion
Under Zotto's successors, the duchy was expanded against the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. Arechis, himself from the duchy of Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
, captured Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
and Crotone
Crotone
Crotone is a city and comune in Calabria, southern Italy, on the Ionian Sea. Founded circa 710 BC as the Achaean colony of Croton , it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until 1928, when its name was changed to the current one. In 1994 it became the capital of the newly established...
, sacked the Byzantine Amalfi
Amalfi
Amalfi is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno, c. 35 km southeast of Naples. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto , surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery...
, but was unable to capture Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. After his reign, the Byzantines had left in southern Italy only Naples, Amalfi, Gaeta
Gaeta
Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....
, Sorrento
Sorrento
Sorrento is the name of many cities and towns:*Sorrento, Italy*Sorrento, Florida, United States*Sorrento, Louisiana, United States*Sorrento, Maine, United States*Sorrento, Victoria, a township on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia...
, 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....
, and the maritime cities of Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
(Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
, Otranto
Otranto
Otranto is a town and comune in the province of Lecce , in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and Italy with Albania...
, etc.). In 662, Duke Grimoald I
Grimoald I of Benevento
Grimoald I was duke of Benevento and king of the Lombards .Born probably before 610 to Duke Gisulf II of Friuli and the Bavarian princess Ramhilde, daughter of Duke Garibald I of Bavaria, he succeeded his brother Radoald as duke of Benevento...
(duke since 647), went north to aid the King Godepert
Godepert
Godepert was king of the Lombards , eldest son and successor of Aripert I. He was an Arian who governed from the ancient capital, Pavia, while his brother, Perctarit, a Roman Catholic, governed from Milan...
against his brother, the co-king Perctarit
Perctarit
Perctarit was king of the Lombards from 661 to 662 the first time and later from 671 to 688. He was the son and successor of Aripert I. He shared power with his brother Godepert. He was a Catholic, Godepert an Arian. He ruled from Milan, Godepert from Pavia...
, and instead killed them both and captured Pavia. As king of the Lombards, he tried to reinstate Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
over the Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
of the late king Aripert I
Aripert I
Aripert I was king of the Lombards in Italy. He was the son of Gundoald, duke of Asti, who had crossed the Alps from Bavaria with his sister Theodelinda. As a relative of the Bavarian ducal house, his was called the Bavarian Dynasty.He was the first Roman Catholic king of the Lombards, elected...
. However, Arianism was disappearing even in the duchy, as was the distinction between the ethnic Lombard minority and the Latin- and Greek-speaking population. In 663, the city itself was besieged by the Byzantines during the failed attempt of Constans II, who had disembarked at Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
, to recover southern Italy. Duke Romuald I
Romuald I of Benevento
Romuald I , duke of Benevento was the son of Grimoald, king of the Lombards. He received Benevento when his father usurped the throne in 662. Grimoald sent the deposed king Perctarit's wife Rodelinde and son Cunincpert to the court of his son in Benevento.Romuald betrothed his sister Gisa to...
defended the city bravely, however, and the Emperor, also fearing the arrival of Romuald's father, King Grimoald, retired to Naples. However, Romuald intercepted part of the Roman army at Forino
Forino
Forino is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy.-Battle:On 8 May 663 AD the town was the scene of a battle between the Byzantine army of Constans II and the Lombard army of Romuald I of Benevento, son of Grimoald I and duke of Benevento.According to legend, St...
, between Avellino
Avellino
Avellino is a town and comune, capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km north-east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento.-History:Before the Roman conquest, the...
and Salerno, and destroyed it. A peace between the Duchy and the Eastern Empire was signed in 680.
In the following decades, Benevento conquered some territories from the Byzantines, but the main enemy of the duchy was now the northern Lombard kingdom itself. King Liutprand intervened several times to impose a candidate of his own on the ducal throne. His successor, Ratchis
Ratchis
Ratchis was the Duke of Friuli and King of the Lombards . His father was Duke Pemmo. His Roman wife was Tassia. He ruled in peace until he besieged, for reasons unknown, Perugia. Pope Zachary convinced him to lift the siege and he abdicated and entered, with his family, the abbey of Montecassino...
, declared the duchies of Spoleto
Duchy of Spoleto
The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...
and Benevento foreign countries where it was forbidden to travel without a royal permission.
Secundum Ticinum
Desiderius
Desiderius was the last king of the Lombard Kingdom of northern Italy...
briefly captured Spoleto and Benevento, but with Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's conquest of the Lombard kingdom in 774, Arechis II
Arechis II of Benevento
Arechis II was Duke of Benevento, in southern Italy, from 758 until his death....
tried to claim the royal dignity and make Benevento a secundum Ticinum: a second 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...
(the old Lombard capital). Seeing that this was impractical and would draw Frankish attention to himself, he opted instead for the title of princeps
Princeps
Princeps is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person."...
(prince). In 787, he was forced by Charlemagne's siege of Salerno to submit to Frankish suzerainty. At this time, Benevento was acclaimed by a chronicler as a Ticinum geminum—a "second Pavia". Arechis expanded the Roman city, with new walled enclosures extending onto the level ground southwest of the old city, where Arechis razed old constructions for a new princely palace, whose open court is still traceable in the Piano di Corte of the acropolis
Acropolis
Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...
. Like their Byzantine enemies, the dukes linked the palace compound with a national church, Saint Sophia.
In 788, the principality was invaded by Byzantine troops led by Desiderius's son, Adelchis, who had taken refuge at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. However, his attempts were thwarted by Arechis' son, Grimoald III
Grimoald III of Benevento
Grimoald III was the Lombard Prince of Benevento from 788 until his own death. He was the second son of Arechis II and Adelperga. In 787, he and his elder brother Romoald were sent as hostages to Charlemagne who had descended the Italian peninsula as far as Salerno to receive the submission of...
, who had, however, partially submitted to the Franks. The Franks assisted in the repulsion of Adelchis, but, in turn, attacked Benevento's territories several times, obtaining small gains, notably the annexion of Chieti
Chieti
Chieti is a city and comune in Central Italy, 200 km northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region...
to the duchy of Spoleto. In 814, Grimoald IV
Grimoald IV of Benevento
Grimoald IV , son of Ermenrih, called Falco, was the Lombard Prince of Benevento from 806 until his death. He was a thesaurarius or stolesayz/stoleseyz before becoming prince on the death of Grimoald III, over Grimoald's own son, Ilderic, another stoleseyz.In 812, he was forced to pay 25,000 solidi...
made vague promises of tribute and submission to Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
, which were renewed by his successor Sico. None of these pledges were followed up, and the decreased power and influence of the individual Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
monarchs allowed the duchy to increase its autonomy.
Decline through division and conquest
In spite of the unceasing hostility of the Frankish sovereigns, in the following century Benevento reached its apex, imposing a tribute on Naples and capturing Amalfi under Duke SicardSicard of Benevento
Sicard was the Prince of Benevento from 832. He was the last prince of a united Benevento which covered most of the Mezzogiorno. On his death, the principality descended into civil war which split it permanently...
. When the latter was killed by a plot, a civil war broke out. Sicard's relative, Siconulf, was proclaimed prince in Salerno while the assassin Radelchis
Radelchis I of Benevento
Radelchis I was the treasurer, then prince of Benevento from 839, when he assumed the throne upon the assassination of Sicard and imprisonment of Sicard's brother, Siconulf, to his death, though in his time the principality was divided.According to the Chronica S...
was acclaimed in Benevento itself. This ended with the division of the duchy, by order of the Emperor Louis II, into two distinct principates: Benevento (with Molise
Molise
Molise is a region of Southern Italy, the second smallest of the regions. It was formerly part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise and now a separate entity...
and Apulia north to Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
) and the Principality of Salerno
Principality of Salerno
The Lombard Principality of Salerno was a South Italian state, centered on the port city of Salerno, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war....
. Several local gastald
Gastald
A gastald was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne with civil, martial, and judicial powers. By the Edictum Rothari of 643, the gastalds were given the civil authority in the cities and the reeves the like authority in the countryside...
s and count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
s, like that of Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
, profited from the chaotic situation and declared independence.
The crisis was aggravated by the beginning of Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
ravages, the first Saracens having been called in by Radelchis and subsequently Siconulf in their decade-long war. Often spurred by rival Christian rulers, Saracens sacked Naples, Salerno, and Benevento itself. The Saracen colony in southern Lazio was eliminated only in 915, after the Battle of Garigliano
Battle of Garigliano
The Battle of Garigliano was fought in 915 between the forces of the Christian League and the Saracens. Pope John X personally led the Christian forces into battle.-Background:...
. At the same time, however, the Byzantine Empire reconquered a great part of southern Italy, beginning at Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, which they retook from the Saracens in 876, and eventually elevating their themes under strategoi
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
into a Catapanate of Italy
Catapanate of Italy
The Catepanate of Italy was a province of the Byzantine Empire, comprising mainland Italy south of a line drawn from Monte Gargano to the Gulf of Salerno. Amalfi and Naples, although north of that line, maintained allegiance to Constantinople through the catepan...
(999), further reducing the already declining Beneventan power.
In 899, Atenulf I of Capua
Atenulf I of Capua
Atenulf I , called the Great , was the prince of Capua from 7 January 887 and of Benevento from 899, when he conquered that principality...
conquered Benevento and united the two duchies. He declared them inseparable and introduced the principle of co-rule, whereby sons would be associated with their fathers, a principle soon borrowed by Salerno. However, all Langobardia minor
Langobardia Minor
Langobardia Minor was the name that, in early Middle Ages, was given to the Lombard dominion in central-southern Italy, corresponding to the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento...
was unified for the last time by Duke Pandulf Ironhead
Pandulf Ironhead
Pandulf I Ironhead was the Prince of Benevento and Capua from 943 until his death. He was made Duke of Spoleto and Camerino in 967 and succeeded as Prince of Salerno in 977 or 978...
, who became prince of Salerno in 978. He succeeded in making Benevento an archdiocese in 969. Before his death (March 981), he had gained from Emperor Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
the title of Duke of Spoleto also. However, he split it between his sons: Landulf IV
Landulf IV of Benevento
Landulf IV was the prince of Capua and Benevento from 968, when he was associated with his father, Pandulf Ironhead, and prince of Salerno associated with his father from 977 or 978...
received Benevento-Capua and Pandulf II
Pandulf II of Salerno
Pandulf II was the prince of Salerno , the second of such princes of the family of the princes of Capua. He was originally appointed heir to the childless Gisulf I of Salerno, who had been reinstated on his throne by Pandulf's father, Pandulf Ironhead. On the former's death in 977, he succeeded...
, Salerno. Soon, Benevento was stripped away again when Pandulf
Pandulf II of Benevento
Pandulf II the Old was the prince of Benevento from 981 and prince of Capua from 1008 or 1009 to his death, the son of Landulf III who was co-prince between 959 and 968...
, the Ironhead's nephew, rebelled, demanding his part of the inheritance.
The first decades of the eleventh century saw Benevento dwindle to less than either of her sister duchies, Salerno, then prominent, or Capua. Around 1000, Benevento still comprised 34 separate counties. In 1022, Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
conquered both Capua and Benevento, but returned to Germany after the failed siege of Troia. The Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
arrived in the Mezzogiorno in these years and Benevento, then acknowledged to be in papal suzerainty, was only an off-and-on ally. The Beneventan duke still had enough prestige to lend his son, Atenulf
Atenulf, Prince of Benevento
Atenulf was the son of Pandulf III of Benevento. In 1040, Benevento still had the prestige of being the first of the independent Lombard principalities of the Mezzogiorno...
, to the Norman-Lombard rebellion in Apulia as leader, but Atenulf abandoned the Normans and Benevento lost what was left of its influence.
The greatest of Norman rulers of the south was Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard
Robert d'Hauteville, known as Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, the Fox, or the Weasel was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
, who captured Benevento in 1053. He gave it to its technical suzerain, the pope, who appointed a series of minor Lombards as dukes until he gave it to Guiscard in 1078. It was finally returned to the pope in 1081, with little but the city remaining of the once-great principality which had determined the direction of South Italian affairs for generations. No dukes or princes were thereafter named.
In 1806, Napoleon, after conquering Benevento, named as prince the famous Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, but the title had no significance and it left with Napoleon in 1815.